14. A TRUE PERSON PRESERVES THE LIMITS (HIFZ AL-HUDUD) AND SINCERITY OF DEED (IKHLAS AL-AMAL)
Do not be fooled by a man’s humming (of supplications) and what you observe of him performing prayers, fasting, alms giving and self-isolation (uzla). The true man is one who observes two things: Preserves the limits (hifz al-hudud), and is sincere in his deed (ikhlas al-‘amal).
How often have we seen a worshipper (muta’abbad) who exceeds the limits through backbiting and commits forbidden deeds on a whim! How often have we found a religious person, the purpose of whose deeds was not for Allah, the Almighty!
This illness fluctuates among people. A true person is one who observes the limits set by Allah—which are His obligations— and one whose intentions (qasd) are proper so that his words and deeds are sincerely (khdlis) for Allah, not aiming for people or their praise.
A man may be humble to be called ‘ascetic’ (zahid), he may be silent to be labeled ‘God-fearing’ (kha’if), and he may be disinterested in the worldly pleasures to be known as a ‘hermit’ (nasiq).
The mark of a sincere person (mukhlis) is to be among people in public, as he is in solitude (khalwa) by himself. He may even feign smiling and happiness among people to avoid being called an ascetic (zahid).
Ibn Sirin used to laugh in the day, but when the night came, it was as if he killed the townsfolk.
Know that the Worshipped (Allah) does not want associates (shirka). The sincere one dedicates the deeds to Him alone, and the insincere one associates with Him to gain people’s praise.
This will turn against him, because the hearts of people are in Hand of Allah, and He will turn them against him and not the other way round.
Therefore, a successful person is one whose deeds are mostly hidden (from people) and sincerely (khalisr) for Allah. This is the one loved by people, even if he did not care for them, for they hate the insincere, even if his worship was evident.
A person who has these attributes does not make short on pursuing knowledge {talab al-‘ilm) or virtues fadait). He fills his time with as much good as he can and his heart does not grow weary of its work, until it is fully occupied with the Truth (that is Allah).
(Source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
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