Then one night, one of the Muslim soldiers
came to General Maslamah and told him of a hole that
he had accomplished to bore through the wall."
It is only large enough for a slim soldier." He
knelt closer. " Quickly, send with me someone who
can squeeze through and fight the army on the inside
until he has opened the gates for all of us to enter."
"The first is that you do not try
to compensate him for what he did. The second is that
you do not tell anyone who he is. And the third is that
you shall not ask for his presence ever again. Do you
agree to these conditions?"
"It is agreed," Maslamah said.
The soldier, uncovering his scarf, said, "It
is I. I went through that hole only for the sake of
Allah." Then, turning, he walked away.
After that day, Maslamah was often heard
praying to Allah, "O Allah, (on the Day of Resurrection)
grant me companionship with the soldier of the hole."
Sometimes at any Islamic school, there
are children who pray at the back, but the actions
are better described as 'playing' (no, not with a
lisp). Then when the head master or whoever they consider
to have authority above them approaches, they all
stand erect in complete devotion.
They are children and Allah will not
take them to account. However, there are many adults
that do this exact thing but on a more serious scale.
The ingredient that we all need to work on throughout
our lives as Muslims is Ikhlaas (sincerity) and, In
sha Allah, that shall be our topic for today.
Sincerity in all we do is a commandment
of Allah:
When one looks over the text of the Qur'aan and Sunnah,
they will come to the realization that Allah ta'ala
and His Messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) speak
about sincerity in different aspects: Sincerity in
Tawheed of Allah and sincerity in our intentions.
Sincerity in our worship, such as in Salah, Sujood,
Fasting, standing in Ramadan, standing in the night
of Qadr, sincere love for the Masjid, Zakah, Sadaqah,
Hajj, Jihaad, repentance, supplications, recitation
of the Qur'aan, and so much more.
The Qur'aan and Sunnah speak about sincerity in all
our verbal statements, sincerity in our refined and
upright AKhlaaq (character), sincerity in our Tawakkul
(placing of our trust) in Allah, and sincerity in
all actions
Commenting on the verse: [He who created death and
life to test you (as to) which of you is best in deed]
Surah Al-Mulk 67/2, Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyaadh rahimahullaah
- said, "It is those deeds which are most correct
and most sincere." The students asked, "O
Abu Ali, what are deeds that are correct and sincere?"
He said, "If a deed is done sincerely, yet is
not done correctly, it will not be accepted. And if
a deed is done correctly, but not sincerely for Allah,
it will not be accepted. It must be done sincerely
and correctly. Sincerely, as in for Allah alone; Correctly,
as in accordance to the Sunnah.
"He then recited the verse of Allah: [So whoever
would hope for the meeting with his Lord let him do
righteous work and not associate in the worship of
his Lord anyone.] Surah al-Kahf 18/110. (See Madaarij
As-Saalikeen 3/93).
With Ikhlaas we can be saved from misguidance as
Prophet Yusuf (alyhi as salam) was saved. Hear Allah's
words: [And thus (it was) that We should avert from
him evil and immorality. Indeed, he was of Our Mukhlaseen
servants.] 12/24
With Ikhlaas the books can be turned in our favor
in the last minutes of our lives just as what happened
to the man that murdered 99 men. Allah ta'ala saved
him in the end because of his sincerity in repentance.
With Ikhlaas one will be saved from Hellfire and
granted a lofty position in Jannah. [And they give
food out of love for (Allah ta'ala) to the needy,
the orphan and the captive. (Saying) "We feed
you only for the countenance of Allah, we wish no
reward from you nor gratitude. Indeed, we fear from
our Lord a Day severe and distressful. So Allah will
protect them from the evil of that Day and give them
radiance and happiness. And will reward them for what
they patiently endured (with) a garden (in Jannah)
and silk (garments).] Surah Ihsan 76/8-12
Dear brothers and sisters, we must understand that
there are certain things that contradict our Ikhlaas
to Allah. Of these things are three, Reyaa', Sum'ah
and 'Ujb.
Reyaa' is to perform an act of worship with the intention
of showing it off to people, seeking their praise
or some other vanity. Thus this person is seeking
to be glorified or praised or hoped for or feared
through this action. An example of this would be such
as donating a large sum of money in order that people
may think the contributor is generous.
Sum'ah is similar to Reyaa', but as the Ulumaa' have
said, it is those verbal statements that a person
does for the sake of people. Such as someone making
ballooned threats against the Jews in Philisteen just
so others would think he is courageous.
Ibn Al-Mubaarak rahimahullaah said, "Perhaps
a great deed is belittled by an intention. And perhaps
a small deed, by a sincere intention, is made great."
'Ujb is the cousin of Reyaa'. It is when a person
becomes impressed with himself for the 'great' deeds
that he has done.
This and all the other types are viruses that can
kill our actions and turn them against us on the day
of Resurrection.
Ya'qoob al-Makfoof rahimahullah used to say, "The
sincere one is he who hides his good deeds in the
same way that he would hide his bad."
From the Seerah, as Sa'd ibn Waqqaas narrates: "as
for Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, (after the conquest of Makkah)
while escaping by sea, a terrible storm befell them.
The owners of the boat shouted, At this moment pray
to only God and pray sincerely, for your gods cannot
avail us in any way through salvation from this storm.
Ikrimah said, "By Allah, if Ikhlaas can only
save me on the sea, then on land nothing but it can
save me." (He then raised his hands and pronounced),
O Allah if you save me, you have upon me an oath that
I shall not rest until I arrive at Muhammad (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) and place my hand in his."
He then came to Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) became Muslim, and was later martyred in Jihaad.
