The quote for Day 23 of Ramadan from my
box of things to think about is:
“The first stage of sincerity is that your private and public
state should be the same” ~ Imam Ghazali (RA)
Alhamdulillah, if you have ever had to
adapt for different situations, this quote will speak volumes: being the child
of immigrants and trying to fit in. Or being a religious Muslim at home and
playing your faith down outside at work or school.
For me it was the work of many years to
be authentic, honest and transparent. It took courage and learning not to care
what people think to be the same in private as in public. Then there is the questions of privately as
in internally and publicly as in openly.
To ensure that what is in your heart matches what you say and do. Again, I think this is part of life’s work -
to have the courage to be honest. To balance a need for privacy with being
sincere in what you say and do.
All of this in a world that does not
value sincerity. Often sincerity is seen
as keenness, being enthusiastic and not cool. It can be associated with naivety
and innocence. For Muslims there is the
balance between having ikhlas, or sincerity and not appearing naïve. May Allah (SWT) bless the Muslims with
sincerity and ikhlas insh'Allah.
There is a nice article here on
five steps to achieving sincerity insh’Allah.
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