Sincerity: A sign of a true believer

God has set forth Ibrahim (as), Ishaq (as) and Yaqub (as) as examples for true believers, as in the following:

And remember Our servants Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya’qub, men of true strength and inner sight. We purified their sincerity through sincere remembrance of the Abode . The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 38, Verses 45-46


God also stressed that Musa (as) reached a high level of purification. A verse states as follows:

Mention Musa in the Book. He was truly sincere and was a messenger and a prophet. The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 19, Verse 51
We must ponder deeply the high morality of God’s prophets, and strive like them to become purified servants.

The Qur’an announced that only those who are blind and deaf will not benefit from the reminders and verses of God. True believers, on the other hand, are "those who, when they are reminded of the Signs of their Lord, do not turn their backs, deaf and blind to them." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 25, Verse 73. Those who fear God and guard against evil are capable of perceiving the wisdom of the verses of the Qur’an. They draw lessons from them, and thus, acquire sincerity. Therefore, believers could never be indifferent to such reminders from God. Even if someone has until then failed to think about the importance of sincerity, just one moment spent to check his intentions would be sufficient to purify himself. With God’s permission, this improvement converts later deeds into pious ones, and grants the person the honor of being "the best of creatures" in God’s sight.

Otherwise, if one sullies his deeds done to acquire God’s assent, by letting worldly ambitions interfere and invalidates them, instead of aiming to acquire sincerity, then he will certainly be acting immorally. This person may strive day and night and consider himself guided on the straight path of morality. However, he will not be among those who turn to God purely, as he does not strive to acquire sincerity. Surat al-Kahf puts forth the example of such losers as follows:

Say: "Shall I inform you of the greatest losers in their actions? People whose efforts in the life of this world are misguided while they suppose that they are doing good." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 18, Verses 103-104

However, when he looks back upon his life, he will realize that there is nothing left to indicate that he had spent those years in this world. Neither the people whose consent he strove to acquire, nor the worldly goals he pursued, nor his arrogance, nor the devil who deceived him to damage his sincerity, will stand by him. He will stand in God’s presence alone and unaided, as he failed to turn to Him with a pure heart, and had harmed his sincerity by combining his faith, service and worship with other impurities. In Surat al-Hadid, God announces that this worldly life is nothing but a great deception:

Know that the life of the world is merely a game and a diversion and ostentation and a cause of boasting among yourselves and trying to outdo one another in wealth and children: like the plant-growth after rain which delights the cultivators, but then it withers and you see it turning yellow, and then it becomes broken stubble. In the hereafter there is terrible punishment but also forgiveness from God and His good pleasure. The life of the world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion. The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 57, Verse 20

Would one like to see that he has been striving in vain, in spite of his greater effort, merely because he had failed to endeavor to acquire sincerity, and did not live in accordance with the spirit of the Qur’an? Or, would one like to be one of the "best of creatures" who is granted "a wage which never fails" by purifying his intentions, heart and conscience and turns to God with heartfelt devotion, firmly embraces Him, and desires to acquire nothing but His consent? It is apparent that, for anyone who loves God, and who wishes to befriend Him and to turn to Him, the latter option is the only option to be taken.

Excerpted from Sincerity Described in the Qur'an by Harun Yahya