How does one Attain Sincerity?

Wednesday, 20 June 2007
ImageA brief excerpt from Imaam Ibnul-’Uthaymeen’s explanation of Riyaadus-Saaliheen demonstrating the importance of sacrifice as a means to attain piety and sincerity.
As for renouncing the love of praise and commendation then this is made easy by your knowing that there is no one who can praise you such that it would benefit you, or censure and vilify you such that it would harm you save Allaah alone.

Sincerity cannot coexist in a heart that contains the love of praise and commendation and the yearning to possess that which is owned by the people save in the manner that fire and water or a lizard and fish may coexist.

If your soul directs you to seek sincerity then first turn your attention towards your yearning and slaughter it with the knife of renunciation. Then turn your attention towards praise and commendation and forsake it with the asceticism of those who loved the world for the sake of the Hereafter. When your slaughtering of your yearning and the renunciation of praise and commendation becomes firm then attaining sincerity will become easy for you.

If it is asked: what may facilitate the act of slaughtering ones yearning and renouncing the love of praise and commendation?I would reply: as for slaughtering your yearning then this is made easy by you having certain knowledge that there is nothing that one would desire except that its treasures are in the Hand of Allaah alone and none has power over it save Him. There is no one who may bestow these things to a servant except for Allaah.

As for renouncing the love of praise and commendation then this is made easy by your knowing that there is no one who can praise you such that it would benefit you, or censure and vilify you such that it would harm you save Allaah alone. This is what occurs in the hadeeth in which the Arab said to the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam), "my being praised is adornment and my being vilified is disgrace," to which the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, "that is (for) Allaah."

[Reported by at-Tirmidhee [no. 3266] with a saheeh isnaad from Baraa`a bin Aazib (RA).]


So renounce the praise of one whose praise cannot beautify you and the vilification of one whose censure cannot disgrace you! Instead desire the praise of the One whose commendation contains perfect beauty and the One whose censure contains total disgrace. This cannot be attained except after patience and certainty for when there is no patience and certainty then you are like one who wished to traverse an ocean without a vessel to carry him!


Allaah said,

"Be patient! Indeed the Promise of Allaah is true and let not those who are devoid of certainty discourage you from conveying (the message)." [al-Rum (30):60]


"We have made from amongst them leaders, guiding under Our Command when they were patient and believed in Our Signs with certainty." [al-Sajdah (32):24]




[Taken from 'An Explanation to Riyaadh as-Saaliheen' Vol1, Trans. Abu Sulaymaan and modified.] Al-Fawaa`id [218-219] of Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him.]

Translated by Aboo Sulaymaan

Pleasing people from Prophet's Prayer by imam al albani

When I adopted these principles for myself, i.e. to adhere to the authentic Sunnah, and to implement them in this book as well as others, I knew for sure that this would not satisfy every group of people or sect; in fact, it would result in some, if not most of them, insulting or criticising me. This does not matter to me, for I also know that to please everyone is an unattainable notion, and that "He who pleases the people by angering Allaah, Allaah will entrust him to the people", Prophet's Prayer by imam al albani

The Stillness in the Chaos of my mind

The the name of Allah

The Stillness in the of my mind

Here Alone in the stillness;
The piercing stillness ;
Driving me mad ;
The motionless sounds cave in all around me ;

Seeking refuge in pray ;
The motion of my pen ;
My caged heart yearning to be grow wings
To escape from this place :

But where will I go ;
Am I being punished or tested ;
I will be patient insha Allah ;

I have hope ,
Because not to have hope is to let the silence consume me
The madness take over ;
To let the win ;

I refuse to let it win to kill me ,
So I stand against it ;
The Stillness …..
And hope that Allah is on my side
Hope that there is something 4 me @ the end of my journey

But the Stillness is crushing me now ;
I am bleeding ;
How many battles I have lost ;
Times I have been hit

My heart is being bleed dry ;
And my body soon following it ;
You have not known pain until U spit blood
Until U crawl on your knees because U cant stand
All collateral damage in the War against the stillness

And yet I still stand against the stillness;
While many have fallen under the pressure caved ;
And dance in glee in front of me choosing the darkness to the torture of the stillness
And others have grown wings and blended
evolved to hearts becoming one ;

I stand against the Oceans of Stillness
Stillness as far as the eyes can see ;
The horizon flooded and coming in a endless stream to rush up against me
Oh Allah take me away from this fate
And remember me
And help and reward me .

ADHEIM