Continuation of the discussion on the purpose of worshipping Allah.

The Shaykh : Therefore, I must now mention the story of the group of men, which contains something that circles around or approaches the motive you are talking about, but it is not a valid argument. A group of men came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) but did not find him; they found his wives, so they asked them about the worship of the Messenger (peace be upon him), his standing in prayer at night, his fasting during the day, and his intimacy with women? They said: He (peace be upon him) stands in prayer at night and sleeps. They had imagined he would stand in prayer the entire night. They heard something different from what they imagined about the master of mankind: he stands and sleeps, which is a wonder to them, and he fasts and breaks his fast, just as they had imagined he would fast perpetually. He also comes to the women. Anas said: "They found his worship to be that he stands in prayer at night and sleeps, fasts and breaks his fast, and comes to the women." This is little in their estimation of the Messenger (peace be upon him), according to their perception. But they began to rationalize why the Messenger was moderate in his worship, why he breaks his fast and does not fast perpetually, why he sleeps and does not stand in prayer the entire night, and what he wants with the women. Some scholars say: "Knowledge is lost between the laps of women." They said: This is the Messenger of Allah. They asked and they answered, saying: This is the Messenger of Allah, and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what remains. This answer is very dangerous; were it not for the fact that it is a slip, its author would be a disbeliever. This is the Messenger of Allah, and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what remains. It is as if they are saying: Why does the Messenger trouble himself, standing in prayer the entire night, fasting perpetually, becoming a monk, and not satisfying his desire with women? Why? First: Allah has forgiven him: He puts his feet in cold water, and the matter is over. Why does he trouble himself?! As for us—and they speak about themselves—we must still strive in the worship of Allah so that Allah forgives us. One of them said: As for me, I will fast perpetually and not break my fast. The second said: I will stand in prayer at night and not sleep. The third said: I will not marry women. And they departed, agreeing upon this. A little while later, the Messenger (peace be upon him) came, and they informed him of the news. He (peace be upon him) entered the mosque and addressed the people, saying (peace be upon him): , mentioning the three acts of worship, , completing the Prophetic speech.
The Shaykh : And here is the point: .
The Shaykh : They erred when they said: "This is the Messenger of Allah, and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what remains, therefore his worship is little." They overlooked the narration of Aisha and al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, and others of the Companions, who reported from him (peace be upon him) that they said to him: , why do you trouble yourself?! This is the same logic that was directed at the Messenger: why do you trouble yourself?!
The Shaykh : They said: , and in another narration: , so they said to him: "Allah has forgiven you," for what purpose do you trouble yourself?! He said: ,
The Shaykh : The true servant of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not the one who says: "I do not worship You hoping for Your Paradise or fearing Your Fire, but I worship You because You are worthy of worship." This is an ignorant person, this is an ignorant person. Rather, the true servant is the one who fears Allah with true fear, and the effect of this fear appears in his worship, even if he were to receive a certificate from Allah, as is the case with the Messenger of Allah, that Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what remains, he does not slacken in his worship until his feet crack. Why? Because He is worthy of worship.
The Shaykh : The word "truth" is a philosophical term foreign to Islam, and I know that some philosophers, in the modern era, and in some schools, were transmitting the philosophy of Rabia al-Adawiyyah to people in order to divert them from worship, because this worship is not needed by Allah, but the one who wants to worship Him, not hoping for His Paradise, nor fearing His Fire. This is a statement that only an ignorant person would make, for what I mentioned earlier: to the end of it, and for another thing, which is: How can this speaker say: "I do not worship You hoping for Your Paradise?" While in its description, the Messenger (peace be upon him) says: . Despite all this, when Allah reveals Himself to His servants in Paradise on the Day of Resurrection, the believers forget that abiding bliss because of their seeing their Lord, the Lord of the worlds. And this is the intended meaning of His saying (Mighty and Majestic): . The best is Paradise, and the increase is seeing Allah in the Hereafter. The one who says "I do not hope, I do not worship You hoping for Your Paradise," is as if he is saying "I do not worship You hoping for seeing You." Would a lover say such a thing to his beloved?! This comes from ignorance or from a philosophy foreign to Islam. And I think the time is now ending for us, yes.