Naṣīḥa
Definition
Nasihah — sincere counsel — is described by the Prophet ﷺ as the very essence of the religion: 'The religion is nasihah.' In the context of friendship, it means the willingness to tell a friend what they need to hear, not what they want to hear — pointing out their faults when those faults are endangering their spiritual wellbeing, correcting their errors when correction is possible, and doing so privately and with genuine concern rather than publicly and with a desire to feel superior. Al-Ghazali says the friend who withholds nasihah out of a desire to remain liked is not a friend but a pleasant companion on the road to ruin.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Naṣīḥa.
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"through acts of disobedience; from Him comes sincere counsel to His servant, and from the servant deceit in his dealings with Him. As for the servanthood owed for blessings, it consists first in recognizing them and acknowledging them, then in seeking refuge with Him lest there fall into his heart the ascribing or attributing of them to any other than Him — for even if some cause is at work, He is the One who made it a cause and who sustains it, so the blessing is from Him alone in every respect and consideration. Then comes praising Him for it, loving Him for it, and thanking Him by employing it in obedience to Him."
— Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Fawāʾid — Points of Benefit, Volume Two
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""O my people, follow the messengers," and after his death with his words, "Would that my people knew how my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored." Ibn Abi Hatim related it. Qatada said much the same: A believer is met with nothing but sincere counsel. He is never found to be deceitful; when he beheld what he beheld of God's generous honoring, "He said: Would that my people knew how my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored." By God, he wished his people could know what he had witnessed of God's generosity and the state he had come to!"
— Ibn Kathir, The Destroyed Nations & Yunus
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"submission; envy bars him from accepting sincere counsel and from offering it; anger bars him from justice; and appetite bars him from devoting himself to worship. So when the pillar of pride collapses, submission becomes easy for him; when the pillar of envy collapses, accepting counsel and giving it becomes easy for him; when the pillar of anger collapses, justice and humility become easy for him; and when the pillar of appetite collapses, there become easy for him patience, chastity, and worship. And the moving of mountains from their places"
— Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Fawāʾid — Points of Benefit, Volume Two
Appears in
1 book in the library
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