Hadith Explanation: “The Religion is Naseehah…” (Sincerity, Advice)

 “أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: “الدِّينُ النَّصِيحَةُ.” قُلْنَا: لِمَنْ؟ قَالَ: “لِلَّهِ، وَلِكِتَابِهِ، وَلِرَسُولِهِ، وَلِأَئِمَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَعَامَّتِهِمْ

“The religion is Naseehah (sincerity, advice).” The people said, “To whom?” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “To Allah ﷻ and to His Book and to His Messenger and to the Leaders of the Muslims and to the common folk of the Muslims.” ¹

— Messenger of Allah ﷺ

The Meaning of Naseehah and its Usage

It is a comprehensive word, often translated as ‘sincerity’, ‘advice‘ or ‘honest conduct‘. Some examples:

• Allah ﷻ says, “O believers, turn to Allah with a sincere (nasooha) repentance” ²
• Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If a man seeks sincere advice (naseehah) from his brother, he should give him sincere advice.” ³

al-Allamah ibn al-Uthaymeen explains that naseehah implies that a person loves for his brother what is good, calls him to it, makes it clear to him and encourages him to do it. This is part and parcel of the true religion of Islam. This is the real way of the believers. It is when the believers fulfill this type of condition that they meet the description given of the true believers in the Quran, “Verily, the believers are but a brotherhood” ⁴. That brotherhood is the result of the correct and true Naseehah.

Meaning of “To Allah”

Sincerity to Allah ﷻ requires the fulfilling of the obligatory duties in the best way possible (Ihsan). For the hearts who feel disconnected with Allah ﷻ, despite fulfilling obligatory duties, they must learn about who they are worshiping and the truest form of sincerity is only through knowledge. Only the knowledgeable ones understand how to love Allah, fear Him and hope in Him. ⁵

Meaning of “To His book”

Sincerity to the book of Allah ﷻ demands that one believes that the Quran is from Allah ﷻ and it is His word. A Muslim must not abandon it and try to – according to one’s ability, read, act and defend it. Moreover, he should invite others towards it.

Meaning of “To His Messenger”

Sincerity towards the Messenger is loving him, obeying him, believing in him, and defending him. It also includes respecting his companions, his family and the scholars who follow him ﷺ.

Difference Between Advice and Shaming Another Person

It is forbidden to mention Muslim’s faults or sins simply to blame or ridicule him. Generally, it is the best to advice a person in private and in best manner possible. ⁶

al-Fudhail ibn Iyaadh said,

“The believer conceals [the sin] and advises the person while the evildoer exposes the sin and disgraces the person.”

Other Points Related to Hadith

• Imam Ibn Hazm denotes that a person should advise for the sake of Allah, not on the basis that his advice must always be accepted and expect the reward from Allah.
• Counseling is not limited to Muslims only. Non-Muslims should also be advised, just as the Prophet ﷺ  advised them.
• If a person tries to advice another person, we should not doubt his intention.

Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه once said,

“Do not think evil of anything that comes from your brother Muslim’s tongue whenever there is a way to interpret it in a good way.” ⁷

Summary of the Hadith [TL;DR]

Fawwaz Zamarli says,

I say to the one who is giving advice (naseehah): It is a must upon you that you abide by the conditions and manners of giving advice so that the one who is being given advice will accept it, tend to it and respect it. It is obligatory that your concerning and intention, first and last, be bringing about some good or betterment for your brother; and the driving force behind your act [of advising] must be love and brotherhood.

You should never stray from that purpose such that your purpose becomes fame, being greater than another person, boasting or acting for show. It is also a must for the one being advised to accept the advice no matter what its source, since it is a cause of reform and good for him. He should be kind to the advisor and have respect and love for him. He should not be tough with him or harsh or reject his advice to his face. We must all bear with each other concerning our mistakes and excuse one another as long as our goal and purpose is goodness and reform.

Issues

• Is Naseehah a communal obligation? Or more?
• What is the explanation of “Leaders of Muslims…” till end?
• How can we advice to the Muslim leaders and common folk?

(To read about the above mentioned issues, refer to the book mentioned below)

Summarized from Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo’s Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi (1999), pg. 397-416. Al-Basheer Publications & Translations.

 Allah ﷻ knows best.