Human beings were created to know their wise Maker and follow a straight path in life. A worthy deed conforms to what the Lawgiver has prescribed and is accompanied by a good intention. If an act does not conform to what the Lawgiver has conveyed, it is invalid even if its performer intends thereby to draw near to God. This is the innovation that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, called misguidance. If the deed conforms to what the Lawgiver prescribed but its performer does not intend obedience to God’s command, it is rejected, because it lacks the spirit that gives it life and beauty: sincerity.
Sincerity centres on making obedience to God’s command the first motive for action. There is no harm in aspiring thereafter to something else, such as the bliss of the Hereafter or deliverance from its painful punishment. Indeed, after seeking God’s countenance, sincerity is not lost if it occurs to a person that righteous deeds also have effects in this life, such as peace of mind, freedom from fears and protection against humiliating situations. These and other good things follow righteous action and add further strength to the soul’s eagerness for obedience.
Scholars recognise that intending a worldly benefit through a good deed, once the intention of obeying God’s command is established, does not remove it from the degree of acceptance. One may intend trade during a journey while intending to fulfil the obligatory Hajj; intend cooling oneself after intending purification with water for obligatory prayer; or intend the enjoyment of knowledge after intending the purpose for which the Lawgiver commanded its study. Someone who seeks religious learning to reform themselves and guide others, or studies the arts of war to defend their religion and protect their community, incurs no blame if they then recall the pleasure in knowledge and thereby find greater satisfaction and renewed energy.
Al-Sharif al-Tilimsani attended the lessons of Abu Zayd ibn al-Imam as a boy. Abu Zayd mentioned Paradise’s bliss, and al-Sharif asked, “Is knowledge studied in Paradise?” Abu Zayd answered, “Yes; there is whatever souls desire and eyes delight in.” Al-Sharif replied, “Had you said no, I would have said there was no pleasure in it.” The shaykh marvelled at him and prayed for him.
Sincerity elevates deeds until they become steps towards success. It is what moves a person to continue doing good. Someone who prays to show off or out of embarrassment before others will inevitably encounter times when they do not rise to pray. Someone who judges justly to gain a reputation or avoid dismissal may encounter a benefit more appealing than reputation, or live under a government in which dismissal is no danger, and then think nothing of putting justice aside. Someone who calls for reform to gain status may settle among people who esteem only those who descend to their desires, and become an advocate of those desires.
Experience has shown us people who once appeared moderate and zealous for truth, but then associated with worldly people hostile to God’s guidance. They promptly discarded the garment of moderation and began speaking in those people’s language, with a degree of equivocation.
Someone who does good to have their name repeated in gatherings or newspapers may see a worthy undertaking in need of support, yet find beside it no tongue or pen devoted to praising its supporters. They turn away despite being able to extend a hand and meet its need.
Sincerity gives a person’s resolve firmness and steadies the heart, so that they continue working until they reach the goal. Many obstacles standing in the way of projects can be overcome only with the help of sincerity. Were it not for the sincerity God places in pure souls, people would be deprived of many good things blocked by obstacles.
A person may be sincere in some actions but overcome by desire in others, producing a deed whose outward form is empty of sincerity. What raises someone to the highest degrees of virtue and honour is making sincerity the constant companion of their conduct, undertaking no act without holding fast to its firm bond. I do not exaggerate in saying that a soul freed from slavery to desires, proceeding only as sincerity directs, is a soul made tranquil by faith and refined by religion’s wisdom and good counsel.
Sincerity founded on true faith and religious refinement has an authority that rises above every other authority. It becomes an established principle from which righteous deeds regularly proceed. Its possessor finds sweetness in it, making it easy to become one of the seven mentioned in the Prophet’s words, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Seven whom God will shade in His shade on the day when there is no shade but His…” He included “a person who gives charity so secretly that their left hand does not know what their right hand gives”.
Ash‘ab ibn Jubayr related that, while he was in one of Madinah’s streets, a man met him and asked, “How many dependants have you?” He said: “I told him, and he said, ‘I have been instructed to provide for you and your dependants for as long as you live.’ I asked, ‘Who instructed you?’ He said, ‘I shall not tell you.’ I said, ‘This is a kindness deserving thanks.’ He replied, ‘The person who instructed me did not want your thanks.’ I continued receiving it until Khalid ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn Uthman died. People gathered for him, and I attended. That man met me and said, ‘Ash‘ab, by God, this is the man who used to provide what I gave you!’”
Here is someone doing good from behind a veil. How different he is from people who do not hesitate to mix truth with falsehood, then claim that this mixture is reform and announce at the top of their voices that they are sincere in what they say and do!
You may hardly find anyone undertaking a task who does not claim sincerity. This is because sincerity resides in the heart, and hearts are hidden from sight. When you describe someone as sincere or insincere, your description rests on signs you perceive in their outward condition.
Some such signs conclusively reveal a person’s inward state; others take you no further than supposition. Here verification and caution are required. Calling a deceiver sincere, or accusing a sincere person of deceit, causes great social harm. If you rely on mere supposition, you risk judging someone with a corrupt conscience to be sincere. People may then take them as a model, and they may draw people gradually into minor corruption before leading them, once accustomed to it, into major corruption. Alternatively, you may judge someone pure-hearted insincere, becoming like a person trying to extinguish a lamp when people need lamps to light their way.
Sincerity that permeates souls until it holds their reins is itself a virtue, and it dwells only where many virtues dwell. It strengthens a person’s courage, so that they do not hesitate to defend the truth or concern themselves with the harm encountered in doing so.
Sincerity opens a person’s heart to spending on good causes, so that they devote part of their wealth to them even when themselves in need. It teaches detachment from worldly possessions, so there is no fear that its possessor will oppose the truth or clothe it in falsehood, even if falsehood’s supporters shower them with silver or gold.
Sincerity moves a judge to examine cases thoroughly and decide none before the truth becomes clear.
Sincerity prompts a teacher to strive to explain matters, not withhold useful discussions that students can understand, and employ teaching methods that renew their eagerness to learn.
Sincerity protects a trader from betraying someone who trusts them concerning the nature or value of goods, and moves a craftsperson to perfect their work to the best of their ability.
Sincerity restrains a writer’s pen from reversing facts or colouring them differently to please a person or group.
Since sincerity has these great benefits, we ought to raise the young to be sincere in all they say and do, teaching them the praise, honour and good outcome the sincere attain, so that our religious and educational institutions produce people who perform their entrusted work with firmness and skill.
Muhammad al-Khidr Husayn.
Encyclopaedia of the Complete Works, 5/76–80. Dar al-Nawadir.