Are Sincerity (Ikhlas) and Honesty (Sidq) in Worship the Same?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
Is sincerity (ikhlas) in worship the same as honesty (sidq), or are they different?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
Key Distinctions Between Honesty and Sincerity
Honesty (sidq) and sincerity (ikhlas) overlap in some respects and differ in others. The distinction between the two is that sincerity removes both hidden and apparent forms of shirk (associating others with Allah), whereas honesty completely eliminates any form of pretense or hypocrisy.
Definitions of Honesty and Sincerity in Tazkiya
The scholars of purification of the heart (tazkiya) define:
Honesty (Sidq): The renunciation of any personal desires in one’s pursuit of Allah (Most High), and a state in which the servant’s outward and inward states are in harmony. They further explain that honesty entails a purification of the heart and inner self from any inclination toward anything other than Allah (Most High).
Sincerity (Ikhlas): Removing all considerations of creation from one’s dealings with the Divine and directing one’s worship solely to Allah (Most High), so that the heart is entirely focused on Allah and nothing else.
Ibn ‘Ajiba’s Analogy
Ibn ‘Ajiba explains the relationship between honesty and sincerity with the analogy of fire purifying gold. Honesty removes any traces of hypocrisy and refines the self from impurities and illusions. While a person with sincerity might still harbor subtle tendencies toward self-indulgence or desires, an honest person is free from all such inclinations, as true honesty cannot coexist with any degree of pretense, whether minor or major. [See: Ibn ‘Ajiba, Mi‘raj al-Tashawwuf]
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa
Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.
He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.
He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.
Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.
