Religion as naṣīḥah — sincere, constructive counsel, upward and across.
Narrated by Tamīm al-Dārī (تميم الداري)
الدِّينُ النَّصِيحَةُ، قُلْنَا: لِمَنْ؟ قَالَ: لِلَّهِ، وَلِكِتَابِهِ، وَلِرَسُولِهِ، وَلأَئِمَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَعَامَّتِهِمْ
"The religion is sincere counsel. We said: To whom? He said: To Allah, to His Book, to His messenger, to the leaders of the Muslims, and to the common people."
A short hadith the scholars considered one of the pivots of Islam. Naṣīḥah means sincere advice given to benefit the recipient — not gossip, not criticism, not showing-off-as-teaching. The object of such counsel, the hadith says, is five directions: God, His revelation, His messenger, those in authority, and the community. Omit any direction and the religion falls out of balance.
Passages that draw on this hadith
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"Explanations of the Statements of the Elders on Sincerity Al-Sousi said: "Sincerity is the absence of seeing sincerity, for anyone who witnesses sincerity in their sincerity needs their sincerity to be sincere."
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"Sari al-Saqati, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "Performing two units of prayer in solitude with sincerity is better than writing seventy or seven hundred hadith with elevation. Some said, "Sincerity of an hour is salvation for eternity, but sincerity is rare," and it is said,"
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"It is said that if someone sees sincerity in their own sincerity, then their sincerity needs further sincerity. The deficiency of every sincere person in their sincerity is to the extent that they see"
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"This means that true sincerity is only achieved by those who are sincere in understanding sincerity. It is as if he said: the state of sincerity is not attained except after knowing the science of sincerity."
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"if any advice has reached you from him, then what need do you have for my advice?! And if it has not reached you, then tell me: what have you achieved in these past years?! Among the advice that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, gave to his nation is his saying: «A sign of Allah's turning away from the servant is his engagement in what does not concern him.»"
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"Sincerity involves unifying one's objective, while truthfulness involves unifying one's pursuit. Sincerity means the objective is not divided, and truthfulness means the pursuit is not divided. Truthfulness is the exertion of effort, while sincerity is the singularity of the objective."
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"A sincere person has no ostentation, and a truthful person has no self-admiration. Abu Yaqub al-Susi, may God be pleased with him, noted that when people witness sincerity in their sincerity, it requires a new level of sincerity."
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"harboring great evil beneath his advice. He habitually disputes with the advisory minister, opposing and resisting his plans. Just as a governor relies on his minister's counsel, turning away from the advice of this"
More on foundations
- The first hadith — the inner measure of every deed."Actions are only by intentions, and every person shall have only what they intended."
- The religion in three words: Islam, Īmān, Iḥsān."Islam is that you bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, give zakāt, fast Ramadan, and make pilgrimage to the House if you are able. Īmān is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in divine decree — its good and its bitter. Iḥsān is that you worship Allah as though you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He sees you."
- The five pillars."Islam is built on five: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; the establishment of prayer; the paying of zakāt; the pilgrimage to the House; and fasting Ramadan."
- The soul and the decree written in the womb."The creation of each of you is gathered in the womb of their mother for forty days as a drop, then a clinging thing for the same period, then a lump of flesh for the same period. Then the angel is sent, who breathes the soul into it, and is commanded to write four things: its provision, its term of life, its deeds, and whether it will be wretched or blessed."