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Category: Humility and Sincerity

What are the signs that a person is seeking to build an 'image' instead of developing true faith by way of righteous deeds?

In his book, Riyaa: The Hidden Shirk, Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi writes:

"Linguistically Riyaa comes from the root "ra'aa" which means to see; to behold; to view. The derived word 'Riyaa' means "eye-service; hypocrisy; dissimulation; dissemblance."

From a Sharee'ah point of view, it means: "To perform acts which are pleasing to Allaah, with the intention of pleasing other than Allaah."

The primary cause of Riyaa' is a weakness in faith (Eemaan). When a person does not have strong faith in Allaah, he will prefer the admiration of people over the pleasure of Allaah."

There are three symptoms that are indicative of Riyaa', and it is essential that a believer avoid all of them.

1) The love of praise:

A Hadeeth mentions the first three people being thrown into hellfire—the scholar (who taught for fame), the martyr (who fought for fame), and the person who gave his money in charity (so people would say he is generous). All three of these people desired the pleasure of people over the pleasure of Allah. The person who desires the praise of people must feel some pride in himself, for he feels himself worthy of being praised. There is a danger, therefore, of him becoming arrogant and boastful.

The Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) said:

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ النَّاسِ يُقْضَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ اسْتُشْهِدَ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا قَالَ فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا قَالَ قَاتَلْتُ فِيكَ حَتَّى اسْتُشْهِدْتُ ‏.‏ قَالَ كَذَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّكَ قَاتَلْتَ لأَنْ يُقَالَ جَرِيءٌ ‏.‏ فَقَدْ قِيلَ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ

"The first of men (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgment will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought (before the Judgment Seat). Allaah will make him recount His blessings (i. e. the blessings which He had bestowed upon him) and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his life). (Then) will Allaah say: 'What did you do (to requite these blessings)?' He will say: 'I fought for Thee until I died as a martyr.' Allaah will say: 'You have told a lie. You fought that you might be called a "brave warrior". And you were called so.' (Then) orders will be passed against him and he will be dragged with his face downward and cast into Hell.

 وَرَجُلٌ تَعَلَّمَ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمَهُ وَقَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا قَالَ فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا قَالَ تَعَلَّمْتُ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمْتُهُ وَقَرَأْتُ فِيكَ الْقُرْآنَ ‏.‏ قَالَ كَذَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّكَ تَعَلَّمْتَ الْعِلْمَ لِيُقَالَ عَالِمٌ ‏.‏ وَقَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ لِيُقَالَ هُوَ قَارِئٌ ‏.‏ فَقَدْ قِيلَ ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ ‏.‏

Then will be brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and recited the Qur'aan. He will be brought And Allaah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Then Allaah will ask: 'What did you do (to requite these blessings)?' He will say: 'I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur'aan seeking Thy pleasure.' Allah will say: 'You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called "a scholar," and you recited the Qur'aan so that it might be said: "He is a Qari" and such has been said.' Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire.

 وَرَجُلٌ وَسَّعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَعْطَاهُ مِنْ أَصْنَافِ الْمَالِ كُلِّهِ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا قَالَ فَمَا

عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا قَالَ مَا تَرَكْتُ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ تُحِبُّ أَنْ يُنْفَقَ فِيهَا إِلاَّ أَنْفَقْتُ فِيهَا لَكَ قَالَ كَذَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّكَ فَعَلْتَ لِيُقَالَ هُوَ جَوَادٌ ‏.‏ فَقَدْ قِيلَ ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ ثُمَّ أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Then will be brought a man whom Allah had made abundantly rich and had granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought and Allaah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them and (admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Allaah will (then) ask: 'What have you done (to requite these blessings)?' He will say: 'I spent money in every cause in which Thou wished that it should be spent.' Allaah will say: 'You are lying. You did (so) that it might be said about (You): "He is a generous fellow" and so it was said.' Then will Allah pass orders and he will be dragged with his face downward and thrown into Hell." (Saheeh Muslim)

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

مَنْ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمَ لِيُمَارِيَ بِهِ السُّفَهَاءَ أَوْ لِيُبَاهِيَ بِهِ الْعُلَمَاءَ أَوْ لِيَصْرِفَ وُجُوهَ النَّاسِ إِلَيْهِ فَهُوَ فِي النَّارِ

"Whoever seeks knowledge in order to argue with the foolish, or to show off before the scholars, or to attract people's attention, will be in Hell." (Sunan Ibn Maajah, Da'if [Weak].)

2) Fear of criticism:

No one likes to be criticised.

The dislike of criticism regarding religious practices may be divided into two categories:

a. The first category is that of a person who neglects a commandment of Allaah in order to avoid the criticism of his peers. However, the true believers are described in the Qur'aan as follows:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

"...They do not fear the criticism of those who criticise. And this is the blessing of Allah; He gives it to whomsoever He wishes. Verily, Allaah is Self-Sufficient, all Knowing. " [Al-Maa'idah : 54]

b. The second category is that of a person who obeys certain commandments of Islaam, not for the sake of Allaah, but because he fears people will look down upon him and criticise him if he does not do it. For example, a man may make his formal prayers in the Masjid because he does not want people to criticise him for praying at home, or to think that he is not praying at all.

3) Greed for people's possessions

If a person covets what other people possess—whether it is rank, money or power, then he will wish them to envy him similarly. For example, if he is jealous of a certain person's position in society, he will try by every possible means to attain the same position. Such desires lead people to spend their lives putting on a show for other people so that they will admire their rank, money, or power.

How does one go about seeking sincerity?

Imaam Ibn-al Qayyim al Jawziyyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) says:

"If your soul informs you to quest for Ikhlaas, turn first towards your yearning [of showing off] and slaughter it with a knife [in a state] of desperation. Then turn [in a state of] asceticism upon (i.e. against) praise and commendation... If your quest in slaughtering the yearning [of showing off], and [the acquisition of] asceticism [against] praise and commendation is successful, your [journey] shall be facilitated in your [quest] for Ikhlaas."

Tameem ad-Daaree (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said thrice (to lay stress): "The Deen is Naseehah (sincerity and sincere advice)." We said: "To whom?" He said: "To Allaah, His Book, His Messenger and to the leaders of the Muslims and the general people." [ Saheeh Muslim]

Imaam an-Nawawee (may Allaah have mercy on him) has a lengthy commentary on this Hadeeth in Sharh Saheeh Muslim, in which he says:

"Sincerity to Allaah means:

• Having faith in Him...
• Avoiding disobedience to Him;
• To love for His sake and to hate for His sake;
• To keep good relations with those that obey Him and to have enmity with those that disobey Him...
• To recognise His favours and to give thanks to Him for them;
• To have sincerity in all affairs...
• To show kindness to all the people, all those whom you are able to, in this call...
• ..Sincerity to the general Muslims ... is to guide them to what is beneficial for them, both in the Hereafter and this life. To keep harm away from them;
• To teach them that which they are ignorant of regarding the Deen...
• To help them by words and actions;
• To hide their faults and to fulfil their needs and wants;
• ... To bring that which is of benefit to them;
• Enjoin them with good and forbid them from evil, with gentleness, sincerity and compassion for them.
• Having respect for their elderly and mercy for their young.
• ...Not acting deceitfully towards them.
• To love the good things for them, which he would love for himself. To hate the bad things for them, which he would hate for himself.
• To protect their wealth and reputation,
• and encourage and advise them to take on the character of all that we have mentioned, form all the types of sincerity..."

If you skipped the last three paragraphs, I urge you to scroll up and read them slowly and carefully – they contain the prescription to our problems as an Ummah.

As Muslims, our main concern is not to score points over each other—it is to help each other gain Allaah's pleasure.

As Muslims, our job in this world is to establish the Truth—how can we presume to do that when we fail to be honest in our innermost motives?

As Muslims, our supplication is, as was the prayer of the righteous predecessors:

اللهم اجعل باطننا خيراً من ظاهرنا، واجعل ظاهرناً خيراً

Allaahummaa ij'al baatinanaa khayran min dhaahirina; wa-ija'al dhaahiranaa khayran

"O Allaah! Make the hidden aspects of our personality better than our outer persona; and make our appearance good".

How can we assume vicegerency over the Earth when we fail to be sincere slaves to our Lord; when we are concerned with outward appearances more than the state of our soul?

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Category: Humility and Sincerity

“Say: Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds!” [Al-Kahf: 103-104]

This is a thought-provoking verse that should get us to really reflect and contemplate. To get the best out of the Qur’an, one should read it as if it were a personal letter from their Lord. Ponder over every verse and see the various ways that it can apply to you. Does it offer guidance that you can follow? Does it contain a warning that you can pay heed to? Does it offer a new way of thinking that can expand your horizon? Any way we can apply a verse to our own selves, let’s apply it. That is when the Qur’an will create a dramatic change within us.

Subhan’Allah, one of the worst things that can happen to a person is for them to come on the Day of Judgement with deeds upon deeds, only to then realise that those deeds have mounted to nothing. Or that the reward has been diminished greatly. This can happen due to us failing in sincerity or intention…

The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “People will be resurrected upon their intentions.” 1

Sincerity is an act of the heart and one of its most important… Acts of the heart are generally more crucial than outward acts of the limbs (prayer, fasting, Hajj etc) because the heart needs to submit to Allah before the body can submit.

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) said,

“Whoever contemplates over the Shari’ah, its source and ways, will come to know how the acts of the limbs are tied to the acts of the heart and that they do not benefit without them. He will also come to know that the acts of the heart are more obligatory upon the slave than the acts of the limbs. Is the believer distinguished from the hypocrite except by virtue of what is in the heart of each of them when it comes to deeds? Worship of the heart is greater than the worship of the limbs and it is more abundant and lasting, hence it’s mandatory at all times.” 2

Interestingly, the Salaf used to teach intentions and sincerity just like they taught other acts of worship.

Sufyan al-Thawri (rahimahullaah) said,

“They used to learn about intentions just like they used to learn about deeds.” 3

We also ought to teach how to have a good intention, how to rid oneself of Riyaa’ (showing off), how to be sincere and how to recognise the corrupting factors which lead to bankruptcy on the Day of Accounting.

Tustari (rahimahullaah):

“Intention is sincerity. Just as the outer reality (of a person) is made steadfast by good deeds, the inner reality is made steadfast by intentions. Whoever does not know his intention, does not know his Deen (religion). And whoever neglects his intention will fall into a state of confusion.”

Yahya ibn Abi Kathir (rahimahullaah):

“Learn about intentions because they travel further than deeds.” 4

Yusuf ibn Asbat said to Bashar (rahimahumullaah),

“Learn how to differentiate between a good deed and a bad deed. Indeed, it took me 22 years to learn the difference.” 5

Sulayman al-Dariani (rahimahullaah):

“Glad tidings to the one who proves sincere in one step which he takes desiring only Allah, the Most High.”

Abu Talib al-Makki (rahimahullaah):

“A righteous intention is one’s first good deed; it is the first gift of Allah (to His slave) and it is the first point of reward. A slave will only get the reward of a deed according to what Allah has gifted him with of intentions, and perhaps a single deed will gather numerous intentions according to the slave’s capacity and his knowledge, so for every intention he receives a reward and each is multiplied tenfold because they (intentions) are deeds which have been gathered within a deed.” 6

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah):

“Ikhlaas (sincerity) is that which no Angel knows of such that he can write it down, and no enemy is aware of such that he can corrupt it, and the individual is not amazed at it such that he renders it invalid.” 7

Al-Susi (rahimahullaah):

“Sincerity means to lose sight of your sincerity, for indeed the one who bears witness to his sincerity, then his sincerity is in need of sincerity!”

May Allah grant us sincerity and protect us from everything that will corrupt us, ameen.

______________________

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Category: Humility and Sincerity

Shaykh Sayyid al-‘Affani:

“Whoever seeks Allah and desires nobility and great honour, let him not sell his soul for a lowly price when in front of him lies Paradise and eternity. Indeed, we have only been created to live with our Creator in a Home the garden of which Allah the Most High has cultivated with His Hands.”

‘Aamir ibn ‘Abd:

“I have not looked towards anything except that I saw Allah the Most High was closer to it than myself.”

Al-Junayd:

“Know that He `azza wa jall, draws close to the hearts of His slaves according to how close they draw to Him, so look to what is drawing close to your heart.”

Al-‘Affani:

“Knowing the greatness of Allah, the King of Kings, will make it easier for a person to gain sincerity. Likewise it’s made easier knowing that the hearts and forelocks of the slaves of Allah lie in His Hands, and that He runs their affairs; He commands and prohibits, honours and disgraces. He turns the hearts of the creation, so the heart of him whom you wish to show off to in is the Hands of Him Whom you are disobeying… It is incredible that you should know Him and yet not be sincere to Him, incredible that you should hear His call and yet delay in responding. Indeed, everything has a replacement, but Allah cannot be replaced.”

One of the salaf said,

“Fight your soul and prevent it from the causes of Riya’ (showing off), and try to imagine the people around you as being like cattle or children so that you do not differ in your ‘Ibadah (worship) when they are present or absent, when they see you or not, and be content with the fact that Allah sees you.”

Abu al-Darda’ (radhiallahu `anhu) said,

“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the humbleness of the hypocrites.” It was said, “And what is the humbleness of the hypocrites?” He said, “That you should see the body being humble, but the heart refuses to be humble.”

Dhul-Nun: “When the wise one feels comfort in solitude, then he has attained sincerity, and at that point, his wisdom will move him to the truth and correctness in matters.”

Do not rely upon the creation to grant you your wishes

Indeed that’s only a shortcoming on part of your religion

A slave has no power to grant you, not even an atom’s weight

Except with the Permission of He who made you from clay

So do not walk with the mighty in order to boast with them

Rather be modest and virtuous and exalt the sanctity of this Deen

Seek provision from Allah; from the treasures that are with Him

For indeed your provision only lies between Kaf and Nun*

* i.e. between the letters Kaf and Nun – in Arabic this spells out ‘Be,’ or ‘to become’ which is a reference to the verse: “Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be! (kun)” and it is.” [Ya-Sin: 82].

Source: ‘Ta’tir al-Anfas min Hadith al-Ikhlas’ by Shaykh Sayyid Husayn al-’Affani

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Category: Humility and Sincerity

‘Abdullah Ibn Al-Mubaarak (rahimahullah): ‘I was in Makkah when the people were afflicted with a drought. So they all came out to Masjid al-Haram for Istisqaa’ (prayer for rain) but they were not granted rain, and to my side was a black slave.

He said,

‘O Allaah! O Allaah! They have surely called You but You did not respond. I swear to You and take an oath by You that You will indeed provide water for us.’

‘Abdullah Ibn Al-Mubaarak (rahimahullah) said, ‘By Allah, it was only a short moment before we were granted rain.‘

He continued saying, ‘The black slave departed and I followed him until he entered a house in Hanatin. I put a mark on it and in the morning, I took some money and went to the house.

A man came to the door and I said to him, ‘I want to see the owner of this house.’

He said, ‘It’s me.’

I said, ‘There is a slave of yours whom I wish to purchase.’

He said, ‘I have fourteen servants, I’ll bring them out to you.’

‘Abdullah Ibn Al-Mubaarak (rahimahullah) said, ‘But he was not amongst them.’ So I said to him (the man), ‘Anyone left?’

He said, ‘A sick boy.’ He brought him out and it was him.

I said, ‘Sell him to me.’

He said, ‘He is yours, O Abu Abdur-Rahman.’

So I gave him fourteen dinaars and I took the servant. When we had gone along the way, he said ‘O master, what could you want with me when I am ill?’

I said to him, ‘It’s because of what I saw yesterday evening (during the Istisqaa’).’

The boy leaned against the wall and said,

‘O Allaah! Do not cause me to become famous but take me back to You!’

‘Abdullah Ibn Al-Mubaarak (rahimahullah): ‘He fell down dead and the people of Makkah began to surround him…’

Source: Sifat al-Safwah by Ibn al-Jawzi.