Page 12 - Spirit of Islam-May'17

SINCERITY
True Value of Moral Action

INCERITY is a necessary condition for all religious acts. Only those
religious acts that are done with sincerity are religious acts in
Sthe true sense. An apparently religious act that lacks sincerity is
actually useless.
Our minds are a vast jungle of thoughts. They are always filled with
all sorts of demands, desires and motivations. This can lead people
to biased thinking. In this regard, sincerity demands that a person
should free oneself from preconceived notions and form opinions in
an objective manner.
The above principle must be applied to religious and moral actions as
well. If one does some religious act purely for the sake of God, then in
God’s eyes it will be regarded as sincerity in one’s intention. In contrast,
if one performs a religious act by adding some other, personal motive
in it—for instance, the desire for fame or in
order to be seen as very noble by others,
Sincerity demands etc.,—the action becomes devoid of sincerity.
that a person should It will have no value in God’s eyes.
free oneself from There is no external standard to gauge
preconceived notions a person’s sincerity. Sincerity is entirely
and form opinions in something related to one’s inner intention.
an objective manner. Only the person and God, who is fully aware
of what one thinks—can know it. o

Negative Experiences

Make negative experiences grist to
the mill for your own personality
development. Nurture yourself on
what they teach you.

10 Spirit of Islam Issue 53 May 2017