12-09-2004, 08:40 PM
To develop sincerity of intention in all our actions to please no one but Allah only . the Ikhlas-i-Niyyat means sincerity, i.e. to do all good deeds only for the sake of Allah and solely for winning His Pleasure. Sincerity is a very important factor in the life of a Muslim, for all his activities are judged only on the basis of his intention. If it is good, the action is good. and if the intention is something other than the attainment of the Divine Approbation, then the deed is not reward able at all. Sincerity can rightly be called the life and soul of the entire moral edifice of Islam. If the action lacks sincerity however dignified or pious it may be it will not fetch any reward from Allah. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) says:
"O people! The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended..... (Bukhari)
"If anyone's intention is to seek the hereafter Allah will place his sufficiency in his heart and order his affairs, and the world will come to him submissively; but if anyone's intention is to seekworldly good Allah will place poverty before him and disorder his affairs, and only so much of it as has been ordained for him will come to him." (Mishkat)
The only incentive for a Muslim in the discharge of his duties should therefore invariably be only the attainment of the Pleasure of Allah, or in other words to obey His Commandments only for the adoration of the Here after.
Allah is Omnipresent, All-knowing, All-hearing. Nothing is concealed from Him. He knows even the hidden secrets of our hearts. He is well aware of our intention, He knows the real motives d all our actions. We can deceive a man but can never deceive Him. If we perform a deed only to carry out His order, seeking solely His Pleasure, He will accept it, and grant the promised reward, but if the real incentive of the deed is some worldly gain, He will reject it, be it even a prayer.
A Muslim is, hence, required to be on a constant watch of his intention and keep it always pure. A slight negligence may lead him astray. The learned pious people said that if a man observed fast to obtain some hygienic benefits or performed Haj only to enjoy an excursion, or distributed all his wealth among the needy only to gain good reputation, he would not be honored by Allah, and would deserve no reward. Nay such a fellow would be put to trials, We all know that the learning and teaching of the Holy Quran, assisting the needy and being Wlled?? t in a battle waged in the Way of Allah, are most dignified actions in the sight of Allah, and He has promised great rewards on, But even these virtuous deeds are not accepted by our Lord if the motive prompt Hl gon??? the mare found other than the winning of His Pleasure, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi
Wasallam ) once said:
"Certain categories of people will be called first of all for reckoning on the Day of Judgment. A martyr will be asked by Allah, "Did I not bestow such and such favors on you?" Hoe will admit those boons and favors. Then Allah will ask him; " How did you make use of My favors? He will answer: " I went to the Holy War to please You, and was killed therein." Allah will say " You lie; you participated in the Holy War to be called a Hero by people, and this has been done." Then he will be thrown headlong into the fire of Hell.
Next a Scholar will be called and the same questions will be put to him. In reply he will admit the favors of Allah. Then he will be asked; " How did you make us of My favors?" He will answer, " I acquired knowledge of Islam and taught it to others, simply to please You" Allah will say: You lie; you attained knowledge in order to be called a scholar and recited the Holy Qur'an to be called a "Qaari." the he too will be thrown headlong into the fir of Hell.
Thereafter a rich man will be called, and the same questions will be put to him. He will say: " I always spent money to please You. Allah will say: you lie; you spend money in order to be called a "generous" man, and this has been said." Then he will also be thrown headlong into the fire of Hell."
Therefore we should always avoid show and vanity, and should render our actions to only please Allah.
Similarly, Salaat is the best of all actions a servant can do, but even this prayer is rejected if it is performed only for the sake of show. The Holy Quran says; lt. without sincerity, with Let us, brothers, examine our intentions in the light of the above and let us resolve to be always sincere in all actions we do. s But remember sincerity itself is based on the belief in Allah's Promises and on anover??? powering anxiety for winning His Pleasure. The stronger our belief is in His Promises the more sincerity we gain in our life. And when we call the people in complete sincerity towards Allah we shall deserve Divine Rewards on the one hand and on the other we shall get courage and fearlessness. May Allah grant us all to be most sincere.
Source: as-Sidq.org