Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance- Lesson 5: Sincerity is a Characteristic of Believers
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- Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Dear noble brothers, we will discuss a new topic from the series Means of Access and Signs of Acceptance, and the topic is about sincerity. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him)… ﴿
Worship is complete submission to Allah's Commands; sincerity is the worship of the heart. In fact, worship is performed by the limbs when they are totally submissive to Allah, and it is performed by the heart when it is sincere to Allah the Almighty. Indeed, sincerity is the act of cleansing and filtering the heart from doubt and shirk (polytheism). A poet said:
Both an astrologer and a doctor claimed
that the dead are not resurrected
If your saying is true, I say
I have not lost
But if my claim is true
Then the loss is yours
This is not Iman (faith) by any means.
﴾ Only those are the believers who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, and afterward doubt not… ﴿
Therefore, sincerity eliminates the heart from shirk and doubt, and shirk as you know is 'greater shirk', from which Muslims in the Muslim world are exempted from it, and 'smaller shirk', which is a serious calamity. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
((I am really afraid shirk, the hidden desire, will destroy my Ummah. It was said, "O Prophet of Allah PBUH, will your Ummah commit shirk after you?" He said, "Yes, they will not worship sun, moon, stone, or statue, but they will show off with their deeds. And the hidden desire is a person who plans to fast his day then a carnal desire crosses him then he leaves his fast." ))
When you wrongly assume that someone other than Allah raises or lowers your status, gives or prevents you, cherishes or humiliates you, then you are falling into a hazardous trap of shirk. The hidden shirk is serious, because it is concealed. As for the apparent shirk, it does not exist, there is no deity other than Allah the Almighty that is worshipped in the Muslim world. However, lust has become a god, and hypocrisy is shirk. Furthermore, to assume that a human being has the power to give or prevent, and raise or lower, is an act of shirk. Hence, sincerity eliminates the heart from suspicion, doubt and shirk.
In fact, worship is the realm of the known, whereas sincerity is the realm of the inner self; worship is for the limbs, while sincerity is for the heart; and worship is performed in public, while sincerity is private.
Sincerity is Iman:
The true believer is submissive to Allah's Command with all his organs and limbs, and he is sincere to Him in his heart. Sincerity is half of Iman, and more precisely, it constitutes Iman in its totality, because if one eliminates sincerity, Iman becomes, consequently, eliminated. Thus, sincerity is Iman.
Verily, man is stirred by motives. We engage in visible different actions, such as moving, connecting with others, detaching from others, giving others and depriving others and so on, and all these actions are motivated by motives. Such motives fuel people to work and perfect their skills or stir them to bear whatever burdens they are asked to carry.
The motives are many and varied; some of which are apparent, such as the motive of making a living that is manifested in going to one's own store to earn money, while some other motives may be invisible and need further scrutiny and foresight to be comprehended.
If a person has hundreds of meters of vast lands, and someone comes along to whisper in his ears that if he donates a few acres of these vast lands to construct a Masjid, the municipality will be obliged to organize this land into partitions and, hence, the price of the land will be maximized. If such a person does donate a piece of the land in order to build a Masjid, his act will be met with approval and commendation from all people, while the motives behind such a great deed are for the sake of profit, but they remain concealed. Pay attention to what Allah the Almighty says in this regard:
﴾ He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden ﴿
Allah the Almighty knows the secrets that you keep and the things that were hidden from you. Thus, it was said, "He knows what happened, He knows what will happen and He knows that which did not happen, had it happened, how it would have been."
Two kinds of motives: Intrinsic and acquired:
There are intrinsic and innate motives. The person who desires to get married is in consistency with an inborn element in man that stimulates him to sustain his existence in perpetuity. Eating is another evident example of how man is motivated to maintain his survival. Hence, man is motivated to maintain his race by marriage, maintain his existence by eating, and assert himself by his good reputation. Man is molded to love his existence, safety, perfection and continuity.
The other kind of motives is the acquired motives. When someone seeks religious knowledge, and he attends lectures or joins related educational programs, he/she will eventually acquire the motive of doing good deeds, memorizing the Noble Quran, or becoming Da'iyah (a caller to the Path of Allah). All such motives are the end-result of his/her unrelenting efforts. Seeking knowledge led to the development of a new array of motives.
Every human being generally would be concerned about his household, children and livelihood, but when he starts to attend Islamic knowledge sessions, new unprecedented motives of becoming a Da'iyh is formulated. Also, he may suddenly start to have an incentive and a motive for honoring the orphans, distributing religious books, performing Hajj (pilgrimage) in the Sacred House of Allah, doing good deeds such as establishing an orphanage or a hospital and so on. Such motives only emerge after knowing Allah the Almighty, and they are all acquired motives.
The truth is that whenever man rises in the ladder of useful and productive knowledge that Allah is pleased with, the motives correspondingly ascend. Tell me what your motives are, and I will tell you who you are. Tell me what motivates you to work, and I will tell you who you are. Allah the Almighty describes the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the following Ayah:
﴾ While he [Muhammad PBUH] was in the highest part of the horizon. ﴿
There are humanitarian motives, and there are people who only care about themselves. One of those people eats the best food in a restaurant, while there is no food at home for his wife and children. He is the most selfish man. Unlike him, there is someone who cares about his family, and this is a finer and more elevated level. Also, someone else outspreads his care to the larger extended family of brothers, sisters, and in-laws. Moreover, there is he who cares about his people, his Ummah and about humanity at large. Concerning this point, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
(( If you knew that which I know, you would laugh little and weep much. ))
That was the reaction of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,because he bore the burden of humanity. The more you ascend in Allah's Sight, the wider your circle of interests becomes.
I was once returning from an African country back to my homeland; when the plane entered the Syrian airspace, I saw with my own eyes from the plane Tripoli and Beirut. After Tripoli, Tartus seems to be so adjacently close to it, and after Beirut, you find that Sidon is so close to it. It was just one bird's-eye glance.
The higher your position in Allah's Sight is, the deeper your insight is, and themore elevated you are, the wider your interests are. You may ask a person, "How are you?" To which he responds, "All praise be to Allah, I am fine". You then ask him about his state of affairs, and he would say,"By Allah, I have no problem, but I carry the burdens of the Ummah. I am watching the news and I see what is happening in Gaza, for example, and the situation of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine, and I suffer." There are those who weep and cry over the news. Indeed, the more exalted you are in Allah's Sight, the wider your interests become.
Those who drift away from Allah descend to a selfish level:
Dear brothers, the more you drift away from Allah, the more secular your motives and aspirations become as they descend into a less refined and lower level marked by selfishness, whereby the focus will be on food, lust, clothing and material appearances.
((Let the slave of Dinar and Dirham of Qatifa and Khamisa (i.e. money and luxurious clothes) perish. ))
He only cares about his money:
(( Let the slave of Dinar and Dirham of Qatifa and Khamisa (i.e. money and luxurious clothes) perish. ))
The more man's knowledge descends to the mundane level, the more despicable, immoral and selfish his motives become.
The good deed is a manifestation and a proof of having Iman (faith):
Dear noble brothers, the good deed is a manifestation of having Iman and a proof of its existence. Rather, Iman without testifying deeds are akin to fruitless trees, with no value whatsoever. As an analogy, imagine that the sun is shining, and you strain your mind and utter this crystal-clear truth and declared, "The sun is shining", then what do you or add? Indeed, it is shining. By uttering such a claim, you add nothing, and if you claim that it is not, then you will be accused of insanity. Similarly, if you only believe, you add nothing.
If as a patient, you believe that this skin disease, Allah forbid, could only be cured by means of exposure to the sun while you remain to be seated in a crusty, dark and damp room, then what of use is your Iman? There is absolutely no value in your faith if you do not expose yourself to the sunlight. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "I am only a human being like you. It is inspired in me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God - Allah). ﴿
﴾ So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord. ﴿
﴾ So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord. ﴿
Let him move and work.
﴾ let him work righteousness ﴿
Once the truth of Iman is established and entrenched in the believer's heart, it is presented through a movement towards all creation. For instance, he may start attending religious sessions, asking a scholar about a misconception, or making Du'a (supplication) to Allah the Almighty to help him doa righteous deed, as stated in the knownDu'a about asking Allah to guide him to do a good deed.
The value of deeds is based on the motive:
Dear brothers, the value of work and deeds is dependent on the motive; the whole value of the work is dependent only on its true motive. Hence, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
(( The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions ))
The deed one performs may be great. Yet:
﴾ And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust ﴿
Such a deed, no matter how great it seems, will be worthless if it is not accompanied by the right motive and the good niyyah (intention). It was reported in one of the Prophetic sayings that:
(( I certainly know people of my nation who will come on the Day of Resurrection with good deeds like the mountains of Tihamah, but Allah will make them like scattered dust." Thawban said: "O Messenger of Allah, describe them to us and tell us more, so that we will not become of them unknowingly." He said: "They are your brothers and from your race, worshipping at night as you do, but they will be people who, when they are alone, transgress the sacred limits of Allah ))
(( He who does not have piety that repels him from disobeying Allah when being alone, Allah does not care about the rest of his deeds ))
As an example of intention, if someone walks along the road, and he finds a golden lira on the ground, the hidden camera will video-record him when he bends, picks up this lira and puts it in his pocket with the intention of searching for its owner. He goes to a near shop to tell him about the golden lira, asking him for help and leaving his phone number in case he finds its owner. The camera records the man as he bends to pick up the lira and puts it in his pocket. On the next day, another man bends down to pick up another golden lira and also puts it in his pocket. He is also video-recorded by the same camera. In fact, if we watch both videos, they will seem quite identical. However, the second man has the intention of taking the lira for himself. The deed of the first man is deemed good because of his intention, whereas the deed of the second one is deemed foul, because of his intention too.
Indeed, you can offer a person a glass of juice although you know it will harm him, and you can offer him a bitter-tasting medicine with the intention of curing him. A deed is only assessed by its underpinning intention.
Accepted good deeds:
Dear brothers, the following is an authentic Hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them, who said: "I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saying:
(( The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for. ))
When a woman named Umm Qais, who lived in Makkah, was engaged to a man, she accepted the proposal provided that he had to immigrate to Madinah. He immigrated to Madinah for her sake, so that man was called the migrant of Umm Qais:
(( Whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for. ))
Dear noble brothers, the relationship with Allah is not easy; you may do a wonderful job and receive praises and grateful responses while you are degraded in Allah's Sight. A man used to pray al-Fajr prayer in the Masjid for forty years, and he never missed it. However, One day, he missed it, and when he woke up late, he said, "What shall people say about me?" This is a Problem!
Dear brothers, Al-Fadhil bin 'Ayadh, may Allah Almighty have mercy upon his soul, commented on the following Ayah:
﴾ That He may test you which of you is best in deed ﴿
He said, "The meaning is that which of you is most righteous and sincere to Allah." In other words, the good deed that Allah the Almighty accepts is the one done sincerely for His Sake and in a right way; in accordance with the Sunnah. In this case, holding a grand singing party, with the aim of fund-raising for the orphans, may be a sincere deed but not in accordance with the Sunnah. A charitable lottery may similarly be a sincere deed but not in accordance with the Sunnah. Well, there are deeds that could be in accordance with the Sunnah, but they are not done sincerely for the Sake of Allah alone.
Based on the above points, if a deed is done sincerely but not in the right way, it will not be accepted. Likewise, if it is done rightly but not sincerely, it will not be accepted. The scholars referred to these two conditions as necessary, so fulfilling one of them insufficient. Thus, a deed must be both rightly and sincerely performed.
Pay attention to the following Ayah, please:
﴾ (Saying): "We feed you seeking Allah's Countenance only. We wish for no reward, nor thanks from you ﴿
Signs of sincerity:
1- Homogenizing deeds secretly and publicly:
Now, there is a question that may come to mind: What is the sign of sincerity? There is a sign, indeed. In fact, there are a number of signs; the first of which is that the deeds one performs in privacy should be similar to those done publicly. In other words, your apparent and hidden deeds should be the same; whatever you perform in secret should be as sincere as the deeds performed. Furthermore, your deeds among people should be analogous to those done in your seclusion and solitude. This is a sign of sincerity which is not in the heart of the one who prays Isha' before other people with whom he spends the evening, while he sleeps without praying it if he is alone at home. The same goes for the one who lowers his gaze before other believers, but he does not do that when he is among non-believers. When the deeds of the secret invisible life are not compatible with their counterparts in the public visible life, then sincerity is flawed and weak. This is the sign.
2- Homogenizing deeds when man is praised or dispraised:
The second sign occurs when the deeds done are analogous in praise and criticism. If one does a deed and continues doing it, on the condition of receiving praise, but he discontinues it in the absence of praise, then such is a sign of flawed insincerity. He who knows himself does not care about what people say about him.
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God i.e. Allah). ﴿
Now, pay attention to the following part, please:
﴾ So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness… ﴿
This is a manifestation of the means of access:
﴾ Let him work righteousness ﴿
The following represents the signs of acceptance:
﴾ …And associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord ﴿
Those who have strayed away from the Path of Allah the Almighty will have their deeds made as scattered floating particles of dust. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust ﴿
Thus, homogenizing and leveling the deeds performed secretly and publicly, and leveling the deeds in moments of flattery and slander are signs of sincerity.
3- The tranquility that Allah bequeaths to the believer:
We come to the third sign. It is said that the good deed has a thawab (reward). What is the reward? The Arabic word for reward is thawab, and the verb is thaba, which means return (when you perform a good deed, it will return to you as an exalted position in Allah's Sight). Hence, when you perform a good deed for Allah' Sake, this deed will elevate you in Allah's Sight:
﴾ …and the righteous deeds exalt it ﴿
The great Divine Response to this sincere work is that Allah the Almighty rewards you back with tranquility, psychological comfort, and a feeling of happiness. Such an unprecedented sense of tranquility is known only by those who have tasted it; they happily suffice with it even if they lost everything else. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, found it in the cave, Prophet Yunus (Jonah PBUH) found it in the stomach of the whale and the people of the cave found it in the cave. Such serene tranquility will make you happy even if you lose everything, and without which you will suffer even if you possess everything.
Tranquility is the third sign of the signs of sincerity. I repeat the three signs of sincerity; the deed performed secretly should be equal to its counterpart performed publicly, it should be the same in case it is praised or dispraised, the deed will make the performer tranquil, comfortable, pleased, secured and prudent. Such serene tranquility will make our hearts happy even if we lose everything, and without which we will suffer even if we possess everything.
To sum up, there are three signs of sincerity; the leveling of work in secret and in public, the leveling of work in praise and slander, and that Allah instills in the sincere heart tranquility making its owner happy.
The power of a believer's character lies in abstaining from gaining praise:
There are those who disparage people, because they do not thank one other. When someone invites people for a feast, then he says to the attendees, "Is the food tasty?", he is somehow begging for praise. Similarly, if a guest is invited to your house, and you talk to him about its spaciousness, view, or the tiles shipped for you from Italy, then you beg for praise. When you beg for praise from people, your sincerity is weakened for the strong believer never awaits praise, because he has high level of sincerity.
Dear brothers, in Hadith Qudsi, Allah the Almighty says:
(( Among all partners, I am the most dispensable with association. So anyone who performs a deed in which he ascribes to Me others; I will abandon him and his act of polytheism ))
It was reported in another Hadith:
((Sincerity is one of My secret blessings, which I have instilled in the heart of those whom I love among My slaves ))
Dear brothers, sincerity is the gist of religions, it is religion a whole. With sincerity, deeds are fruitful, whether many or few, but without sincerity, both many and few deeds are valueless.
