Giving Sincere Advice

The giving of sincere advice enjoys a sublime and exalted position in
Islam, and how could thisnot be so? The Prophet considered the giving
of sincere advice on a parwith the religion as whole. The Prophet
said: " Religion is giving sincere advice. "
A person would give sincere advice to others when he loves and
sympathizes with them, when he wishes goodness for them, and when he
wishes to thwart evil and harm from them. Thus, Ibn Al-Atheer said
that giving sincere advice is an indication of the advisor's wish to
bring about goodness for the one advised.
The Companions gave an oath of allegiance to the Prophet that they
would sincerely advise the Muslims: Jareer ibn 'Abdullaah said, " I
gave the oath of allegiance to the Prophet that I would perform
prayers, pay the Zakaah, and give advice to every Muslim. "
In fact, a person who sincerely advises people, seeking goodness for
them, is one of the vicegerents of Allaah The Almighty upon the earth.
Al-Hasan said, " There still exist persons who give sincere advice for
the sake of Allaah The Almighty. They sincerely advise people for the
sake of Allaah and educate them as to what is due to Him. They
implement the order of Allaah The Almighty uponthe earth by giving
sincere advice - and these are the vicegerents of Allaah upon the
earth. "
To Whom Should Sincere Advice be Given?
Sincere advice is for Allaah, His Messenger, His Book, and to the
Muslim leaders and the public at large. Imaam ibn Hajar said,
Sincere advice for Allaah The Almighty means describing Him with the
appropriate attributes, submitting to Him overtlyand covertly, seeking
His pleasure through obeying Him, fearing His anger by not disobeying
Him, and striving to help sinners return to Him.
Sincere advice for His Book means learning andteaching it, reciting
and writing its letters properly, understanding its meanings,
observing its boundaries, applying its instructions and rebutting the
allegations that fabricators try to raise against it.
Sincere advice for His Messenger means venerating him, supporting him
during his life and after his death, reviving his Sunnah by learning
and teaching it, following his example in sayings and actions, and
loving him and his followers.
Sincere advice to the Muslim leaders means assisting them in the tasks
with which they areassigned, alerting them when they are heedless,
covering their unintentional mistakes, uniting people upon their
obedience, and guiding straying hearts back to them. The greatest
sincere advice that a person may give tothem is to prevent them -in
the best way possible -from oppression.
The Imaams of Ijtihaad [those who issue rulings] are among the Muslim
leaders, and sincere advice to them means disseminating their
knowledge and merits and thinking good of them.
Sincere advice to the Muslim masses means having compassion for them,
seeking what benefits them, teaching them what is useful for them,
preventing harm from them, loving for them what a person would love
for himself, and hating for them what a person would hate for himself.
Shaykh 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Naasir As-Sa'di said, " Sincere advice for
Allaah and His Messenger implies true belief in them, sincerity in
makingJihaad, determination to perform it when one can do so, and
trying one's best to encourage and urge Muslims to do so. Sincere
advice begins with sincerely advising oneself first, for rarely will a
person advise others sincerely if he cheats himself. "
The Messengers were the Most Concerned of all with Sincerely Advising
Their People
The Prophets of Allaah, may Allaah exalt their mention, endeavored to
call people to Allaah. They were extremely keen on guiding them and
spared no effort in giving them sincere advice. For instance, Prophet
Nooh (Noah) said to his people (what means): {But [I] am a messenger
from the Lord of the worlds. I convey toyou the messages of my Lord
and advise you...} [Quran 7:61-62] The messengers who succeeded Nooh
followed his way in giving sincere advice. Prophet Hoode (Hud) said to
his people (what means): {I am to you a trustworthy adviser.} [Quran
7:68] Prophet Saalih said (what means): {I advised you, but you do not
like advisors.} [Quran 7:79] Prophet Shu'ayb said (what means): {O my
people, I had certainly conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and
advised you.} [Quran 7:93]
Also, the Companions of Prophet Muhammad confirmed that he conveyed
the message of Allaah The Exalted and sincerely advised his people. It
was narrated on the authority of Jaabir that the Prophet said to his
Companions: " You will be questioned about me [in the Hereafter]; what
are you going to say? " They replied, "We will testify that you have
conveyed the message, fulfilled it and have given sincere advice."
Giving Sincere Advice is a Due Right upon a Muslim from His Brother
The Prophet considered the giving of sincere advice as one of the
greatest rights that are due upon Muslims; he said: " There are six
rights due upon a Muslimfrom his Muslim brother… " one of which was: "
… giving him sincere adviceif he asks for it. " The Prophet also said:
" If any of you consults his [Muslim] brother, he [the latter] should
sincerely advise him. "
Allaah The Almighty has doubled the reward of the sincere advisor who
gives his advice hoping for the wellbeing of other Muslims. It was
narrated on the authorityof 'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar that the Prophet
said: " If a slave sincerely advises his master and worships Allaah
properly,he will have his reward doubled. " Moreover, he will be one
of the first people to enter Paradise. He also said: " I have been
shown the three types of people who will enter Paradise first: A
martyr; a chaste person who sought chastity; and a slave who
worshipped Allaah properly and gave sincere advice to his masters. "
Etiquettes of Sincerely Giving Advice
Advice has a sublime position in Islam. A beneficial sincere advice is
the one in which the advisor abides by the etiquettes of the Sharee'ah
that the scholars have mentioned.Among those etiquettes are:
1- The advisor should give his advice sincerely for the sake of Allaah
TheAlmighty, without seeking ostentation, fame, worldly gain or
showing superiority.
2- The advisor should have enough knowledge about the advice which he
is giving. This is because advising is a form of enjoining the good
and forbidding the evil. If a person does not have enough knowledge
about what he is advising about, he may forbid the good, thinkingthat
he is forbidding an evil, and vice versa.
3- He should give it privately. Giving advice publicly is a reproach
andrebuke that is disliked. Mis'ar ibn Kidaam said, "May Allaah have
mercy upon a person who presented my faults to me in secret, for
givingadvice in public is a rebuke."
4- Gentleness in giving advice and avoiding excess and rebuke. The
Prophet said: " Gentleness does not enter anything except that it
adorns it. "
On his part, the one being advised should listen to the advice,
applythe good that it contains and rid himself of the evildesires of
the self. The righteous predecessors would consider advice a gift that
the advisor had presented them. 'Umar said, " May Allaah havemercy
upon a person who gifted me my faults! " Also the advisee should not
let harshness of the advisor deprive him of benefiting from the
advice.
We ask Allaah The Almighty to make us all from those who listen to
speech and follow the best of it.

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