The meaning of being sincere towards Allah and how the Muslim can achieve that

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

Sincerity towards Allah is the best type of sincerity. The
Muslim is being sincere towards his Lord if he achieves sincerity in three
aspects: faith and proper belief, acts of obedience, and morals and manners.
Faith does not mean mere wishful thinking. The one who is sincere in his
faith is the one who attains faith in the way his Lord wants from him, which
includes sincerity in faith, sincerity in intention, and sincerity in fear
of Allah, may He be exalted. Not every act of obedience is sincere unless it
is done, both outwardly and inwardly, in a manner which Allah likes.

Allah has described the sincere in one verse, in which He
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, and each and
every act of obedience to Allaah) that you turn your faces towards east and
(or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes
in Allaah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets and gives his
wealth, in spite of love for it, to the kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to
Al-Masaakeen (the poor), and to the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and to
set slaves free, performs As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah), and gives the
Zakât, and who fulfil their covenant when they make it, and who are patient
in extreme poverty and ailment (disease) and at the time of fighting (during
the battles).” Then Allah says, after listing all
these attributes: “Such are the people of the truth
and they are Al‑Muttaqoon (the pious)”

[al-Baqarah 2:177].

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This verse includes a number of great meanings, important
principles and sound beliefs.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/485.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sa’di (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: “Such” means those who have the characteristics mentioned, such
as good beliefs and actions which are the effect, evidence and light of
faith; the morals and manners which lend dignity to man and are the essence
of humanity. These are the ones who are “the people of the truth”,
whose faith is sincere, because their actions confirm their faith. “And
they are Al‑Muttaqoon (the pious)”, because they refrained from what is
forbidden and did what is enjoined, because these things include all good
attributes by implication, and because fulfilling one’s covenant is the
essence of the entire religion, and because the acts of worship mentioned in
this verse are the greatest acts of worship and the one who does them will
undoubtedly do other acts of worship. They are the righteous, the sincere
people of truth, the pious.

Tafseer al-Sa’di, p. 83

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have
mercy on him) said:

Among the things we learn from this verse is that what is
mentioned is true sincerity towards Allah and towards His creation, because
Allah says: “Such are the people of the truth”; they are sincere
towards Allah, as on the basis of these good beliefs they establish faith
and belief in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book and the Prophets,
and they establish prayer, pay zakaah, and give what is dear to them to the
charitable causes mentioned. As for their sincerity towards Allah’s
creation, that is included in the words of Allah: “who fulfil their
covenant when they make it”, which is one of the signs of sincerity.
Hence Allah says: “Such are the people of the truth”, as they are
sincere in their beliefs, in their interactions with Allah and with other
people.

Tafseer Soorat al-Baqarah,
2/293, 294

Secondly:

You should note that sincerity with Allah is not something
that we can make a show of and convince ourselves of whilst abandoning
righteous deeds. Rather sincerity towards Allah is in the intention and in
the action when we do it and when the means of doing it become available.
The one who is sincere towards his Lord will, by means of the sincerity of
his intention, attain that (reward) which the one who does the action
attains, if something keeps him from doing the action. It was narrated from
Sahl ibn Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever sincerely asks Allaah for
martyrdom, Allaah will cause him to attain the status of the martyrs, even
if he dies in his bed.” Narrated by Muslim, 1909.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

A person can have nothing more beneficial than sincerity
towards his Lord in all his affairs, along with sincerity of resolve, so he
should be sincere towards Him in his resolve and in his actions. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “And when the matter (preparation for
Jihaad) is resolved on, then if they had been true to Allaah, it would have
been better for them” [Muhammad 47:21]. So his happiness lies in
sincerity of resolve and sincerity of action. Sincerity of resolve means
certain desire to do an action and not hesitating to do it. If his resolve
is sincere, all that is left is sincerity of action, which is doing one’s
best and striving one’s utmost when doing it , and not letting anything,
outward or inward, hold him back from it. Resolve of purpose prevents him
from becoming weak-willed and sincerity of action prevents him from becoming
lazy or lethargic. If a person is sincere towards Allah in all his affairs,
Allah will give him more than He gives to others, and this sincerity results
from true love of Allah and true trust in Him. So the most sincere of people
is the one who is loves Allah most and puts most trust in Him.

Al-Fawaa’id, p. 186, 187

Thirdly:

A Muslim may be confused as where to begin, and how he should
order his affairs by night and day. But this should not form an obstacle for
the one who seeks to do good or seek knowledge or call people to Allah. The
Muslim may rid himself of this confusion by organising his time. He can
allocate the first part of his day for memorizing Qur’aan, and he can
organise the rest of his days for seeking knowledge by means of tapes,
reading books, and attending classes and study circles, and fulfilling
whatever duties he or she may have as a husband or wife, whether he or she
is working or not.

What we advise our sister to do is to start and not delay,
and to be sincere in your intention so that Allah will make your affairs
easy for you.

For more information please see the answer to question number
105308 .

We ask Allah to help you to obey Him and to guide you and
give you strength.

And Allah knows best.