Friday, February 14, 2014

An-naseehah

Religion Is Sincerity
Naseehah Is Giving Good Counsel And Advice

The Messenger of Allah said, 
"Religion (deen)is sincerity (naseehah) -corrective advice, good counsel and sincere conduct." The people asked, "To whom, Messenger of Allah?" He said, "To Allah and His Book and His Messenger and the Imams (leaders) of the muslims and their common folk."*

Religion is sincerity – meaning: “religion is hinged upon sincerity”, or “religion depends on sincerity.”

It lurks in the deepest, darkest parts of ourselves and waits expectantly for opportunities to strike. It attacks our defences of eeman, strategically tears downour walls of taqwa and ruthlessly diminishes our ihsan, or perfection of worship. Struggling against the evil that is inherent in all of us, is a battle that is fought on a daily, even hourly basis, and like most wars it is seldom won alone.

How many of us have looked to our brothers and sisters in Islam and have seen them straying from the path of Allah, and have turned our faces away?

How many of us have seen our brothers erring and said to ourselves, it is none of my business? Well, it is our business for the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has made it our business. Allah, through His eternal mercy, has given the believers the most powerful weapon available to assure victory in this constant struggle between good and evil - each other.

The Prophet (PBUH) has equated the entire religion to giving naseehah, but what exactly is Naseehah? Naseehah is an Arabic word that is usually translated to mean "sincerity" or "sincere advice", but actually embodies every type of virtue. By learning what naseehah is, we can then act on it and bring about positive changes in ourselves and each other. Naseehah is a wonderful weapon, but like most weapons, if the user does not know how to use it properly, it can cause more harm than good. 

DIRECTIONS TO GIVING NASEEHAH

How is Naseehah given to Allah?

By establishing His worship by offering the obligatory deeds with perfection, by believing in Him and negating partners from Him, by appreciating His blessings, By loving and hating for His sake.

How is Naseehah given to the Book of Allah?

By firmly believing in the heart that it is the Speech of Allah and His revelation, by respecting it, by learning and teaching it; reading, reciting, and writing it properly; understanding its meaning; staying within its bounds; acting upon what is contained in it.

How is Naseehah to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) given?

By affirming his prophethood, by following him, by realising the greatness of his right upon us, honouring him, and reviving his Sunnah, and by loving the Ahl-ul-Bait (his family) and his companions; turning away from those who belittle his family or revile his companions.

Naseehah to the leaders of the Muslims – those responsible for their affairs

By respecting them and obeying their orders in what pleases Allah and His Messenger , by having good opinion about them, by accepting their rulings if they give sound proofs for their decisions, and by correcting them when they err.

“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those of you who are in authority” 
(Surah Al-Nisa', 4:59)

Naseehah to the common folk 

By guiding them to what will bring them benefit in this life and in the Hereafter, by removing harm from them and bringing them benefit, by commanding them what is right and forbidding them what is wrong with gentleness and sincerity, by being soft with them, honouring the elderly, loving and being merciful towards the youths, by not being deceptive and jealous toward them, by protecting their honour and wealth.


FACTORS AFFECTING THE ACCEPTANCE OF NASEEHAH

One of the most important factors that contribute in one's rejecting a naseehah is arrogance. Arrogance prevents one from accepting naseehah and acting upon it. Whereas, the one who continuously strives to take arrogance out of his heart, finds it easy to accept naseehah. This is because the Prophet (PBUH) said, "Arrogance is to reject the truth and despise the people".

Naseehah is from the truth and the advisor is from the people. The arrogant person, on the other hand, is one who rejects the truth and looks down on the people. As a result, neither the naseehah nor the one giving it suits him. On the contrary, a humble person will accept naseehah from others with an open heart, no matter where the advisor comes from, because he knows that a wajib (obligatory deed) is being conveyed. Remember that the Prophet (PBUH) has said that anyone with an atom's weight of arrogance in their heart will not enter Paradise.

* The above hadith is related in many of the standard hadith-collections, such as Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-Nasa'i, Al-Tirmidhi etc, and is considered one of the general 
and universal principles of Islam, so it was included as the seventh hadith by Imam Al-Nawawi into his 'Forty Hadith' collection. 

Source : www.islamworld.net & www.livingislam.org
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