[Sharḥ] (Explanation)

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cited three hadiths in the chapter on sincere counsel. The first is the report of Tamīm ibn Aws ad-Dārī (may Allah be pleased with him) in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Religion is sincere counsel, religion is sincere counsel, religion is sincere counsel,” repeating the phrase three times so that the listener would pay full attention and receive the Prophet’s words with complete focus. We asked, “To whom, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “To Allah, to His Book, to His Messenger, to the leaders of the Muslims, and to their ordinary folk”—five parties to whom sincere counsel is due.

Sincere counsel to Allah, exalted is He, is shown by pure devotion to Him and by worshipping Him out of love and veneration. The servant worships Allah out of love, carrying out His commands in order to attain His love, and out of reverence, avoiding His prohibitions out of fear of Him, mighty and sublime.

Part of sincere counsel to Allah is that a person remain in constant remembrance of his Lord—by heart, tongue, and limbs. As for the heart, its remembrance knows no bounds; one can remember Allah inwardly in every situation, regarding whatever he sees or hears. Indeed, everything bears a sign that points to Allah’s oneness, greatness, and sovereignty. Thus he reflects on the creation of the heavens and the earth, on night and day, and on Allah’s signs in the sun, moon, stars, mountains, trees, animals, and the like, and such reflection stirs remembrance of Allah the Exalted within his heart.

Another aspect of counsel to Allah is to feel protective jealousy for His sake, so that when His sacred limits are violated one becomes indignant for Allah’s honor—just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was, for he never sought retaliation for himself