Al-Farrā’ said regarding His words:

“So say, ‘I have submitted myself wholly to Allah.’”

[Surah Āl Imrān: 20]

It means: “I have made my deeds sincere.”

Al-Zajjāj said: “I have directed my worship to Allah.” The meaning is as they stated, and its interpretation has already been explained elsewhere.

This is the meaning around which the Quran revolves. Allah Most High commanded that none be worshiped but Him, and worshiping Him consists of doing what He has commanded and refraining from what He has prohibited. The former is to devote one’s religion and deeds sincerely to Allah; the latter is excellence in action—that is, righteous deeds.

For this reason, Umar would say in his supplication:

“O Allah, make all my deeds righteous, make them sincerely for Your Countenance, and give no one else any share in them.”

This is what it means for a deed to be sincere and correct. Al-Fudayl ibn Iyād said regarding His words:

“That He may test you as to which of you is best in deeds.”

[Surah Hūd: 7]

He said: “The most sincere and the most correct.”

They asked, “Abū Alī, what does ‘the most sincere and the most correct’ mean?”

He replied, “If a deed is sincere but not correct, it is not accepted; and if it is correct but not sincere, it is not accepted—not until it is both sincere and correct. Sincere means that it is done for Allah, and correct means that it conforms to the Sunnah.”

Enjoining adherence to the Sunnah and forbidding innovation is (1) commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and it is among the best righteous deeds. One must therefore seek Allah’s Countenance through it, and it must conform to what has been commanded.

It is stated in a hadith:

“Whoever commands what is right and forbids what is wrong should be thoroughly knowledgeable (2) about what he commands, thoroughly knowledgeable (3) about what he forbids, gentle in what he commands, [gentle regarding what he