The Meaning of the Hadith: “I pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah to establish prayer, pay zakah, and give sincere advice to every Muslim”

The questioner : The questioner says: What is the meaning of the statement of Jarir ibn Abdullah ? Do we give sincere advice to all people who have fallen short in this religion?

The Shaykh : Yes, this is what the Companions pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding: establishing prayer, paying zakah, and giving sincere advice to every Muslim. By sincere advice, it is not meant merely delivering a sermon, but rather giving sincere advice in everything you deal with your Muslim brothers. For example, part of sincere advice is that if you sell something that has a defect, you disclose that defect to them. But go to the car dealerships. You will find that the car has every kind of defect, and the seller knows it, and the broker knows it. Yet the broker says, “I am selling it to you for tires only.” Why? If a defect is found and he wants to return it, he says, “You cannot return it because that was a condition imposed on you.” What do you say about this deception? Is it permissible or not? Who knows? Some people go down to the car in the dealership where the broker knows it has a specific defect he is aware of, and he tells you, “The broker is only selling you the car’s tires.” Is this permissible or not? Is it not permissible? Good, Professor. If I did not know that it had a defect, such that I bought this car recently as a new purchase and I do not know about its defects, may I sell it and stipulate that it has every kind of defect? The answer is yes, it is permissible.
Because in that case, he is excused. This distinction was stated by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah as being what is reported from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). That is, if a person sells something and stipulates that he is free from its defects, then if he knows that it has a defect, he is not free from it, and this stipulation is forbidden for him. But if he does not know, then he is free from it, and this stipulation is valid. Yes.