Naseehah: An Nawawi 7

On the authority of Tameem ibn Aus ad-Daree (ra): The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The deen (religion) is naseehah (advice, sincerity).” We said, “To whom?” He (ﷺ) said, “To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk - Muslim

Scholars have compared the comprehensiveness of this hadith to the hadith of Jibreel AS (Hadith 2), illustrating that it covers the entire spectrum of our faith. Some scholars say that if we lost all the rulings of Islam, this hadith would suffice us for a quarter of them due to the many rulings that can be derived from it

To truly comprehend the depth of this hadith, let’s explore the meaning of Naseehah. It is not advice; rather, it is a sincere desire for the well-being and goodness of the subject. It involves freedom from contaminants, a purification, and a commitment to honesty and transparency. This perfectly describes our religion, Islam is free from every falsity, deception, plot, trickery. It is a pure religion

Naseeha to Allah:

• Purifying our hearts for Allah, which is done by fulfilling His rights to the best way possible, and with ihsan

• Believing in Allah and denying any partners with Him.

• Believing in His attributes.

• Fulfilling His commands and abstaining from what He has forbidden.

• Striving hard in worship, and doing more Sunnah actions

• Cleaning our minds and thoughts from deviant ideologies

• Being sincere in our worship. We love for His sake and hate for His sake

• Glorifying Allah and His laws and recognising His blessings over us

• Be sincere inside and outside

• Believe in Tawhid

O believers! Be mindful of Allah and let every soul look to what deeds it has sent forth for tomorrow. And fear Allah, for certainly Allah is All-Aware of what you do. - Surah Al Hashr [59:18]

Naseeha to His book:

• Believing in the entire Qur’an and acting upon it

• Having great love and glorification for it

• Striving hard to understand it, contemplate over its meanings, and adorn ourselves with the manners it teaches us

• Calling others to believe in the Qur'an.

• To defend and protect it from any misinterpretation.

• Defending the Quran against false claims made against it.

• Having proper respect and treating the Qur'an in a proper manner

• Ensure we read our daily portion of the Qur’an

Have they not reflected upon their own being? Allah only created the heavens and the earth and everything in between for a purpose and an appointed term. Yet most people are truly in denial of the meeting with their Lord! - Surah Rum [30:8]

Naseeha to His Messenger SAW:

• Believing in him and putting his statement above any other human

• Having eagerness to know more about him, and study his seerah like we study the Qur’an

• Follow his Sunnah ( and the Quran)

• Trying to learn more about his manners and emulating them

• Loving what he loves and hating what he hates

• Love him more than you love anything other than Allah

• To love both his family and his companions.

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If you ˹sincerely˺ love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful - Surah Ali Imran [3:31]

Naseeha to the leaders of the Muslims:

• Wanting good for them and for Allah to guide them to the truth

• Making Dua for them and wanting the ummah to be united under them

• Advising them personally and not publicly, and remembering the statement of the scholars, “However you are is however your rulers will be”

• Showing love and respect for the scholars and not searching for their mistakes and having trust in them.

Imam Adh-Dhahabi [may Allah have mercy upon him] reported that Imam Fudayl Ibn Iyaadh [may Allah have mercy upon him, he got his knowledge from Abu Hanifah] said, “If I had one supplication to be answered, I will not make it for none but the ruler, because if the ruler is righteous, it will lead to the righteousness of the country and the people”. [Siyar A’laam An-Nubalaa 8/434]

Naseeha to the common folk:

• To fulfil your obligations towards other Muslims

• To observe the concept of wala' which means:

  • to love every Muslim for them what you love for yourself and hating for them what we hate for ourselves

  • to care for all Muslims- carrying no envy for them in our hearts and wishing good for them

  • to help other Muslims.

  • to defend/protect other Muslims .

Benefits and action points:

• Seek more knowledge, implement what you learn

• Recognise that naseeha is an integral part of Islam

• Study more about Allah and never belittle his ruling

• Never abandon the Qur’an.

• Study the seerah of the prophet SAW

• Improve on our attitude towards our scholars

• Implement all of what the naseeha to Allah, His book, His Messenger (peace be upon him), the leaders of the Muslims and the common folk of Muslims involves