The Importance of Sincerity and Its Virtue, and the Positions of the Salaf Regarding Sincerity
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Question:
Then I have an important question for our Shaykh. When we read the works of our Salaf, we find their exceptional concern with an important topic, which is sincerity to Allah and the emphasis on purifying it from anything that might cloud it or diminish its rank. In this time, some have neglected its importance and the care for it. So I hope my Shaykh will clarify its importance, the evidence for its virtue, and something of the positions of the Salaf regarding sincerity, in order to raise people’s aspirations for this great matter. May Allah reward you with the best reward, Your Excellency the Shaykh. And likewise you, our beloved announcer, Abu Khalid. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Peace be upon you.
Answer:
And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and may Allah bless you and reward you with good. As for sincerity, the deed is not accepted except with two conditions: sincerity to Allah the Exalted and following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
If the two conditions are present in the deed, it is accepted by the permission of Allah. If one of them is lacking, or both are lacking, the deed is not accepted. Sincerity to Allah means being sincere free from major and minor shirk (associating partners with Allah), and that the intention behind the deed is the Face of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), not showing off, not seeking fame, and not desiring the world. Rather, the desire should be for the pleasure of Allah, His bounty, and His forgiveness.
And following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) such that there is no bid'ah (religious innovation) in it, no bid'ah and no invention that Allah and His Messenger have not prescribed. For innovations are rejected and not accepted, and their doer is sinful, not rewarded. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: until the Day of Resurrection.
Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said, and they said, "No one will enter Paradise except you," meaning the Jews and the Christians.[Al-Baqarah 2:111] That is, bring your evidence for what you claim, that no one will enter Paradise except you, the Jews and the Christians, because every claim requires evidence to support it. And if it is merely a claim, it is not accepted without evidence. Then He (Exalted and Majestic is He) said, "Yes, whoever submits his face to Allah, meaning [Al-Baqarah 2:112], will enter Paradise, everyone [Al-Baqarah 2:112]." The meaning of His saying "submits his face to Allah" is that he makes his work sincere for Allah.
And the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) “and he is a doer of good” is that he follows the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in what he does and what he says. The righteous Salaf were the most eager of people for these two conditions in their deeds. They were sincere to Allah and concealed their deeds and did not display them for the sake of sincerity to Allah the Exalted. They kept them between themselves and Allah as much as they could, and they were eager to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), not deviating from his Sunnah, not innovating, and not adding. This is the position of the Salaf regarding sincerity to Allah the Exalted.
Then I have an important question for our Shaykh. When we read the works of our Salaf, we find their exceptional concern with an important topic, which is sincerity to Allah and the emphasis on purifying it from anything that might cloud it or diminish its rank. In this time, some have neglected its importance and the care for it. So I hope my Shaykh will clarify its importance, the evidence for its virtue, and something of the positions of the Salaf regarding sincerity, in order to raise people’s aspirations for this great matter. May Allah reward you with the best reward, Your Excellency the Shaykh. And likewise you, our beloved announcer, Abu Khalid. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Peace be upon you.
Answer:
And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and may Allah bless you and reward you with good. As for sincerity, the deed is not accepted except with two conditions: sincerity to Allah the Exalted and following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
If the two conditions are present in the deed, it is accepted by the permission of Allah. If one of them is lacking, or both are lacking, the deed is not accepted. Sincerity to Allah means being sincere free from major and minor shirk (associating partners with Allah), and that the intention behind the deed is the Face of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), not showing off, not seeking fame, and not desiring the world. Rather, the desire should be for the pleasure of Allah, His bounty, and His forgiveness.
And following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) such that there is no bid'ah (religious innovation) in it, no bid'ah and no invention that Allah and His Messenger have not prescribed. For innovations are rejected and not accepted, and their doer is sinful, not rewarded. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever introduces a good practice in Islam, he will have its reward and the reward of whoever works by it until the Day of Resurrection. And whoever introduces a bad practice in Islam, he will have its sin and the sin of whoever works by it.
من سن سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بها إلى يوم القيامة، ومن سن في الإسلام سنة سيئة فعليه وزرها وإزر من عمل بهاAllah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said, and they said, "No one will enter Paradise except you," meaning the Jews and the Christians.
And they say, "None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian." That is [merely] their wishful thinking, Say, "Produce your proof
وَقَالُوا لَن يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَن كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْYes [on the contrary],
بَلَىٰwhoever submits his face in Islam to Allah while being a doer of good
مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌAnd the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) “and he is a doer of good” is that he follows the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in what he does and what he says. The righteous Salaf were the most eager of people for these two conditions in their deeds. They were sincere to Allah and concealed their deeds and did not display them for the sake of sincerity to Allah the Exalted. They kept them between themselves and Allah as much as they could, and they were eager to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), not deviating from his Sunnah, not innovating, and not adding. This is the position of the Salaf regarding sincerity to Allah the Exalted.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، أهمية الإخلاص وفضله، ومواقف السلف من الإخلاص - الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.