Sincerity is a mix of seriousness and honesty. Along with patience and compassion, sincerity is one of those qualities we all probably wish we had more of — and wish other people had more of, too. People who show sincerity are being serious, kind, and truthful.
Sincerity of intention comes primarily in relationship with God and encouraged in dealing with fellow humans.
Sincerity before God is associated with faithfulness in Islam. It is one of the most important criteria God uses to judge the state of an individual’s heart. If you do things with sincerity , people will trust you.
The Arabic word for sincerity is “ikhlas.” God judges the actions of people based on sincerity of intention. In particular, he discerns whether a person commits good deeds out of genuine desire to please him or merely to attain the adulation of other humans. Ikhlas is often translated into English as “sincerity of intention,” a distinction that underscores the centrality of personal motivation.
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One English translation of a hadith, or saying, of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), reads, “Verily, deeds are rewarded by intention. And everyone will have the reward for that which he has intended.” Sometimes the Quran refers to Muslims themselves as “the people of truth.”. Another hadith translation notes, “Whoever loves for Allah [or God], hates for Allah, gave for Allah and forbade for Allah, then he completed his faith.” In other words, Muslims should be motivated by sincere faith in all things.
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 ;
Al-Baqarah 2:177
لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَٰهَدُوا۟ۖ وَٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِۗ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.
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Sincerity in our day to day activities is also very important, in communication with each other, transactions, negotiations e.t.c such that those acts that are related to our mundane lives can also be rewarded by Allah (SWT).
May Allah in His infinite mercy grant us sincerity in of worship and that of dealing with ourselves. Aamin
Compiled by: Aaminah Qasim
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