Muslim

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:

AL-NASIHAH (النَّصِيحَةُ):
The word "nasiha" is extremely comprehensive and profound, encompassing all forms of goodness. Just as it is said, "al-hajj is Arafah," meaning that without standing in Arafah, Hajj is not valid, similarly, the religion consists of goodwill and sincere advice; without it, religion is null and void.

Some scholars have considered it derived from the idiom "nasaha al-rajulu thawbahu" (a man sewed his garment), thus nasiha refers to the act by which the faults and deficiencies of others are removed, and their affairs are rectified and improved.

Others have considered it derived from "nasah’tu al-‘asal" (“I purified the honey from wax”), which implies sincerity and purity. Therefore, the meaning of nasiha would be to improve and rectify the affairs of others with sincerity.

Benefits and Issues:
(a)
Nasiha for Allah, the Exalted, means:
To affirm the essence of Allah and all His attributes without likening or comparing them (bi-la tashbih wa tamthil).
To follow His commands,
not to associate anyone with Him in His worship,
not to attribute anything to Him that is contrary to His majesty, and to invite others to His worship and servitude,
and to perform all these acts with utmost sincerity and truthfulness.

(b)
Nasiha for the Book of Allah is to acknowledge it as the speech of Allah, which is unparalleled,
and as an attribute of Allah.
To honor and revere it,
to recite it,
to ponder and reflect upon it, and to submit to its commands and guidance,
to strive for its dissemination and propagation,
and to refute the objections of those who spread doubts and suspicions against it.

(c)
Nasiha for His Messenger is to have faith in his prophethood,
to love and revere him, and to follow and obey him, and to be ready to support and defend him,
to love his friends and to have enmity towards his enemies, and to propagate and spread the religion he brought.

(d)
Nasiha for Muslim rulers is to obey them in righteous and correct matters,
to treat them with respect and honor.
Not to oppose them without reason and not to raise the banner of rebellion against them.
If what is meant are the Imams of the religion, then it means to honor and respect them,
to have good feelings towards them,
to act according to the guidance and teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah,
to benefit from their knowledge and virtue,
but this does not mean to blindly follow them,
because the principle "There is no obedience to the created in disobedience to the Creator" applies not only to political leaders,
but also to the Imams of the religion, and no claim of infallibility can be made for any Imam,
therefore, not every statement of theirs can be accepted blindly.
This status and rank is reserved only for the Prophet, that every statement of his must be accepted and acted upon;
this is the essence of faith,
without which a person
cannot be a true believer.

(s)
Nasiha for the Muslim masses is to treat them with goodwill and compassion,
to protect their lives, wealth, honor, and dignity,
to share in their joys and sorrows,
not to harbor envy, malice, hatred, or anger against them in the heart,
to conceal their faults,
and to advise them regarding matters of benefit in religion and worldly affairs.

Benefits and Issues:
The meaning of giving sincere advice (nasiha) for Allah is that a person remains devoted in servitude (‘ubudiyyah) to his Lord.
He should affirm and express His oneness (tawhid) and remain disavowed and distant from shirk (associating partners with Allah).
Giving sincere advice for the Messenger is to affirm and express his messengership and to obey him without reluctance, remaining disavowed and distant from innovations (bid‘ah).
He should make the Book of Allah his constitution for life and strive to conduct all matters in its light.
Giving sincere advice for the rulers of the time is to obey them in matters of goodness and virtue and to be their helper.
He should not incite feelings of opposition against them among the people without reason, and he should deal with the general Muslims with goodness in matters of religion and worldly affairs according to their respective ranks—this is what constitutes sincere advice for them.

Religion is the name of sincerity. If there is no sincerity, then vile traits such as shirk (associating partners with Allah), hypocrisy, ostentation, deceit, and fraud arise. And sincerity towards Allah, the Exalted, is that one worships Him alone, calls upon Him alone, relies upon Him alone, and fears Him alone. Sincerity towards the Book is that one acts upon it and respects it. Sincerity towards the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is that one obeys him, loves him more than anything else, is willing to sacrifice oneself for his command, and does not care for anyone in opposition to him. Sincerity towards the rulers is that, after pledging allegiance to them, one remains loyal to them and, as much as possible within the limits of the Shari‘ah, obeys them, and does not rebel against them. And sincerity towards the common Muslims is that one is their well-wisher, does not deceive them, does not cause harm to anyone, and keeps others safe from one’s own evil.

Takhrij:
«أخرجه مسلم، الإيمان، باب بيان أن الدين النصيحة، حديث:55.»©Explanation:
➊ Sincerity (well-wishing) for Allah means to have the correct belief that none besides Him is worthy of worship, nor is there any deity or owner except Him. And there should be sincerity in His worship as well.
➋ Sincerity for His Book means to affirm this Book and to act according to the teachings contained within it.
➌ Sincerity for His Messenger means to accept his messengership and prophethood with true conviction of the heart, to comply with his commands without any hesitation, and to refrain from whatever he has prohibited.
➍ Sincerity for the leaders (imams) means to obey them in matters of truth and not to rebel or revolt against them due to minor severity.
➎ Sincerity for the general Muslims means to guide them towards good deeds.
© Hadith Narrator:
«حضرت تمیم داری رضی اللہ عنہ » His kunyah is Abu Ruqayyah.
His name is Tamim bin Aws bin Kharijah Dari.
He accepted Islam in the 9th year of Hijrah.
He resided in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).
He was the one who conveyed the information about Jassasah to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
According to Ibn Sirin, he memorized the entire Qur’an and would recite the whole Qur’an in a single night.
And according to Abu Nu’aym, Tamim was the first Companion who lit lamps in the mosques.
He passed away in the year 40 Hijri.

Benefit:
Nasiha (advice) means to act with goodwill towards others. The word nasiha is originally derived from "nasiha al-'asal," which refers to purifying honey, i.e., when honey is cleansed of impurities. From this, it is understood that sincerity (ikhlas) is included in the meaning of nasiha. Some say it is derived from "nasiha ath-thawb limansahatuhu," meaning to mend a tear in a garment with a needle. From this, it is understood that rectification (islah) is included in the meaning of nasiha. Imam Khattabi rahimahullah states that nasiha is a comprehensive term; its meaning is that the one to whom nasiha is given should be given all his due rights and portions in full.

Thus, the meaning of this noble hadith is that religion is that a person should be sincere for Allah Ta'ala and fulfill all His rights. With sincerity and true heart, he should have faith in the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, obey him, adopt his sunnahs, and if, due to people's ignorance or base desires, any corruption has entered the religion—such as innovations (bid'ah) and customs—then he should rectify the religion. He should be sincere with the leaders of the Muslims (i.e., Islamic rulers), fulfill their rights, support them, and if there is any fault in them, then inform them gently and seek their rectification, and refrain from rebellion and uprising against them. He should fulfill the rights of the common Muslims and be concerned for their rectification.