Guidance is not about how intelligent one is, its about whether their hearts are willing to accept the truth or not. Allah has blessed some with reasoning over others so would it be fair if it had been the determining factor? Rather, He has made sincerity available to all, if one is honest with themselves and willing to submit to the truth, Allah makes it settle in their hearts.
When one is sincere, they’re able to look past their desires, emotions, and the misleading whispers of satan. These are the obstacles that block our will to reach the right decisions in life. Naturally, our path becomes clear, our focus becomes set on Allah’s pleasure, and the promise for paradise keeps us going.
It’s no wonder then that the prophet’s (peace be upon him) companions did not struggle with anything more than they did with sincerity. Who are we to not worry about our own?
We can tell if we’re sincere with Allah by how we deal with others. A true sincere heart exists all-round, it should not be towards just creation, nor towards just the creator. That being said, it should naturally be stronger towards Allah. It’s important that we’re sincere in our personal lives, because if we aren’t, it will carry onto our religious life.
Sincerity and humility go hand in hand. Another quality we should possess is the respect for our scholars in Islam, especially the Salaf who our prophet (peace be upon him) described as the best generations after him. As time goes on we become more advanced in sciences such as algebra and biology but no one is as wise and knowledgeable of Islam as the generations closest to our Prophet (peace be upon him). If we follow their way of understanding faith then we will remain upon sincerity/guidance.
The Quran has a beauty of encouraging us to reflect. We should also maintain a habit of reflecting on even the smaller matters, whether religious or personal. How will we realize our mistakes and space for growth if we do not do so? We should especially reflect on the difficulties we encounter in life as there is always something to be gained from trial (knowledge, hope, patience…). Allah does not allow harm to reach a believer unless there’s good in it, but how many go through hardships only to gain nothing because they did not reflect?
To achieve sincerity, one should also be willing to embrace change. If we fear change we will get nowhere in life. One may fear improvement because they think leading a pious life is boring, that leaving sin will lead to unhappiness. It’s clear that such a person lacks trust in Allah’s promise of true contentment and success in life. When we embrace change with the firm hope that Allah will reward us, this demonstrates sincerity. We should continually seek to move forward with our iman and never settle for less.
Guidance is something we must strive for and should not be taken for granted because we can absolutely lose it, so let’s take care of maintaining our sincerity towards Allah.
Inspiring sayings from the Salaf in regards to sincerity:
1—It was said to Sahl: “What is the hardest thing for the soul (to achieve)?” He said: “Sincerity, when there is no other desire in it.”
2—One of them wrote to his brother: ”Make your intention sincere in all of your actions, and little action will suffice you.”
3—Ayyoob as-Sakhtiyaani said: “Purifying the intention is harder than all other actions for those who act.”
4—Abu ‘Uthmaan said: “Sincerity is to forget about the creation by constantly looking at the Creator (in terms of gaining admiration for your deeds).”
5—Sufyaan ath-Thawri said: “They (the Salaf) used to hate fame and reputation due to wearing nice garments because eyes would stretch towards them.”
6—Hawshab used to cry and say: “My name has reached the large Mosque (meaning, the people will know who I am)!”
7—Mutraf bin ‘Abdullaah ash-Shakheer said: “That I spend the night sleeping and wake up remorseful is more loved to me than that I spend the night standing in prayer and wake up in admiration.”
8—Ali said: “The one who shows off has three characteristics: he is lazy when by himself, he is lively and energetic when with others and he increases in his actions when he is praised and decreases in them when he is criticized.”
9—Ibn Mas’ood said: “Do not learn knowledge for three reasons: to amaze and confound the foolish, to argue with the learned and to make people’s faces turn towards you. Rather, seek what is with Allaah with your hearts and actions, since only that will remain and whatever is besides it will go.”
10—Abu Sulaymaan ad-Daarini said: “When the servant is sincere, the inclination to show off and the many whisperings (of the Devils) are cut off from him.”
11—Ja’far bin Hayyaan said: “The foundations of these actions are the intentions. Indeed a man reaches with his intentions a position he does not reach with his actions.”
12—It has also been said: “Sincerity is that the servants inward and outward actions are equal. Riyaa’ is when the outward appearance is better than the inner self and truthfulness in one’s sincerity is when the inner self is better cultivated and more flourishing than the outward appearance.”
13—Some of the Salaf have said: “Sincerity is that you do not seek a witness over your action besides Allaah or one who gives reward besides Him.”
14—It has been said: “The damage caused to every servant lies in his being pleased with himself. Whoever looks at his soul and sees something in it which he deems to be good has caused its destruction. And whoever does not suspect his soul at every single moment is one who is deceived.”
15—Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Sincerity is the unification of one’s wish and intent.”
Source: https://www.kalamullah.com/hearts22.html
