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
-
"without realizing it. Explanations of the Statements of the Elders on Sincerity Al-Susi said, Sincerity is the absence of seeing sincerity. For anyone who witnesses sincerity in their sincerity needs their sincerity to be sincere. This points to purifying the"
-
"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, Knowledge is the seed, action is the planting, and its water is sincerity."
-
"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"
-
"sincerity, knowing that only sincerity is accepted on that day. They understand their dire need and poverty on that day, when neither wealth nor children will benefit, and no parent can aid their child. On that day, devoted individuals will be preoccupied with themselves,"
-
"praise in his charity or prayer, it is the shirk that contradicts sincerity. We have discussed its ruling in the Book of Sincerity, and the narrations indicate what we have quoted, such as the saying of Sa'id ibn al-Musa'ib and Ubadah ibn al-Samit,"
-
"believer possesses hope and fear, not casting himself into destruction nor claiming from Allah anything but truth. If you preserve this advice, no absentee will be dearer to you than death, though it is unavoidable. If you neglect this advice, no absentee will"
-
"If you had united on righteousness, you would have loved one another. Why do you give counsel regarding this world, but not regarding the afterlife, and none of you can offer advice to the one they love and assist them in their matters of the afterlife?"
-
"avoiding the incitements of afflictions, while firmly intending sincerity and fidelity. This is a severe test of patience for those who understand the true nature of intention and sincerity and the dangers of hypocrisy and the pitfalls of the soul."
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."