What is Sincerity (Ikhlas) and Who are the sincere believers? Sincerity is Ihsan, and the sincere are those who worship Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla) as if seeing Him. Once Jibreel (‘alayhi salaam) came to the Messenger (salla’llahu ‘alayhi wassallaam), dressed in white clothes; and he asked Allah’s Messenger: “Inform me about Ihsan.” He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, “It is that you should worship Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him (yet) He sees you.” [Muslim] They (the sincere) know Allah is the All-Seeing and All-Hearing; thus their deeds are sincere and pure (i.e. for the sake of Allah). They are constantly aware of Allah’s presence and as a result of that they constantly watch their actions. They are in a constant state of Dhikr (remembering Allah) because of their Taqwa. Taqwa is their garment, knowledge is their weapon, and patience is their shield. If they fall to sin (by way of ignorance) they quickly repent to Allah (Azza wa Jal), seeking His Mercy, and once they repent they struggle with their best effort not to sin again. They seek the pleasure of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla) in everything they do, at all times. They speak the truth, they enjoy good and forbid bad; and they associate nothing with Allah (Azza wa Jal). Their goal is one: to please Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla) “Al-Makfuf said: A sincere person is one who conceals his good deeds, the way he hides his bad ones. Sahl said: The definition of Ikhlas is when both the stillness and movements of a man are for Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla) Alone. Ibrahim ibn Adham said: Ikhlas is to have true intention (behind one’s actions) with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla). It was also said to be truly sincere, one should constantly watch one’s actions, with regard to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla) who is watching all our actions, while ignoring all one’s good fortune. Al-Junayd said: There are some servants of Allah who understood their faith, so they performed, and when they performed, they were sincere; therefore, sincerity draws them nearer to performing all aspects of piety and righteousness. Since Ikhlas is a strong shield that wards off all of Satan’s attempts to break into the heart of the faithful, Satan then strives, with all his might to drive man out from the shield of Ikhlas. Satan tries to influence a Muslim in his Salat (Prayer), even if he (the Muslim) conducts himself with sincerity. If he is watched by one group or a group of individuals as he performs his Salat, Satan would whisper to him: ‘Do your prayer properly so the onlooker would show respect to you and would not defame you’. So his limbs would display a sign of submission, and his Salat would improve, and this is a clear display of riya’ (hypocritical acting). In another case a Muslim may be aware of Satan’s influence, and is on his guard against him; he does not obey his whisperings and proceeds his prayer normally. So Satan would approach him in a good way telling him: ‘You are followed as an example, and everything you do will affect you and other people who look at you; therefore, if you act properly, you will be rewarded for their deeds as well, and if you do not, you will bear responsibility for their wrong doing. You have to improve your actions before them, so that they might emulate you in the submission and refinement of their worship.’ This is another example of pure riya’, which annuls any aspect of Ikhlas; for if he regards submission and proper worship as a good thing that he wishes others would not neglect, then why does he neglect it for himself when he is alone? Does he have a sense of honour for others more than for himself? This is pure deceit from Satan. Therefore, a servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta’alla should check one’s state of mind, before undergoing a particular action and during its course, to see if one’s intention is to seek the Pleasure of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla), or else there could be something else in one’s lower self with its desires. Likewise, someone who fasts to benefit from the enthusiasm generated from fasting (with the intention to bring himself closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta’alla), or performing the pilgrimage (Hajj or ‘Umrah) to enjoy an excursion, or performing Salat to fight of sleep, in order to guard his family and property, or acquiring knowledge in order to be dignified among the people of his family and tribe, or giving charity to a beggar to avoid his displeasure, or attending a funeral to please the family of the dead. In General, any good fortune, in this world, which pleases the lower self –to which one’s heart tends to incline –when linked to a particular activity, can influence its purity and affect its sincerity. It is for this reason that Ikhlas remains the hardest of all deeds, but this should not be a reason for giving up an activity, because is the objective of Satan, being his main aim. Instead, one should endevour to purity one’s work and never give it up for fear of riya’ (showing off). Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Ayyad said: ‘Giving up the activity for the sake of people is riya’, or doing work for the sake of people is shirk (an act of polytheism), but Ikhlas is when Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alla) safeguards you from both.’” [“How to protect yourself from jinn and shaytan” by Waheed Abdussalaam Baly, pg. 401-404] Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said: “A man came and asked the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassallaam): ‘One may fight for pride and haughtiness, another may fight for bravery, and another may fight to show off; which of these (cases) is in Allah’s Cause?’ The Messenger (salla’llahu ‘alayhi wassallaam) said: ‘The one who fights that Allah’s Word (Islam) should be superior, fights in Allah’s Cause.’” [Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa’I, and ibn Majah] - See more at: blog.iloveallaah/2012/05/are-you-worshipping-allah-sincerely/#sthash.bbQPsyeA.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:53:49 +0000
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