Mufti Mudassir Owais on Sincerity and Checking One’s Intentions

In an interview with me, Mufti Mudassir Owais, a teacher and resident scholar at Islamic Center of Fremont, speaks about the importance of sincerity in speech and actions and checking one’s intentions.

 

Danish Qasim: The talk is in Urdu and I have added my own translation below:

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious the Most Merciful, we praise him and send prayers upon his noble Messenger.

To proceed:
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ
“And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion…”  Quran 98:5

Respected friends and elders, actions which are done to please Allah are called khalis [sincere] actions. Because the purpose of these actions is to attain the pleasure of Allah. The reason and goal of these actions are only Allah- for Allah to be content, and to be successful in the next life.

This was the  trait of the sahaba, their hearts were pure from love of dunya, from materialistic goals, and from thinking highly of themselves.
“seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure…” Quran 48:29

They sought Allah’s contentment by every action.

“only seeking the countenance of his Lord, Most High.” Quran 92:20

Their greatest desire was to please Allah and to attain his contentment.

Allah is pleased when a person does actions for Him alone. When a person includes someone other than Allah in his actions, Allah rejects those actions and does not accept them. But when a person does actions for Allah, those actions are accepted and that person is accepted, even if that action is minor.

The most grand of actions, whether knowledge, martyrdom, or generosity,  with hearts and intentions directed to other than God- Allah rejects those actions and is not pleased by them. So the faqih, the one of understanding, is the one who with his actions and knowledge builds his hereafter.

In the hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) states that the sincere people have a glad tidings, they are the people through whom guidance is spread and protect others from [fitna] tribulations.

The sincere person [mukhlis] is such that through him, Allah protects others from tribulations, and removes tribulations through them.

When a person has ostentation, seeking fame, or building a following  in his intention, that person and his action become a source of tribulation for his society. Hadrat Abdul-Wahab Sha’rani (  رحمه الله ) mentions an interesting point. He says that “sincerity is that if someone else begins the work you are doing, that your heart should be happy with that.” This desire should be in us because it’s also action that is done for Allah. Sufyan al-Thawri (  رحمه الله )  said to protect yourself from hidden desires (shahwat al-khafia). Someone asked, “what are hidden desires?” He said “To hope for praise for your good actions.” This desire destroys actions.

May Allah protect us all, put sincerity in our intentions and be content with us. This is the ardent desire that we should have.

Before commencing an action, we should rectify our intentions. During an action, we should examine our intention. And at the end of an action, cry to Allah, seek forgiveness, and pray for rectification of intentions and that Allah give us sincerity, because only Allah can judge sincerity, not creation. Humans see our outward form, but Allah sees our heart, with which intention and with which desire we are acting and speaking.

May Allah give us all sincerity, make us from the sincere, and protect us and the entire ummah from ostentation, seeking fame, and all impure intentions.

Alhamdulillahi Rabb al-Alameen