 موضع الله سبيل علينا الشيطان اللعين الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين نحمده ونستعينه به ونتوكل عليه والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الخلق وخاتم الأنبياء وسيد المرسلين حبيب إله العالمين نبينا محمد المصطفى وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين المعصومين المطاهرين المكرمين وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين وخاتم الأنبياء وسيد المرسلين السلام عليكم ورحمة الله تعالى وبركاته واحد من المصطفى ومصطفى قرآن ون Doubt من المصطفى قرآن هو المصطفى بالنسبة to the Household of Purity, Nobility the Household of Generosity and Magnanimity يهل البيت Peace and Blessings be upon them when they dedicated and donated their food for three consecutive days as the Quran explains to us in سورة الإنسان ويطعمون الطعامة على حبه مسكينا ويتيمن وأسيرا الله سبحانه وتعالى across a number of verses highlights how these group of pure individuals thought about others before themselves took care of the needs of others before looking at their own requirements and their own needs indeed we are told that the أهل البيت عليهم السلام سيدة النساء فاطمة الزهراء Peace and Blessings be upon her her husband the commander of the faithful مولى المتقين علي ابنى بيطالب عليه السلام their sons إمام الحسن and حسين Peace and Blessings be upon them and we are told their servant فضى رضوان الله تعالى عليها had made this vow that they will fast for three days if the imams حسن and حسين are cured from their illness and the first day that they observed this fast a knock on the door is heard whereby a poor individual requests some assistance one after the other they all give that individual their entire portion of loaf or the bread that they had that they would use to break their fast that day they did not half it they did not quarter it they all dedicated it and donated it to this particular individual they broke their fast with water and slept hungry the next day an orphan comes and requests the same thing once again this household that is known for its generosity did exactly the same as the first day gave its food to this particular orphan and on the third day a captive who perhaps was not necessarily a Muslim requested assistance requested food and أمير المؤمنين سيدة النساء فاطمة الحسن and حسين سيدة فضى would give their bread and whatever they had to break their fast with and indeed when the prophet of Islam محمد المصطفى صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم saw them there after saw that they were pale for three days they had not eaten anything they had broken their fast with water only and الله تعالى across a number of ayat what exhibits the praise upon these holy individuals and their eternal sacrifice as well as their achievement of altruism and kindness one of the important areas to focus and to seek lessons and to implement in our lives as far as this story is concerned هو ما القرآن يجب أن تقوم بعمل أهل البيت أهل البيت عليهم السلام يجب أن أخبروا why they did what they did الله تبارك وتعالى يقول إنما نطعمكم لوجه الله لا نريد منكم جزاءاً ولا شكوراً نحن نعطيكم هذا الهاتف نحن نعطيكم للمساعدة الله نحن لا نحتاج للمساعدة أو للمساعدة منكم من هؤلاء هؤلاء هؤلاء سبباً قبل أن يطعمون الطعام على حبه مسكيناً ويتيماً وأسيراً They provide and give food for the sake of Allah due to the love of the Almighty سبحانه وتعالى Not as some unfortunately have said for the love of the food despite the desire for food على حبه إن القرآن refers to the magnitude of the love and the compassion that the Ahl al-Bayt عليهم السلام had towards the absolute perfect being الله سبحانه وتعالى Why? Because the verse clearly says إنما نطعمكم لوجه الله When you put the next verse right next to this one you come to the conclusion that it was the purity of thought it was the sincerity it was the devotion it was the sincerity that was manifested by these holy individuals in this action of theirs and therefore it emerges for humankind to learn the virtue and the necessity of demonstrating purity of thought and purity of action in other words the requirement for our deeds to be presented sincerely for it to be accepted sincerely for the sake of Allah سبحانه وتعالى This story of the Ahl al-Bayt is one of many that highlights how these glorious individuals throughout their lives throughout their teachings have highlighted the importance of sincerity the importance of having purity of intention and purity of action and indeed the religion of Islam emphasizes this greatly The Holy Quran has numerous references to it ألا لله الدين الخالص الله سبحانه وتعالى says surely verily to Allah belongs the religion which is pure بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم والإني أمرت أن أعبد الله مخلصا لله الدين سي in chapter 39 verse 11 I have been commanded to worship Allah sincerely when it comes to my faith when it comes to my practice This sincerity of action and thought is many a times presented as a feature which is unique for the religion of Islam that it is the barometer by which the actions are measured and indeed accepted by Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the prophet of Islam رسول الله عليه وسلم in a famous narration says how will the deeds of you and I be measured well it is primarily through the intentions isn't it and therefore خلاص is defined as the pure unadulterated clean unshared intention for the sake of Allah and Allah سبحانه وتعالى alone and indeed when you and I throughout our lives purchase certain products do certain deeds and actions for other human beings want to accomplish certain tasks we are expected that these products are presented in its original form not tampered with not adulterated not changed where the products are mixed up if we want a certain brand we expect to buy that brand if we are told it's a mixture of several brands most people are not keen and are not interested to acquire that particular object we require and often ask for 100% purity or 100% originality when it comes to certain elements certain aspects that we want to purchase or obtain services included Allah سبحانه وتعالى says as far as our deeds are concerned they must be presented in that way for his sake and his sake alone and there must be no inclusion of the intention of others when it comes to our deeds he in a narration the prophet محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم tells the famous righteous companion أبو ذر الغفاري رضوان الله تعالى عليه يا أبا ذر ليكن لك في كل شيء نية صالحة أو أبا ذر make sure that your intention is righteous for everything you do even حتى في النوم والأكل even when it comes to your food when it comes to your sleep what is the message the message of the أهل البيت is ensure that every deed that you and I perform should be for the sake of Allah whether we eat we drink, we sleep we go out to work we go out to study whatever task we are about to perform it should be entirely for the sake of God and Allah سبحانه وتعالى alone and that purity that intention that hard work to make it second nature and to constantly inculcate ourselves with that mission and that objective produces amazing and brilliant results it produces fantastic outcomes صلى الله عليه وسلم highlights this to us he famously says اذا كان يوم القيامة نظر رضوان خازن الجنة on the day of judgment رضوان who is the angel in charge of paradise looks at people نظر إلى قوم لم يمروا به he looks at certain individuals who have entered paradise but he did not know about them they did not necessarily go through him or he wasn't aware how they entered paradise so he asks so you know surprised how did these people enter جنة من اين دخلتم how did you enter من انتم who are you people فيقولون they reply اياك انا don't worry about us فإن قوما عبدنا الله سرا we are people that worshiped Allah in private and he entered us in jannah in secret and in private how beautiful is this امام جعفر الصادق صلى الله عليه وسلم even that element is looked after by the Almighty وعلى and of course اهل البيت عليهم السلام اذكروا how امام علي ابن الحسين السجاد زينا العابدين امام بيس and blessings be upon him يجب ان يجد الناس and deliver it to the poor and the needy at night يجب ان يجد يدخل it next to those individuals without them knowing who this person is without necessarily identifying himself without telling them whom the person giving them food in reality is امام عمير المؤمنين بيس and blessings be upon him امام الحسين وحسين عليهم السلام they passed by after the burial of the Imam and they saw a man crying when they asked him why are you crying he said that you know there is a man who kept coming to me and providing me with food he would speak to me but if I knew who this person was after three days he has not come to me I have not seen him I miss his presence they said this is our father امير المؤمنين this man was so shocked he was weeping and he requested that there he is taken to the grave of امير المؤمنين and so we find such beautiful practice of sincerity by the Ahl al-Bayt of nobility why is this important for us to remind ourselves on a continuous basis امام الصادق says according to a narration if an individual has a pure knee and Allah verifies that their intention is indeed pristine for his sake when they are given the reward of the act that they would have done if they had the resources for instance I may have the intention to build a school or to build a hospital or to for example hold the Majlis about Abdullah al-Hussain but maybe I'm not in a situation or a position to do so I may be in a place where it is not possible I may not have the financial capabilities امام عليه السلام says because your intention is pure and Allah knows if you had the money you would have for example have helped the Majlis or you would have contributed towards the orphanage you get the reward for actually doing that deed سبحان الله how generous is Allah سبحانه وتعالى how many ample opportunities exists for reward for the Almighty سبحانه وتعالى and yet of course at the same time as we find that there is so much reward given to us by the Almighty exemplified and demonstrated by the Ahl al-Bayt for purity of thought and sincerity there are also devastating consequences for ostentation which is known as for showing off for doing things for the sake of others for doing things to seek the approval of others for including others within our intentions and indeed we are told that if that unfortunately happens and it could easily happen according to the narration of the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم it is so easy for the human being to start doing things not for the sake of Allah and it will slip into their minds and in their heart as easily as it will be difficult to see an ant on a rock in a dark night it's impossible to see that and pick that up likewise sometimes not possible for us to feel we are pushed towards ostentation showing off or seeking the pleasure of others at the expense of the pleasure of the Almighty سبحانه وتعالى we are told according to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم صلى الله عليه وسلم that this individual who shows off who seeks the pleasure of others at the expense of the pleasure of the Almighty سبحانه وتعالى will be called upon on the Day of Judgment إن المرائي ينادع يوم القيامة يا فاجر يا غادر يا مرائي أو رچد أو دسدويل one or one who shows off continuously ظل عملك وبطل أجرك your deeds have been deviated your actions have been annihilated إذهب فأخذ أجركة من من كنت تعمل له go and take your reward from the one whom you sought to please go on الله says on the Day of Judgment who can help you other than the Almighty سبحانه وتعالى and those who can intercede from the permission of the Almighty سبحانه وتعالى and indeed if the human being somehow was under this false illusion that those people and their approval is of the greatest importance they will recognize how the Shaytan made it so disillusioned for them and they will feel a great sense and a state of remorse and thereafter of course for an individual who was seeking that sadly the Prophet of Islam would say that الله سبحانه وتعالى would say place their action in jahannam as he did not seek my pleasure in it أمير المؤمنين علي ابنة بيطالب says if you want to know the signs of somebody who is constantly showing off المراعي or is not مخلص is not demonstrating sincerity in their thought there are four signs according to the narration the first is they feel lethargic or lazy when they by themselves meaning that only in the presence of others they feel the need to do for example certain good deeds or to worship الله سبحانه وتعالى because others are watching them but when they by themselves they don't feel the need to for example put the effort or struggle and that is why the أهل البيت عليهم السلام have emphasized Salatul Layl the night prayers the holy prophet Muhammad in his famous statements to أمير المؤمنين would say to him علي عليك بصلاة الليل علي عليك بصلاة الليل or علي make sure you perform صلاة الليل of course the message was primarily for us أمير المؤمنين and the أهل البيت would find sweetness in the conversation with الله سبحانه وتعالى when it comes to the night prayers here we have سيد أزيين on that very difficult painful night the eve of the eleventh of محرم performing Salatul Layl while sitting down so the first quality is therefore or the first characteristic of a person who is showing off is their laziness in isolation the second is when they are with people they somehow feel the need to do more and to seek that particular attention and pattern the back from the individuals themselves and that's where it's compared to the first point in other words it's not that they're always busy or working hard when they're by themselves and likewise when they're out there with other human beings no it's when they're in isolation and they're very much bothered but when they are in public they somehow feel the need to do it so that people don't necessarily criticize or people don't necessarily say bad things about them and the third characteristic is that they increase the work once they are praised in other words they are not only hypocritical they have a dichotomy as far as their actions are concerned so their Prasala is longer in public for example they find the need to give more charity so that others would approve no what also happens is that when people praise them they do more and they only will do more if there is praise and therefore the fourth the characteristic is that Amir Mu'minin says according to the narration is that if they don't get praise they give up they're just looking for that particular good encouragement so to speak from people because that is why they're doing it therefore my dear brothers and sisters we as the followers of the Ahl al-Bait whom see them as the ship of salvation there is an honour for us to be able to be called the Shi'a of the Ahl al-Bait peace and blessings be upon them in order for us to be individuals who truly are labelled as their followers as their lovers as their true Shi'a we must be able to understand that sensitive and the delicate nature of the spirit and the soul of their deeds and actions and that is if we have doubt in our minds whatsoever why am I doing something it is better not to do it because the moment I do it for the sake of others then it will perhaps switch and change from a deed which I will be rewarded by Allah for to one that I may be punished for because it may become one that is a result of showing off people ask but how do I attain how do I seek to continuously become sincere and be of the مخلصين we must increase our knowledge and understanding of the faith towheed and monotheism and learn about the life of the holy prophet and the Ahl al-Bait peace be upon them all this is why the famous narration of the holy prophet Muhammad peace be upon him من قال لا إله إلا الله مخلصا فله الجنة whomsoever says لا إله إلا الله سنسيلي then the prophet of Islam continues but this لا إله إلا الله should be one that stops them from the committing of evil deeds and sins and transgressions against the Almighty number two if we are unsure and we are hesitant about whom we are doing it then we must do it in private if it is done in public yes number three we should be careful when we feel the need to speak to people about our actions yes sometimes it requires us to do that. أمير مؤمنين gave four types of charity الذين ينفقون أموالهم بالليل والنهاري سرن وعلانية at night during the day in private and in public yes sometimes we need to do some things in public but of course Allah knows the intention that why we are doing it so scrutinize and investigate our intentions very very carefully don't let us just do it without any reflection or introspection of why we do certain tasks and of course the Quran tells us beautifully إنّا أخلصناهم بخالصة ذكر الدار but certain individuals attain إخلاص and sincerity by the remembrance of the day of judgment the day of reckoning the day of measure accountability the day of remorse and the day of grief the more we can somehow picture the more we can keep that image in our minds the more we can understand how our deeds will be held accountable and how our deeds will be measured the more we are driven to ensure that it's done for the sake of Allah and for the sake of Allah and of course above all we have to ask Allah for this we have to beseech him we have to continuously be in the intercession of the Ahl al Bayt عليهم السلام to ensure that we do not deviate and if God forbid we do deviate we seek Toba and forgiveness from Allah for any act that we may have committed for the sake of others and if some people praise us then there is not a problem but we must not necessarily actively be looking for that praise given in the face of social media and for example the craving for attention that people have we must be very careful if we do something and promote it out there not necessarily looking for that pat in the back but rather doing it for the sake of Allah and Allah سبحانه وتعالى alone may Allah bless us and grant us that we practice sincerity and sincerity in the footsteps of the glorious ship of salvation Muhammad وعليهم أجمعين وآخر الدعوان أن الحمد لله رب العالمين مصلى الله وسلم و بارك على نبينا محمد المصطفى وعلى أهل بيتها الطيبين