How is the sincerity of deeds achieved?
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The questioner : How is the sincerity of deeds achieved, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The sincerity of deeds means that worship is not intended for anything but the Face of Allah and the Hereafter; it is not intended for this world. That is, a person does not pray in order to be praised or for it to be said, "What a good prayer he performs! How much he prays!" and the like, such that he makes his work pure for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), seeking the reward from Him. Some people may strive in worship so that it is said, "So-and-so prays a lot," "So-and-so performs 'Umrah a lot," "So-and-so performs Hajj a lot," or "So-and-so gives a lot of charity." This undermines sincerity. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:[Al-Bayyinah 98:5] And He the Exalted said: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:56] If a person were to reflect on this verse, he would be greatly admonished. You were not created except for the worship of Allah. What is the purpose of your existence in this world? To develop the world? To build palaces? To ride in luxurious cars? To indulge your body? You were created for worship, and whoever is created for worship should make all his actions worship. Therefore, the successful and the shrewd make their habits acts of worship, while the heedless make their acts of worship into habits. You will find the successful one—and I ask Allah to make me and those who have heard from him among them—when he eats, he eats in obedience to the command of Allah, for Allah commanded it: and he intends by eating to preserve his body, and he is commanded to preserve his body. If he eats seeking to use it as assistance in the obedience of Allah, then his eating and drinking, the food he enjoys, becomes worship. If he wears clothes, he intends thereby to cover his 'awrah and his defects from people, and then he remembers that just as he likes to cover his physical 'awrah from people, let him cover his spiritual 'awrah by repenting to Allah. This is why Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: [Al-A'raf 7:26] and this is the necessary clothing: and this is the clothing of beauty, He said: So if he intends and holds in his heart this meaning when wearing clothes, does his clothing become?
The questioner : Worship.
The Shaykh : Worship. And so, the successful and shrewd believer can make his habits acts of worship, while the heedless one makes his acts of worship into habits. He has become accustomed to going to the mosque and praying when the adhan is called, and he has become accustomed to fasting when Ramadan arrives, and he has become accustomed to giving charity when the time for zakah arrives, and he is in a state of heedlessness. For this reason, intention has a great entry point in acts of worship. For example, in wudu', most of us, when the time for prayer comes or we want to pray a voluntary prayer, we stand up, perform wudu', and pray. But is there any of us who holds in mind that when he is praying, he is obeying the command of Allah in His saying:[Al-Ma'idah 5:6]? Does he hold in mind that he is applying the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): when washing his face? What we should do is hold this in mind, be sincere to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and say, "I wash my face in obedience to the command of Allah, I wash my hand in obedience to the command of Allah, I wipe my head in obedience to the command of Allah, I wash my foot in obedience to the command of Allah." Then he should also hold in mind another meaning: that I am doing this in following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as if I am seeing the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) performing wudu' in this manner. At that point, we realize in this holding-in-mind that we have achieved sincerity to Allah and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And the truth is that if a person knows his worth and the worth of his life, he can, with the help of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), turn his habits into acts of worship and perfect his acts of worship by holding these intentions in mind, and thus he has realized the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic):[Adh-Dhariyat 51:56] I ask Allah the Exalted to bestow upon me, upon you, and upon those who have heard these good intentions.
The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh, and may He bless you.
The sister questioner says in this question: O honorable Shaykh, may Allah preserve you.
The Shaykh : The sincerity of deeds means that worship is not intended for anything but the Face of Allah and the Hereafter; it is not intended for this world. That is, a person does not pray in order to be praised or for it to be said, "What a good prayer he performs! How much he prays!" and the like, such that he makes his work pure for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), seeking the reward from Him. Some people may strive in worship so that it is said, "So-and-so prays a lot," "So-and-so performs 'Umrah a lot," "So-and-so performs Hajj a lot," or "So-and-so gives a lot of charity." This undermines sincerity. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:
And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَAnd I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِEat and drink.
كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُواO children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts
يَا بَنِي ءادَمَ قَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاساً يُوَارِي سَوْءاتِكُمْand adornment.
وَرِيشًاAnd the clothing of taqwa, that is the best.
وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَى ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌThe questioner : Worship.
The Shaykh : Worship. And so, the successful and shrewd believer can make his habits acts of worship, while the heedless one makes his acts of worship into habits. He has become accustomed to going to the mosque and praying when the adhan is called, and he has become accustomed to fasting when Ramadan arrives, and he has become accustomed to giving charity when the time for zakah arrives, and he is in a state of heedlessness. For this reason, intention has a great entry point in acts of worship. For example, in wudu', most of us, when the time for prayer comes or we want to pray a voluntary prayer, we stand up, perform wudu', and pray. But is there any of us who holds in mind that when he is praying, he is obeying the command of Allah in His saying:
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِWash your faces.
فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْAnd the truth is that if a person knows his worth and the worth of his life, he can, with the help of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), turn his habits into acts of worship and perfect his acts of worship by holding these intentions in mind, and thus he has realized the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic):
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِThe questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh, and may He bless you.
The sister questioner says in this question: O honorable Shaykh, may Allah preserve you.