Another example illustrating that deeds must be sincere for the sake of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: The hadith of Abu Hurayrah regarding the man who did not endure his wounds and killed himself

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The Shaykh : Here is the occasion to mention a hadith in *Sahih al-Bukhari*, which is also from the hadiths of the one among the Companions of the Prophet who memorized the most of the Prophet's hadiths, namely Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Bukhari narrated from him:

That a man from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in one of his battles—and I think it was the Battle of Hunayn—fought the polytheists with very intense fighting until the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were amazed

أن رجلا من أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم في بعض غزواته - وأظنها غزوة حنين - قاتل المشركين قتالا شديدا جدا حتى عجب أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم

And as you all know, these were heroes and brave men. They were amazed by the intensity of this Companion's fighting and his disregard for death. He would charge into the ranks of the polytheists' army, killing as many as Allah willed, and then return without caring about death. Even those who were amazed by him came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to say to him, "O Messenger of Allah, so-and-so is such and such." The strange and surprising outcome was that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

He is in the Fire

هو في النار

This one whom you are amazed by for his jihad against the polytheists is in the Fire. The first time, the second time, and the third time, he said to them,

He is in the Fire. So one of the Companions who had noticed the man's ferocity and heard the Messenger's statement that he was in the Fire said: "I will be his companion." Whenever he charged, he was with him until he saw his end: that he put the tip of the sword in his belly

هو في النار، فتعاهد أحد الصحابة الذين لاحظوا استبسال الرجل وسمعوا قول الرسول فيه أنه في النار قال: سأكون رفيقه ، كلما هجم كان معه حتى رأى نهايته أنه وضع رأس السيف في بطنه

This brave man whose bravery amazed the Companions,

He put the tip of the sword in his belly and leaned on it until it came out of his back and he died

وضع رأس السيف في بطنه واتكأ عليه حتى خرج من ظهره ومات

Why did he do this? He did not endure the wounds he naturally encountered during his jihad against the polytheists. He did not endure them, so he slit his throat and killed himself. Here, he (peace be upon him) said that when this man's companion, who had seen his bad end, ran to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to tell him,

"O Messenger of Allah, the one about whom we said such and such, and you told us three times that he is in the Fire, did such and such. He put the tip of his sword in his belly and leaned on it until it came out of his back and he killed himself." He said: "Allahu Akbar." The Messenger of Allah said: "Allahu Akbar. True is Allah and His Messenger. Indeed, Allah supports this religion with the wicked man."

يا رسول الله الذي قلنا لك كذا وكذا وقلت لنا ثلاث مرات هو في النار فعل كذا زكذا وضع رأس سيفه في بطنه واتكأ عليه فخرج من ظهره وقتل نفسه، قال:الله أكبر، رسول الله يقول: الله أكبر صدق الله ورسوله إن الله لينصر هذا الدين بالرجل الفاجر

And in a narration,

With a group of people

بأقوام

Another story or another hadith,

With a group of people who have no worth

بأقوام لا خلاق لهم

As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 62:305

Then he (peace be upon him) said in this story,

and a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise

وإن الرجل ليعمل بعمل أهل الجنة

Sahih al-Bukhari 6594

And indeed, a man may do the deed of the people of Paradise in what appears to people, but he is from the people of the Fire. And indeed, a man may do the deed of the people of the Fire in what appears to people, but he does the deed of the people of Paradise and enters it

وإن الرجل ليعمل بعمل أهل الجنة فيما يبدو للناس وهو من أهل النار وإن الرجل ليعمل بعمل أهل النار فيما يبدو للناس فيعمل بعمل أهل الجنة فيدخلها

And from here, he (peace be upon him) said,

Deeds are only by their endings

إنما الأعمال بالخواتيم

This is the end of the mujahid who fought to be called brave and a hero. As for the third man, with whom the hadith, the lecture, or the answer to the question ends, he is the rich man who pays the zakah of his wealth. So when he comes on the Day of Resurrection for the Reckoning,

It is said to him, "What did you do with the wealth I bestowed upon you?" He says, "O my Lord, I spent it in Your cause." It is said to him, "You have lied. You only spent it so that people would say, 'So-and-so is generous.' And it is said, 'Take him to the Fire.'"

يقال له ماذا عملت في ما أنعمت عليك من مال؟ فيقول يا رب أنفقته في سبيلك فيقال له كذبت إنما أنفقت ليقول الناس فلان كريم وقد قيل خذوا به إلى النار

Thus, beneficial knowledge does not benefit its owner unless it is upon the methodology of the righteous Salaf, in brief, and then he combines action with it; otherwise, it becomes an argument against him. And he must be sincere in all of that, in his seeking of knowledge and in his acting upon the knowledge. He fights in the cause of Allah, so this is good work, but he must be sincere. He purifies his wealth, so this is also good work, but he must be sincere. So we ask Allah the Mighty and Majestic to teach us what benefits us, to increase us in knowledge, and to inspire us to act with sincerity for Him, even if the disbelievers dislike it. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.

Source www.al-albany.com

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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