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Fatwa CenterMeaning of Naseehah in the Hadeeth: the religion is Naseehah
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. There is a hadith that says that we should give 'naseehah' to Allah, his messengers and his books. What does this mean, as I read that naseehah means advice, so how can you give advice to Allah or his messenger or his books. I read somewhere that it means to believe and obey, but I do not understand how they got that as naseehah means advice, not obedience, am I right in this or does it also mean obedience. What is the meaning of the hadith and can naseehah mean obedience or belief?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The hadeeth which you referred to was narrated by Tameem ad-Daari, may Allaah be pleased him, and says that the Prophet said, “The Religion is naseehah (sincerity or sincere advice)." They said, "For whom?'' He replied, "For Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and for the leaders of the Muslims and their masses." [Muslim]
Naseehah is not restricted to words only, but also to actions, and the original meaning of the word naseehah in the Arabic language is pureness; the Arabs say: Nasahtu al-‘asal, meaning: I purified the honey from the wax; and naseehah is making the work free from deceit, so naseehah is making the work sincere and filtering it from impurities. The Quran also used a verb derived from the word naseehah to give the same meaning as that mentioned in the hadeeth; Allah says (what means): {…when they are sincere to Allah and His Messenger…} [Quran 9:91]
Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer:
“The scholars said: Naseehah for Allah means sincerely believing in the Oneness of Allah and describing Him with the Attributes of Divinity and considering Him free from imperfections and desiring to do what He loves and refraining from doing what causes His Wrath. Naseehah for His Messenger is to believe in his prophecy, obey him in what he ordered us to do and what he forbade us from doing and being an ally to those who are allies to him and being an enemy to his enemies and respecting him and loving him and the people of his household and glorifying him and his Sunnah and reviving it after his death by looking for it, trying to understand it, defending it, spreading it and calling to it, as well as having his morals.”
Allah knows best.
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