The meaning of sincerity is 'to make pure, to purify'. Sincerity here means that our every action should be for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. In the Holy Quran, the believers have been ordered that their every action should be for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. The first condition of acceptance of good deeds is that this good deed should be done for the pleasure of Allah. The rightness of intention is so important that without it no action of man is acceptable by Allah. He wants us to do whatever we do for His pleasure. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
Translation:
''While they were not ordered but to worship Allah, making their submission exclusive for him with no deviation.''
The Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad says:
إنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ
Translation:
''Acts are judged by the intentions behind them.'' (Sahih al-Bukhari: 1)
Piety literally means: to fear, to take heed. Piety is the name of the state of the heart of a human being which, due to the fear of Allah Almighty, prompts him to do good and prevents him from commiting sins. The importance of piety can be estimated from the fact that in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty has addressed the believers at numerous places and has ordered them to adopt piety. In the Holy Quran, the standard of honor and nobility has been described as piety.
Allah says:
اِنَّ اَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقَكُمْ
Translation:
''Surely the noblest of you, in Allah's sight, is the one who is most pious of you.'' (Surah Al-Hujurat: 13)
The Holy Prophet (s) said that the heart is the real place of piety. If there is piety in the heart, then the actions of a person will be correct, and if the heart is deprived of the wealth of piety, then the actions will also be corrupted. When piety arises in a person, its inevitable result appears in the form of pure intentions.
i. Sincerity & Piety and Uswa-e-Husna
The life of the Holy Prophet teaches us sincerity and piety. It is as if sincerity & piety are the essence and summary of his life. Every action of the Holy Prophet was purely for the pleasure of Allah and based on piety. In the matter of Allah, he Jéselés) did not care about the criticism of any criticiser. The people of Makkah also offered wealth and leadership to the Messenger of Allah but he rejected all these things for the pleasure of Allah. At this, the people of Makkah asked his uncle Hazrat Abu Talib to stop him from preaching Islam. When his uncle talked to him about this,
He (s) said:
''I swear by Allah! If they place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, I am determined to carry on my duty.''
It was a sign of the Holy Prophet piety that he sometimes used to worship so much that his blessed feet would swell. He used to ask for forgiveness after every prayer and used to pray for forgiveness for many things during the day although he was innocent and free of all sins. Allah Almighty has declared his forgiveness in the Holy Quran. This seeking of forgiveness was actually for the education of his Ummah.
On the occasion of a battle, the Holy Prophet was resting in the shade of a tree at noon, when an enemy came around, the Holy Prophet's sword was hanging from the tree. He seized the sword and woke the Holy Prophet up and asked, “Who can save you now?” The Holy Prophet replied contentedly that it is Allah who saves me. This answer was given by the Holy Prophet with such confidence and trust that the enemy was shaken. In this situation, the sword fell from his hand and now the sword was in the hands of the Holy Prophet. He took the sword and said, “Who can save you now?” The person had no answer. The Holy Prophet forgave him. This person embraced Islam after seeing the good behavior of Prophet Muhammad. Holy Prophet was a figure of sincerity & piety. Every moment of his life was a manifestation of these qualities.
As the descendant of the Holy Prophet's Ummah, it is our responsibility that we should also develop the virtues of sincerity & piety and should perform every action purely for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. By adopting sincerity & piety, deeds will be accepted and their pleasure will also be increased. When a person does good deeds with sincerity and adopting the attribute of piety, it becomes easy for him to do good deeds. When a good deed is done to show off to people, it becomes difficult to do and the pleasure is lost. One who does good to show people, one day his truth will be revealed to people and he will suffer great loss both in this world and the hereafter.
