Because of the importance and high status of sincerity in Islam, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stipulated it as a condition for those who came to swear allegiance to him, pledging to follow Islam, namely the noble Sahabah. Here we see Jarir ibn ‘Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah (may Allah be pleased with him) died, which occurred in 50 AH, when he was the governor of Kufah, during the caliphate of Mu‘awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). Before he died, he appointed his son ‘Urwah as interim governor. It was also suggested that he appointed Jarir ibn ‘Abdillah as interim governor, which is why he delivered this speech after the death of al-Mughirah. So he praised and glorified Allah, and said: “I urge you to fear Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and to be people of dignity and tranquility.” He enjoined these things upon them because usually the death of governors may lead to upheaval and turmoil, especially as the people of Kufah at that time were known to be opposed to the authorities. Moreover he urged them to maintain dignity – which means mature thinking, wisdom and rationality – until a new governor came to take the place of their recently-deceased governor al-Mughirah. He told them that the new governor would come “soon” so as to make things easier for them, and that is indeed what happened, because when news of al-Mughirah’s death reached Mu‘awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), he wrote to his governor in Basrah, Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, instructing him to go to Kufah and serve as its governor. Then Jarir said to them: Pray for pardon for your governor; in other words, ask Allah (may He be exalted) to pardon him, for he loved to pardon the people’s misdemeanours, and the reward matches the nature of the deed. According to a report narrated by Ahmad, he said, “pray for forgiveness”, meaning: ask Allah to forgive him. Then Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the story of how he swore allegiance to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He said, “To proceed (amma ba‘d),” which is a word used when moving from one topic to another. What is meant is: I say, after opening with the shahadah and words praising Allah (may He be glorified and exalted): “I came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, let me swear allegiance to you, pledging to follow Islam” that is, promising to do that. The Arabic word translated here as pledging (bay‘ah) likens this action to a financial transaction, as if each party is giving something in return for what he takes from the other party. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stipulated that he should be sincere to every Muslim man and woman, which means being keen to benefit them, helping them to attain all that is good and warding off from them all that is bad, in both word and deed. Muslims are mentioned in particular because this is what is usually the case [in a majority-Muslim society]. However, sincerity towards disbelievers also matters, which means calling them to Islam and offering sound and sincere advice if they ask for it. So Jarir swore allegiance on that basis. Then Jarir swore an oath to them, saying: By the Lord of this mosque, I am sincere to you. This is an indication that he fulfilled his pledge to the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as he advised them to do what was in their best interests, swearing that his words were sincere and free of any ulterior motives. Then he concluded his speech by asking Allah for forgiveness, and stepped down. This indicates that he delivered his speech from the minbar, or that he had been standing and sat down, because the beginning of the report says that he stood up and praised and glorified Allah. This hadith indicates that it is obligatory to be sincere towards the Muslims. It also indicates that a knowledgeable person may exhort people if he sees some development that he fears may cause trouble for them, and that he may encourage them to be united and in harmony, and to avoid dissent and division..