A sermon by the Shaykh on the obligation of sincerity in seeking religious knowledge and acting upon it, with an explanation of the two conditions for the acceptance of deeds.

The Shaykh : Praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own selves and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He leaves to misguide, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. , , ; As for what follows:
The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. And again, as for what follows:
... and seeking knowledge derived from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is obligatory upon all our brothers present, if Allah wills. Knowledge, in relation to action, is like the means in relation to the end, or the cause in relation to the effect. If one obtains the means but does not reach the end, he may have lost his effort in acquiring the means that did not lead him to the end, or in acquiring the cause that did not lead to the effect. I believe this statement is not obscure or philosophical; it is neither hidden nor unclear, but rather a clear and manifest matter. For example, a person buys a recorder and then puts it aside. The recorder is the means, and the end is benefiting from the knowledge. When he puts it aside, it means he did not benefit from this means at all. There are many, many examples, and as it is said, a hint is sufficient. My purpose is to say that knowledge with action follows the course of the means with the end; that is, it is obligatory for every Muslim who knows something of the rulings of the Shari'ah to act upon it. Otherwise, his knowledge of it is not only that he has not benefited from it, as we gave the example of the means and the end earlier, but he has actually lost out because of this knowledge, and his loss is a great loss. For Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has taken a covenant from everyone who acts upon knowledge and then does not act upon it; it becomes a calamity for its owner, as it is said. And this saying is not said in the sense of being ill, but rather it is a saying derived from the Shari'ah. This saying is that the first people to be punished on the Day of Resurrection will be a scholar who did not act upon his knowledge. The evidence for this statement is the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as it came in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This is the recompense for the scholar who does not act upon his knowledge. Before I digress from what I am currently explaining regarding the necessity of combining action with knowledge, I want to correct myself regarding the hadith I mentioned earlier when I said: "Muslim narrated it from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah." This is a mistake on my part, and it should be recorded. The correct statement is that this hadith was narratedThe Shaykh : by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and it is not from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, but rather from the hadith of Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), with the wording you heard. As for the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in which I made a mistake regarding its text, it has another text, meaning another wording, that is related to the topic of the scholar. That is, it is not only obligatory for the scholar to act upon his knowledge, but he is also obligated to be sincere to his Lord in it, not seeking a reward from people or gratitude, nor anything of the debris of this world. Rather, he is to fulfill what Allah commanded in His saying: , , meaning they worship and draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by doing what He commanded them of obedience. If a Muslim, whether he is a scholar, a student, or otherwise, performs an act of worship and is not sincere to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in it, but rather is being hypocritical or showing off to people, then at that time the divine command is not fulfilled: . This is for the general people. So what do we say, or what is said, regarding the special people, namely the people of knowledge? Those who are obligated to be a model for the rest of the people in knowledge, and those who are obligated to be a model for the rest of the people in beneficial knowledge and righteous action. Listen now to that hadith in which I made a mistake regarding the text of Abu Hurayrah, and its text is as follows: Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . These three are supposed to be among the first to enter Paradise. So how did they end up with this terrifying fate? They are the first ones for whom the Fire is kindled on the Day of Resurrection. Listen to the reason in the complete hadith: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , meaning he taught the people in the cause of Allah and His pleasure. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) knows what the hearts conceal and what the hearts hide. On that Day, nothing is hidden from Allah on earth or in the sky. If this scholar, who is asked on the Day of Resurrection, "What did you do with your work?" and he lies, saying, "I taught it in Your cause," the answer will come to him, and I seek refuge in Allah, "You lied. It was only so that they would praise your fame and spread your name among the people." And it is said that what you aimed for and intended by teaching the people, they have already said it. They said, "So-and-so, what Allah willed, is a scholar." And in Syria, the common people say, unfortunately, "So-and-so is a scholar like a Chinese plate; from where did you throw it?" He answers, "What do these poor people mean by this statement?" This cannot be verified if you ask him for interpretation, he answers you; if you ask him about hadith, he answers you; if you ask him about fiqh, he answers you. In Hanafi fiqh he says such and such, in Maliki such and such, in Shafi'i such and such, ... and so on. "Like a Chinese plate; from where did you throw it?" He answers you. This is impossible. Rather, knowledge is specialization. The point is that this man, the first of the three who are the first for whom the Fire is kindled on the Day of Resurrection, is a scholar. He is thrown into the Fire because he was not sincere to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in teaching the people the knowledge that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) had taught him. It is said to him, "You lied. Take him to the Fire."
He is thrown into the Fire, while our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says in the Noble Qur'an: , while this one descended to the lowest level of the Fire. . He was joined with his companion in lack of sincerity, each to his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He), so he was thrown into the Fire. Then the third man of the three is brought, namely the rich man who used to spend vast sums of money, millions of dollars as they say today. , meaning you have obtained in this world what you aimed for, just as the scholar obtained what he aimed for, fame through knowledge, and just as the mujahid obtained what he aimed for, fame through bravery and courage. These three had their fate as the first people of the Fire to be thrown into the Fire because they were not sincere in their righteous deeds in knowledge, jihad, and spending money. They were all in the Fire, and I seek refuge in Allah the Exalted. So what I intended from that hadith, which led me to cite this second hadith, and both complete each other, is to remind our brothers that their concern should not be knowledge only, otherwise it will be a calamity for them if it is not accompanied by action. So learn in order to act, otherwise you will know the outcome of the one who did not act upon his knowledge. Then, when you act, be sincere to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) so that your work is accepted by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
This is what He, Mighty and Majestic, said in the Noble Qur'an: , meaning in belief and in action; for among the forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah) is performing worship for other than the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. As He, Mighty and Majestic, said: , The first condition is that it conforms to the Sunnah, and that is righteous work. If it contradicts the Sunnah, it is not righteous work. Then, if this work is in accordance with the Sunnah but the second condition is not met, which is sincerity for Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, as He said: . If these two conditions are met, the work is accepted by Allah. If one of them is lacking, the work is rejected by Allah, and its owner's face will be struck by it if he did work in accordance with the Sunnah but was not sincere in it, or if he was sincere in it but his work was not in accordance with the Sunnah. Whether the lack is in this or that, his work is rejected. This is a very important point, and it is added to what we mentioned earlier regarding the obligation of seeking knowledge for the sake of action, and the necessity of the action being pure for the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. So the third thing is that the work must conform to the Sunnah. If the work, no matter how hard its owner strives, exerts himself, and persists in it, is contrary to the Sunnah, that will not benefit him except by increasing his distance from Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This is what this noble verse indicates in the interpretation of the people of tafsir and knowledge of tafsir: . Righteous work is what conforms to the Sunnah, and if it is pure for the Face of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, it is the work that saves its owner on the Day of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
Perhaps your ears have heard at some point the hadith of Al-'Abbas ibn Sariyah (may Allah be pleased with him), which has a strong and great connection to the topic of action, namely that it is not righteous if it is contrary to the Sunnah. Al-'Abbas ibn Sariyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a sermon that moved our hearts and caused our eyes to shed tears. We said: "Advise us, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: And indeed, whoever among you lives will see much disagreement. It is as if a questioner asked, "And what did he not say?" But the Prophet answered because he was inspired by revelation from the sky, which knows what is in the breasts. If we see this much disagreement, what do we do, O Messenger of Allah? He said directly: And you see this today with your own eyes . The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to emphasize this sermon, which he concluded by saying: . He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to emphasize this last phrase in all his sermons, especially the Friday sermon, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) would say at the beginning of every sermon: .
So we conclude from the foregoing: It is obligatory to seek knowledge for the sake of action, and it is obligatory that the action be pure for the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and it is obligatory that this action conform to the Sunnah. So you must remember these conditions so that you may be among the successful and the prosperous in what you draw near to the Lord of the Worlds, Blessed and Exalted is He, with. Now we open the door of questions for you to answer them to the extent... and He opens for us.