In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, Respected viewers, brothers and sisters in Islam, Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all.

Sincerity is a crucial element of repentance and salvation in Islam. One of the fundamentals of Islam is sincerity, and Muslims are greatly encouraged to practice sincerity in their relationship with Allah, as well as their relationships with one another. Sincerity during worship is associated with faithfulness in Islam. It is one of the most important criteria God uses to judge the state of an individual's heart.

When observing the actions of humans, Allah distinguishes between the ones who worship him to please him and between the ones who worship him in order to attain the adulation and admiration of other humans.

One English translation of a hadith, or saying, of the Prophet Muhammad, reads, "Verily, deeds are rewarded by intention. And everyone will have the reward for that which he has intended."

Allah has described sincerity 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 Allah) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allah, 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)”

Us Muslims believe that worship eliminates our sins. But mere good deeds are not enough. In order for them to count toward salvation, these actions must be accompanied by the sincere desire to repent and gratify God. The Quran promises God's forgiveness to those who repent honestly: “Say: O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Imam Ali (AS) says “A person is sincere if his words and deeds, exterior and interior are the same; he fulfills his pledges and maintains purity in worship.” He also states “Whoever keeps in order his affairs with Allah (follows His orders sincerely), Allah will also put his affairs with men in order. Whoever makes arrangement for his salvation, Allah will arrange his worldly affairs; whoever is a preacher for himself, Allah will also protect him.”

Through this we can understand that even a small action of worship with sincerity is greater than a great amount of worship without sincerity.

Imam Ali was told of a Kharijite that he got up in the night to pray and recite the Holy Book. Imam Ali said, “To sleep with having sincere faith in religion and Allah is better than to pray with wavering faith”.

Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (AS), while explaining the utterance of God Almighty, "That He might try you (to see) which of you is fairest in works." (67:2) said: "It does not mean one of you whose deeds are more numerous but one who is more rightful in his conduct, and this rightness is nothing but fear of God and sincerity of intention (niyyah) and fear." Then he (AS) added: "To persevere in an action until it becomes sincere is more difficult than (performing) the action itself, and sincerity of action lies in this that you should not desire anyone to praise you for it except God Almighty, and intention supersedes action. Lo, verily, intention is action itself." Then he recited the Qur'anic verse, "Say, everyone acts in accordance with his character”

To conclude the first step in the journey towards God is abandonment of self-love and crushing the head of egoism under one's foot. To the extent that one succeeds in purging his or her heart of self-love, the love of God shall enter it to the same extent and it shall also be purified of latent shirk (egoism). Prophet Muhammad (s) said: “The person who devotes himself sincerely to God for forty days, streams of wisdom will flow from his heart to his tongue.”