Class09-Sincerity-Obedience
Class 9
‘Sincerity | Obedience’
SINCERITY
Sincerity towards Allah is the best type of sincerity. The Muslim is being sincere towards his Lord if he achieves sincerity in three aspects: faith and proper belief, acts of obedience, and morals and manners. Faith does not mean mere wishful thinking. The one who is sincere in his faith is the one who attains faith in the way his Lord wants from him, which includes sincerity in faith, sincerity in intention, and sincerity in fear of Allah, may He be exalted. Not every act of obedience is sincere unless it is done, both outwardly and inwardly, in a manner which Allah likes.
Allah has described the sincere in one verse, in which He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allaah) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allaah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of love for it, to the kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to Al-Masaakeen (the poor), and to the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and to set slaves free, performs As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah), and gives the Zakât, and who fulfil their covenant when they make it, and who are patient in extreme poverty and ailment (disease) and at the time of fighting (during the battles).” Then Allah says, after listing all these attributes: “Such are the people of the truth and they are Al‑Muttaqoon (the pious)” [al-Baqarah 2:177].
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Among the things we learn from this verse is that what is mentioned is true sincerity towards Allah and towards His creation, because Allah says: “Such are the people of the truth”; they are sincere towards Allah, as on the basis of these good beliefs they establish faith and belief in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book and the Prophets, and they establish prayer, pay zakaah, and give what is dear to them to the charitable causes mentioned. As for their sincerity towards Allah’s creation, that is included in the words of Allah: “who fulfil their covenant when they make it”, which is one of the signs of sincerity. Hence Allah says: “Such are the people of the truth”, as they are sincere in their beliefs, in their interactions with Allah and with other people. End Quote
Fulfilling the covenant amongst ourselves include being sincere at work, doing the best we can at work, being on time at work and at gatherings, when buying or selling, in giving advice, accepting the invitations and helping each other in worldly as well as the religious matters by guidance and physical help.
May Allah give us Hidayah to firstly be sincere towards Him and also His creation.
OBEDIENCE
Islam is built on the basic thing which is to obey, obey Allah and His messenger in matter that we understand and those we do not. What the Muslim has to do when he learns the ruling of Islam is to submit to it and believe in it even if he does not know the wisdom behind it. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error” [al-Ahzaab 33:36]
He should be certain that there is the utmost wisdom behind all the rulings of Islam, but that wisdom may be hidden and he may not understand it. In that case he should realize that this is due to his lack of knowledge and the shortcomings of human intellect, which is not free of defects.
Although the way the people put it to practice can differ but there is no doubt in the hearts of the Muslims about the obedience to Allah & His Messenger where they miss out on is that Allah has enjoined obedience to some for us.
- To our Parents
- To our rulers (who rule according to the Quran & Sunnah) if they don’t then obey to the level they do not ask us to disobey Allah.
- To the Husbands.
All three are conditional to the fact that obeying them does not result in disobeying Allah and doing things that are not permissible in the Shariah. As the Prophet ﷺ said: “There is no obedience to any created being if it involves disobedience towards the Creator.”
Obedience to Parents
People tend to find a great difficulty in obedience, specially parents when one is independent they tend to disobey them at will. Hundreds & thousands of books, articles lectures, khutbahs have been given on parents their virtues and the obligation on obeying them but the youth of today even though good with their duties towards Allah and others are falling in the great sin of mistreating their parents.
Allah says, “Thy Lord hath decreed, that ye worship none save Him, and (that ye show) kindness to parents.” (Al-Isra’: 23)
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said in a hadeeth in Nisaai that “There are three whom Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will not look at on the Day of Resurrection and will not enter Paradise” amongst them He ﷺ mentioned “the one who disobeys his parents”
Ahmad (24299) narrated that ‘Amr ibn Murrah al-Juhani said: A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah, I offer the five daily prayers, I give zakaah and I fast the month of Ramadan. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The one who dies in that state will be with the Prophets, the siddeeqs and the martyrs on the Day of Resurrection like this”– and he held up his two fingers – “so long as he does not disobey his parents.” (Classed as Sahih by Albani)
Obedience to Rulers
To the one who rules by the Book and Sunnah we give full obedience but otherwise we obey to the level we are not asked to disobey Allah. Also one thing is to be understood is that there will be things that we might dislike and we are allowed to dislike them but that doesn’t mean we disobey or revolt against them unless they are committing Kufr.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whosoever obeys the ruler has obeyed me and whoever obeys me had obeyed Allaah; and he who disobeys the ruler has disobeyed me and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allaah“. (Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim)
And He ﷺ also said, “Whoever sees from his leader something of disobedience to Allaah, then he should dislike [in his heart] what he does of sinning against Allaah, but he must not remove even a hand-span away from obedience (to him)“. (Muslim, no. 1855)
Obedience to Husbands
Ibn Hibbaan narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Prophet ﷺ said: “If a woman prays her five (daily prayers), fasts her month (Ramadaan), guards her chastity and obeys her husband, it will be said to her: ‘Enter Paradise from whichever of the gates of Paradise you wish.’” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 660.
Ahmad (19025) and al-Haakim narrated from al-Husayn ibn Muhsin that his paternal aunt came to the Prophet ﷺ for something and he dealt with her need, then the Prophet ﷺ said: “Do you have a husband?”
She said, “Yes.”
He said: “How are you with him?”
She said, “I do not neglect any of his rights except those I am unable to fulfil.”
He said: “Look at how you are with him, for he is your paradise and your hell” – i.e., he is the cause of you entering Paradise if you fulfil his rights and the cause of your entering Hell if you fall short in that. (Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani)
The warning given to women whose husband is angry with her reaches, such an extent that it would shake the conscience of every righteous wife who has faith in Allah and the last day.
A wife’s duty as a good wife is to obey her Husband with love and affection and not to leave her husband and to choose for liberty and Freedom (like she was before Marriage).