A lengthy address by the Shaykh explaining the two conditions for the acceptance of righteous deeds (sincerity and following the Sunnah).

The Shaykh : I would like to connect the following address, and I also hope it will be concise, with the story of Ibn Mas'ud mentioned earlier. Ibn Mas'ud rebuked the people of the circles for their tasbih, tahmid, and takbir, all of which were for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Why? Because they had introduced something that was not practiced in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But is this worship or not? One could give two contradictory answers. It is worship because it contains tasbih, tahmid, and takbir. But it is not worship. Why? Because worship, as you know, is what conforms to the way of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and the Companions. This is what the scholars of tafsir indicated in a single verse, namely His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): In this verse, they said: There are two conditions for a deed to be righteous. The first condition is that it conforms to the Sunnah, which is what we have been discussing recently. Why did Ibn Mas'ud rebuke the people of the circles while they were remembering Allah? Because they remembered Allah in a manner that was not customary or known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So this is not a righteous deed. A righteous deed requires that it be in accordance with the Sunnah. There is much evidence for this, among which I will pause at his saying (peace be upon him): So worship, even if it appears to be worship as you heard—tasbih, tahmid, and takbir—but if something newly introduced that was not in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) attaches to it or surrounds it, this deed ceases to be righteous, and it strikes the face of its doer, as you heard from the indication in the verse according to what the scholars of tafsir said, and the explicit wording of the hadith . The second thing I want to draw attention to is something we rarely discuss, because in reality it is a matter not hidden from all Muslims, whatever their schools of jurisprudence and whatever their paths. Therefore, we rarely remind people of it. On the contrary, we only keep reminding people about matters they are heedless of. It is not appropriate, for example, to talk about zina, theft, and drinking intoxicants, because they are destructive sins and major sins, and there is no Muslim who is ignorant of them. But by way of admonition and reminder, there is no harm. However, what must be spoken about and discussed constantly and forever is when we see that concepts have been inverted for people, as the Lord of the Worlds indicated in His saying (Mighty and Majestic): Today, Muslims are heedless and unaware. They think they are doing good, but in reality they are doing bad in many of their acts of worship. The most prominent, most frequent, and most obligatory of these is the prayer. You hardly find among the masses of worshippers anyone who fulfills his command (peace be upon him) in the authentic hadith in al-Bukhari: And so, if it is appropriate to say: as a warning against abandoning the prayer, this is obligatory because many people today do not care about the prayer and do not establish it. But it is necessary to alert the worshippers themselves, because they pray and they do not pray. This is the problem: they pray and they do not pray, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to that man whose hadith the scholars agreed to call the Hadith of the One Who Prays Badly. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated in their Sahihs from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was one day in the mosque when a man entered and stood to pray. When he finished the prayer, he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah." He said: So this man prayed and did not pray. This is a problem. If we say that most worshippers are like this, it is certainly a problem for many of the worshippers that they pray and do not pray. So the man returned and prayed, then came back saying: "Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah." He said: And so three times. Finally, the man realized that he did not know how to pray, because he had prayed three times and each time he (peace be upon him) said to him: He said: "O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I do not know anything else. Teach me." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: An interjected phrase. Then he called the adhan, then the iqamah. This is not in the two Sahihs, and I am narrating to you as I introduced the narration by saying "The two Shaykhs narrated it in their Sahihs." It is in the Sunan of Abu Dawud and others: I say this for the benefit, because many people, when they miss the prayer in the mosque, immediately stand up and say Allahu Akbar without calling the adhan or the iqamah, especially if they pray in the open. This is a mistake that contradicts the authentic hadith: And we do not want to stop here: The point is that many people today do not fulfill the first condition for the acceptance of their worship, which is that it conforms to the Sunnah. As I indicated, I only want to speak about the second condition, which is: The verse says: It did not say "let him do a deed." It set two conditions. The first condition is a righteous deed. We have explained what a righteous deed conforming to the Sunnah is. The second and final condition is: It did not say "he does not associate partners with Allah." Associating partners with Allah is one thing, and associating partners in the worship of Allah is another. From here, the scholars of tafsir took this second condition and said: The prayer of the worshipper, his fasting, his Hajj, and all the acts of obedience and worship are not accepted unless the second condition is fulfilled, which is that he be sincere to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in his worship, whatever that worship is, and it cannot be counted or limited. For example, if a preacher gives a sermon on Friday or on another day, or a teacher teaches on any day at any time, and he does not hope for the Face of Allah purely for Him in that sermon or lesson, his good turns into evil, and his worship turns into misguidance. This is because he neglected the second condition. Suppose a preacher preaches according to the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, but he only wants to show off before people, or teaches a lesson according to the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih but does not seek the Face of Allah in it. Then his lesson returns to him first as scattered dust, and thirdly, his reward turns into a burden. That is what the hadiths came with. What did your hand labor over?

The questioner : The prayer in the mosque, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh : The mosque is close to you. Now, the second point I began with after the first point. As you know, the first point was: Why do we belong to the Salaf al-Salih (the earliest generations)? Because the call of Islam cannot be understood except through the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih. Islam is the Book, the Sunnah, and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih. As for the second point, I intended to draw the attention of the attendees to what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: That any deed performed by a Muslim, which is a righteous deed, i.e., in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, is not accepted by Allah (Mighty and Majestic) unless it is sincere for His face (Blessed and Exalted is He). If it is not so, then, as you heard in the previous statement, its reward turns into a burden upon him. The hadiths and verses that confirm this meaning are numerous and very numerous. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in the Noble Qur'an: So, worship requires, in addition to the previous condition—and I repeat, there is no need to remind you, for you know what the previous condition is, which is that it be in accordance with the Sunnah—the other condition is that no one has a share in this worship by which he worships Allah, but rather he makes it pure for His face (Blessed and Exalted is He). That is His saying (Mighty and Majestic): Likewise, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Meaning, if one worships Allah alone, having no partner, as evidenced by the completion of the hadith: Worship includes all forms of worship; there is no difference in this between prayer, fasting, and jihad. Perhaps all of you have heard, at least once, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Now you know that there is a jihad that is still ongoing in Afghanistan. Is this jihad rewarded for every mujahid? The answer is no. Whoever goes to Afghanistan to fight in the cause of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), not so that it is said, "So-and-so went and fought for a month, two months, three months, and returned, Allah willing, and trained in fighting and using various types of weapons," etc., this aspect of his jihad is not accepted unless it is pure for the face of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). Accordingly, measure any jihad you hear about, such as what is still happening in the land of Palestine, what is called the Intifada, and what recently occurred, what is called the Gulf War. Is all of this worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? The answer, based on the previous detail, is that what is in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih first, and in which the person is sincere to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) second, is what is accepted as worship and raised to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said: The most terrifying and warning hadith regarding a Muslim seeking something of the debris of this world in his worship is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), which Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih. From the horror of this hadith, when a Muslim, filled with awe and fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and apprehension that his righteous deed may not be accepted by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), who holds this apprehension when he wants to narrate this hadith, his tongue barely speaks it, as happened to the narrator of the hadith, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). He was in a gathering in the presence of Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), and one of those present asked him to narrate the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) about the three people who will be consumed by the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. Abu Hurayrah prepared to speak this hadith, but he quickly fainted and lost consciousness due to the terror of the hadith. Then they sprinkled water on his face until he regained consciousness, and this happened three times until his spirit, breath, ability, and strength returned. He began the hadith, saying: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: These are the elite of the people who are able to benefit the people more than others: three types—a scholar, a mujahid, and a wealthy person. Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Who is he? The scholar. It is expected that the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) applies to him: It is expected that Allah will raise these people to high degrees in the Gardens. And yet, they are the first to be consumed by the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. Why? Because when he taught the people, he did not intend the face of Allah, but rather intended that the people would talk about him and praise him, saying, "Allah willing, so-and-so is a scholar." That was his intention. And here is a point that is not objectionable: the intention in the heart, as you heard in the previous hadith, deeds are by intentions, and none knows the intentions except the Knower of the Unseen. If Allah knows from him that he teaches the people for His face, it does not harm him afterwards whether the people praise him well or poorly; the matter is the same for him. On the contrary, if he did not intend the face of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) with his knowledge, the praise of the people does not benefit him at all, because Allah, the All-Knower of what is in the breasts, has known from him that he did not intend the face of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) with his knowledge. So, whoever teaches the people so that the people say about him, "So-and-so is a scholar," has not achieved the goal of the worship that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned in the previous verse: This is the scholar who is thrown into the Fire before many other people. Why? Because he was not sincere to Allah in his knowledge. Here it is said, and it has been said, "Take him to the Fire," just as it was said regarding the scholar. Likewise, it is said regarding the third type, the wealthy people: He (peace and blessings be upon him) concluded this hadith by saying: And by that, he means three types: scholars, mujahids, and wealthy people. They intended, with the blessing of knowledge, strength, and wealth they were given, something other than the face of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). They intended the good praise of the people about them, and they obtained what they intended. So, it is as if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is saying to them: You have obtained what you wanted. You, the scholar, wanted the people to say, "So-and-so is a scholar," and they have said it, so you have taken your reward. You, the mujahid, fought bravely so that the people would say, "So-and-so is a hero," and they have said it, so you have obtained your reward. You, the wealthy person, spent, and it was said, "So-and-so is more generous than Hatim Tai," for example, which is what you intended with your spending, and you have obtained it, so you have taken your reward. But today, you have the Fire. Why? Because you associated with Me in My worship other than Me. Therefore, He said (Mighty and Majestic): So, the summary of these two points in this night is that, just as it is obligatory for every Muslim to be sincere in every worship he worships Allah with, it is also obligatory for him that in every worship he worships Allah with, his worship be in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih. If one of these two conditions is lacking, the worship is not an accepted worship by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So, we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to make us sincere in our worships and following our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in all our worships. And with this amount, it is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The Shaykh's recitation of Surat al-Tariq in full.