What is the importance of sincerity to Allah the Exalted?

The Shaykh : I said that the man who is pointed out with the finger is, in reality, in danger. What is the danger he may face? And pointing to him, as we said before our brothers arrived, is that he is righteous, he is a scholar, he is a reformer who benefits the Muslim community. And because of his benefit to them in this way or otherwise, he is pointed out with the finger, and for that reason he is in danger. Why? Because he is exposed to having his righteous work corrupted by not seeking thereby the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. And to the extent that he is in danger, to that extent is his reward, which is very great, if he remains firm and protects himself from corrupting his work by loving to be prominent and loving the talk of people, saying so-and-so is such and such. By that, he corrupts his work; otherwise, he would have good deeds that weigh as much as the mountains of the world and exceed them in quantity and weight. As for the fear I mentioned earlier, it is sufficient in that to say what our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: And sincerity in worship requires that one not intend thereby anything of the matters of this world or its perishable things. And it came in the authentic hadith that Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih 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: Here lies the danger of the famous person in some of these good means: knowledge and spending in the cause of Allah, and jihad likewise in the cause of Allah. With that, the danger becomes manifest to us in this authentic hadith: And it was said: "What you sought after your work, its dissemination, and its sharing among people, you have obtained, and that is prominence and being pointed out with the finger," as they say in our land of the Levant, and in Syria particularly: "The famous scholar is like a Chinese plate; from wherever you strike it, it rings." What Allah willed. In this scholar lies the danger, because he fears that perhaps at the beginning of his affair he intended knowledge for the Face of his Lord, but because people talk about him, his self may incline him toward loving prominence. And long ago, some of the Sufis said: "Loving prominence cuts off prominence." And I say "some of the Sufis" because not everything the Sufis say is contrary to the Islamic Shari'ah; rather, in it is what agrees with it and what contradicts it. Because the Sufis, as a school of thought or a path, did not descend from the sky as a revelation from Allah to the Shaykh of the path; rather, it is an opinion, independent legal reasoning, and an effort to reform people in one way or another. So this word contains wisdom, what Allah willed: "Loving prominence cuts off prominence." It is a metaphorical and beautiful meaning, and very beautiful. Therefore, the first one the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned was the scholar, because his position is sensitive and very dangerous that desires and lusts may incline him, and the most dangerous of them is not only loving wealth, but also loving prominence, fame, and status, and the like. The second, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. Excuse me, when this man said what he said, it was so that it would be said to him, and it was said to him, "You lied." Rather, he did it so that people would say, "So-and-so is a scholar," and it was said about him: And I seek refuge in Allah. Who is it? It is the scholar. He is supposed to be, as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said in the noble verse: And if this scholar, by his knowledge, becomes in the depths of the Fire, I seek refuge in Allah. He said in the hadith: And so we pause here for a moment at this hadith, that the true mujahid is the one who does not seek by his jihad, as the true scholar does not seek by his knowledge, reward or gratitude. Rather, each of them strives in the cause of Allah: this one with his knowledge, and this one with his courage, strength, and bravery. So if their intention and purpose deviate, their end will be worse than the end of the ignorant one. Therefore, it came in some reports, and not in some hadiths traced to the Prophet, but in some reports from the righteous Salaf, and as I recall, it is from Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "Woe to the ignorant one once, and woe to the scholar seven times." Of course, the seven here is for emphasis, not for specific limitation. But the meaning is: woe to the ignorant one once, because he may be excused, and woe to the scholar seven times, because he is in danger. We return to the completion of the hadith: And so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, the hadith ends here. I add to it: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith agreed upon by the scholars of the Muslims, in which some scholars said that a third of the religion, a third of Islam, stands upon this famous hadith: Indeed, deeds are only by intentions. I return to the beginning of the speech: whoever is righteous and pointed out with the finger is in danger from this aspect, because one is not usually pointed out with the finger except after he has become prominent. And this prominence may break the prominence and shatter it because loving this world may overcome him, and hating death may overcome him, so at that time he corrupts all his work. And on the contrary, if he remains firm after he has grown and become prominent, and is not affected by the praise of people for him and his prominence among them, then he has a reward that the largest computer known today in the world cannot count. That is because of his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: That is because when the scholar guides people to good, as it came in the hadith in Sahih Muslim also: And in the other hadith: So imagine with me how great the reward of this person who calls to Allah, sincere in his calling to Allah, is. None can count its number except Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And from here, the scholars said: Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most rewarded of the prophets and messengers in reward and recompense, because he was the cause of the guidance of the Muslim community. The guidance of the Muslim community, and the Muslim community in the language of the scholars is divided into two parts: the community of the call, and the community of the response. So everyone who came after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is within the community of the call. Whoever responded to the call of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the second part, which is the community of the response, meaning he responded to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and submitted to him. So imagine, from when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) began his call to people to the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to the detailing of this sweet word in knowledge and practical application, imagine how many millions and millions came after him. The good deeds of these people, perhaps one of them has good deeds like mountains. All these good deeds from all these individuals are written in the record of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And from here appears the importance of the scholar who acts upon his knowledge and is sincere in his calling to Allah, to the Book of Allah, and to the Sunnah of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But this scholar, as it is required of him to be one who acts upon his knowledge and not to be one who speaks but does not act, it is also required of him that his knowledge be taken only from the Book of Allah and from the Sunnah of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with the sincerity I mentioned earlier. For this reason, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said in His Book: On clear proof. I am not only the Messenger, but also whoever followed him (peace and blessings be upon him). And the clear proof is not except as Allah, Exalted is He, also said in the noble Qur'an: The scholars of exegesis said in this verse that it indicated that salvation with Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is only by two conditions: that his work be righteous, and that it be pure for the Face of Allah. As for his work being righteous, it is clear in the verse. As for it being pure for the Face of Allah, it is His saying, Exalted is He, at the end of it: Because shirk (associating partners with Allah) is not, as some people think, that you say there is another creator with Allah. Nor is shirk only that you believe that so-and-so of the awliya (close friends of Allah) or the righteous deserves something of submission and worship besides Allah, Mighty and Majestic. It is not just this and that; rather, it is also that you intend by a righteous work you do between you and Allah, that you intend thereby other than the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, as mentioned earlier. And I add to this finally, because I may fear that I have prolonged upon you, so that the discussion between us is a back-and-forth, which is his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: We ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to make our work pure and to make it pure for the Face of Allah, and that no one be associated in this righteous work of ours, but only for the Face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This is what came to the weak mind to mention on that occasion, the occasion of being pointed out with the finger and fame among people, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And now, we are recording with your support.