Facilitating Action Based Upon True Knowledge
Action has two modes:
As for the heart, there are two concerns:
Belief
Sound belief is accomplished by removing any doubtful matters from the heart. This is easy by the success of Allah and His gift, and many people have accomplished it in every age of Islam.
Sincerity or Ikhlas
Sincerity of the heart in the actions that are established by the limbs, by Allah, is extremely difficult and the entire creation froze when it heard the words of Allah: "And they were only commanded to worship Allah, sincerely, with the Din solely for Him."
And also in His words: "Isn't the only Din for Allah, the sincere Din."
Khulus means purity. The Arabs say laban khalis which means "pure milk", only when it is free of impurities. This is the milk that comes initially from the cow's udder before it is contaminated with anything.
Purity of the heart is contaminated by wrong actions and thus can be purified by tawba and remorse. Therefore ikhlas is a great station in the Din, just as fornication is a precipitous fall into wrong action.
The scholars of the heart have enumerated from both aspects of the heart wonders. I will indicate those things from them that will facilitate the path to purity and draw near the way of struggle with the commanding soul. Moreover, I will clarify those matters that will edify for you the way in which your intention is freed from any contingencies that cause action to be for other than Allah's sake.
The likeness of the one who acts for other than Allah's sake, is like the one who bought a servant from his own wealth and said to him, "This is my abode and this is my work, so do everything for my sake." And yet despite that, the slave works for someone else. So tell me, who would be content with that condition?
How then can we perform our actions and remove from them the self's portion? If, for instance, you wore perfume, don't say, "This is for me and my family." Rather, say, "This is for the angels of my Lord and in adherence to my Prophet's Sunnah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him." Likewise, food should not be merely for pleasure, but one should intend the strengthening of the body, in order to worship Allah well.
The following hadith emphasizes the importance of intending, in our actions, the sole pleasure of Allah: "The first people to be judged on the Day of Standing are the following: a man who was martyred and he is brought into the Divine presence and shown his blessings and he admits to them and then he is asked, ‘What did you do with all of these blessings?’ He will reply, ‘I fought for Your sake and was martyred.’ Allah, the Exalted, will say, ‘You lie! You fought to be called a courageous man. And it was said about you (and thus you have been recompensed.)’ It is then ordered that he be taken to the Fire."
Then someone who studied the Qur'an and taught it is brought into the Divine presence and shown his blessings and he acknowledges them and then is asked what he did with them. He responds, "I studied knowledge and transmitted it, and I read the Qur'an for Your sake." It is said to him, "You lie! Rather you desired to be called learned and it was said about you." And it is ordered that he be taken to the Fire, and he is dragged along his face and thrust into it. The same is said of the generous man."
Achieving Sincerity
One of the most beneficial things that will help you in achieving sincerity and the removal of blemishes from your intentions is truthfulness. You must realize that you will be asked about your knowledge in this life and the next. If you fail to recognize your inward reality's impoverishment and disparity from its outward appearance, then you are despised and you have despised your own soul just as the hadith has indicated.
The first step in moving towards sincerity of the heart is to protect your tongue from lying. Know that your tongue is what expresses your inward state. It expresses for you your knowledge and your practice. It has only one noble quality, and that is truthfulness. Yet, it has over twenty destructive qualities, but their sources are only four. If you are able to overcome these four, then the others are removed with ease.
Four Sources of the Destructive Qualities of the Tongue
But even the permissibility in these cases is through subterfuge and prevarication and not manifest lies, unless the other party will clearly see through the stratagem. In the case, one may lie flat out with the tongue but reject it with the heart. Again, this is only in the case when harm is feared of either one's person, or one's wealth, or the same for others. Indeed, a lie might in some cases be an obligation binding.
For instance, if an oppressor is seeking after a just man, then one should deceive the oppressor openly and lead him astray in his search. This is so because a lie was not prohibited for its own sake, but rather for the harm that is implicit in lying. So, if truthfulness will cause greater harm, then lying is preferred.
In this, the false doctrine of the Qadariyya is understood when they say, "Good is good for its own sake, and evil is evil for its own sake." Moreover, intellect is in fact knowledge. For example, a murder that occurs from an aggressor looks identical to a killing that occurred in compliance with sacred law in both its outward form and characteristic. The proof of this is someone who is unaware of what is happening will not be able to differentiate.
Allah says: "Does one of you want to eat the dead flesh of his brother, rather you detested it." Likewise you should detest backbiting, because its reality is a bite into a man's good name and honor. And this is much worse than actually severing from his physical flesh or similar to it.27
In the above ayah, Allah has likened the absent one to a dead man. The dead person is absent and unable to defend himself, just as the absent one being talked about is unable to do so. Furthermore, eating something causes harm to that thing. Similarly, talking about someone in an ill manner brings harm to that person.
A poet stated: "The wound of the tongue is not dissimilar to the wound of the hand."
Backbiting is permitted only in the circumstances enumerated below:
Isn't backbiting others a wretched wrong
An enormity from the worst of wrongsSo avoid backbiting with the exception of
Instances contained in a line from the greatsOppression, seeking help, fatwas, warning
Pointing out innovators, the open wrongs of the bad.
Thus, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Disputation in the Qur'an is disbelief." It is disbelief for the reason that it is enough for a man to believe his innovation for himself, but to attempt to establish and to claim that Allah shares his error is not acceptable. It is clearly beyond the pale.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "From the beauty of a man's Islam, is leaving what is of no concern to him."29
Qadi Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I once heard Imam Tartushi say, 'The jester is an ignorant fool because Allah revealed to us a dialogue between Bani Isra'il and Musa, upon him peace,'" when Allah said, "Do you take us as the brunt of a joke?" He replied, "I seek refuge in Allah that I should be of the ignorant ones."30
The Qadi said, "It would seem to me that if the answer concerns a matter related to Din, then it is ignorance but if it was some other concern, then it is merely speech. Its ruling is its ruling and its characteristic is defined by what it contains."
If you have purified your heart from other than Allah and your tongue from the fore mentioned faults, then you have established firm foundations for Divine protection.
The next step on your journey towards sincerity should be concern for the rest of one's actions of responsibility. And concerning those, you should focus on ensuring these two essentials:
Allah clearly states: "If you avoid what has been prohibited for you from the enormities then We will cover over any other wrongs." None truly knows the enormities with certainty except Allah. Indeed, He has concealed them among the prohibited matters.
However, some of the masters of knowledge have gathered them and codified them for us, reaching seventeen enormities. Abandoning them all makes it easier to leave other lesser wrongs. Likewise, the lesser wrongs that you commit will be removed from your record by your ritual prayers and washings and hajj and umrahs.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "The five prayers and the Friday prayer to Friday prayer remit wrong actions as long as enormities are avoided."31
This is a clear hadith that states wrongs are removed by prayer as long as one avoids enormities.
Thus, the question arises: does the prayer remove wrongs if we are still engaged in enormities, or does the fact that one is engaged in enormities preclude the possibility of the removal of lesser wrongs? The outward of the hadith would indicate the first condition. But certainty requires a more cogent proof and thus we are left to other sources that would indicate this, such as the hadith: "If a believing servant performs his wudu, then when he washes his face his wrongs that resulted from his eyes looking at the prohibited are removed with the water, and if he washes his hands, its wrongs are removed with the water or with its last drop. If he washes his feet then the wrongs acquired from walking where he shouldn't are removed, until he is completely free of wrongs."32
Enumeration of the Enormities
There are four that relate to the heart:
Four relate to the tongue:
Three relate to the stomach:
Two relate to the genitals:
Two relate to the hands:
One relates to the feet:
One relates to the whole body:
One can look at it from another aspect and that is to avoid all the wrongs that relate to Allah's servants, because they are enormous and often impossible to rectify. As for what remains between you and Allah, this is less harmful and easier to rectify.
More Recommendations for Reaching Sincerity
An excellent practice is recitation of the Qur'an with reflection. If you are unable to contemplate, at least simply recite it. But the difference between the two is illustrated in this brief anecdote:
A king sends a letter to his governors. In it, he commands them to fortify their capitols, guard the boundaries of the kingdom, be just to their constituents, judge with equity between them, and to give every man his due right, and all of the other matters that concern governance.
When the letter arrives to the various governors there are two responses: some receive it with great respect and reverence and they read it with excellent understanding and set about implementing its injunctions and fulfilling its commands. The others receive it with respect and reverence and place it at the foremost of their concerns but they don't understand it and they don't implement its contents. Let us imagine the difference between the two groups when they are called before the King.
In addition to recitation of the Holy Qur'an, concern yourself with the appropriate supplications and dhikrs in their respective times and places and use only the sound transmissions concerning those matters. Don't look at those dhikrs that do not have a strong foundation. Indeed, Shaytan if he is unable to occupy you with other than the remembrance of Allah, then he will attempt to get you to use formulas that are innovative and have no foundation.
If you follow all of these matters, then by Allah He will open the doors to you of His Mercy. Wisdom will flow from your tongue, and the ability to obey Him in what remains of your responsibilities will be made easy and near for you, and you will be called great in the dominion of the heavens.
May Allah make us of those who seek knowledge and wisdom and who concern themselves with the Book of Allah and respect what it contains and who transmits it to others and causes them to understand it, for the best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and transmit it.