Conditions for the Acceptance of Worship

The Shaykh : Therefore, the Muslim who hopes for the mercy of his Lord and fears His punishment should examine every good deed he performs to see if these two conditions are met. The first condition is that he performs a good deed. They said: A good deed is what conforms to the Sunnah. The second condition is that he be sincere and pure in this deed for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Since the first condition is difficult for many people, even some scholars, to distinguish and clarify—whether it is a good deed conforming to the Sunnah or not—it was necessary for scholars to elaborate and repeat the research and discourse to people so they would understand when a deed is a good deed conforming to the Sunnah, and when it is not, so that they would strive to know the Sunnah, align their deeds with it, and make it conform to it, thereby fulfilling the first condition so that the deed is accepted and raised to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for the second condition, scholars have no room for detailed discussion because it pertains to the hearts, and the deeds of the hearts cannot be known by any person, as they are the exclusive domain of the Knower of the Unseen (Blessed and Exalted is He). Therefore, the research into the second condition, which is the sincerity of the deed for the Face of Allah, is sufficient with reminding Muslims in general of the necessity of sincerity in obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not intending anything from the matters of this world with this obedience. Thus, the research on the topic of sincerity does not need more than reminding of the necessity of purifying intentions and being sincere in them for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). As for the first condition, it is a very, very important matter, namely: that the deed conforms to the Sunnah. This is something that is obligatory for every Muslim, whether he is from the general Muslims or from their specialists, and whether he is from the students of knowledge or from the scholars; it is obligatory for him to know when a deed conforms to the Sunnah.