Man’s Acts Depends
on His Intentions
The motivations and the factors
which prompt a man to do a better job in a better way, to strive hard and bear
all the trials and tribulations and induce him to sacrifice his property and
life for a thing, are many and varied. One motivation is such that it manifests
itself with the man’s interest and involvement in his work, while there is
another motivation which remains hidden in the interior recesses of the heart
and cannot be discerned from outside. Many times, the man who performs the act
does not recognize it although he is influenced by it and the secret of his
acceptance or non-acceptance of a thing is hidden in that.
The normal human nature decides what
the general rules of treatment in a certain case are. You can very easily
determine what are the motivations of a particular person in acting in a
certain manner by looking him at work. He will be seen either involved in
self-love or self-preservation, or greed for more wealth would be troubling him,
or the feelings of pride and self-importance would be giving him sleepless
nights, or hypocrisy and desire for fame would be inciting him to advance
forward. Hear what the people talk about. Take a survey of their daily
activities. You will not find anything else the axis of their talk and efforts
but their feelings of joy and hatred, pride and conceit.
Islam judges the acts and deeds, and
decides about their importance on the basis of the intentions, feelings, and
sensations behind them. For Islam, the value of an act depends on the nature of
the motivation which prompted the act to be performed.
Sometimes, a man gives costly
donations and gifts so that through these good acts, people should be attracted
towards him and should talk about his generosity, and sometimes, his purpose is
to give valuable presents to that person who had treated him in a commendable
way and had obliged him. Both these acts are of charity and generosity, which
were guided by, as pointed out by psychologists, by the man’s consciousness,
directly or indirectly. But Islam does not give importance to charity if it is
given in a hypocritical way or for attaining fame, and unless it is given
entirely for seeking the pleasure of Allah:
“We
feed you seeking Allah’s countenance only. We wish no reward nor thanks from
you.”
- Qur'an (Surah Al Insan 9)
“Those
who spend their wealth for increase in self-purification, and have in their
minds no favor from anyone for which a reward is expected in return, but only
the desire to seek the pleasure of their Lord, Most High, and soon they will
attain (complete) satisfaction.”
- Qur'an (Surah Al Lail 18-21)
- Qur'an (Surah Al Lail 18-21)
Purity of Purpose
is of Importance
The rightness of intention and
sincerity are the two things which elevate a man’s worldly action and make it a
prayer that is answered. But if there is perversion in the intention and
corruption in the heart, a man, in spite of offering prayers is degraded. He
commits sins. And inspite of his showing interest in and taking pains for
performing worship, is doomed to failure and loss.
The fact is that, as long as man
keeps himself obedient to Allah, and his intention is pure and sincere, then
all his acts and movements, his sleep and his waking are considered to be for
seeking the pleasure of Allah. And sometimes, it so happens that a man wants to
perform a righteous act, but on account of his poverty he is unable to do so,
then Allah, Who knows the secrets of the hearts, gives the man desirous of
reform the honor of a reformer, the man desirous of fighting in the cause of
Allah the honor of a Mujahid (the
fighter in the cause of Allah), because for Allah, high courage and righteous
intention is more appreciable than the lack of resources.
During the days of scarcity and
poverty, a battle was to be fought. Some people came to Prophet Muhammad with a
desire to join his forces and offered themselves to be sacrificed for the cause
of Allah. But Allah’s Messenger did not allow them to take part in the Jihad because of their incapability. They
returned with heavy and sorrowful hearts. They were very much grieved for not
being able to participate in the Jihad. About them, the following verses were
revealed:
“Nor
is there any blame on those who came to you to be provided with mounts, and
when you said, “I can find no mounts for you,’ they turned back, while their
eyes were overflowing with tears of grief that they could not find anything to
spend for Jihad.
- Qur'an (Surah At Taubah 92)
Do you think that a firm and strong
faith would be wasted? And this burning desire for sacrifice would be just
lost? No, never. For this reason, the Prophet appreciated their faith, and said
to the soldiers going with him,
“There
are some people who we have left behind in Madinah, in whatever place or valley
we may camp, they will be with us. For them, their excuse is enough.”
(Bukhari)
(Bukhari)
As their intentions were honest,
they were the recipients of the reward (sawab) of the Mujahideen (fighters),
because they had stayed in Madinah against the wishes of their hearts and with
great unwillingness. If this is the achievement of the honest intention that
the person having it is so favored, then the dishonest intention also earns the
punishment reserved for the bad deed, although apparently the act was
righteous. Such hypocrisy has been condemned:
“So
woe to those performers of Salah (prayers) (hypocrites), those who delay their
Salah (prayer from their stated fixed times). Those who do good deeds only to
be seen (of men).
- Qur'an (Surah Al-Maun 4-6)
- Qur'an (Surah Al-Maun 4-6)
The prayer based on hypocrisy is
considered a sin, because after losing the essential sincerity, it has become
useless. Similarly is the case of Zakat (charity). If it is paid merely to seek
Allah’s pleasure, then it can be acceptable to Allah, otherwise, it will be a
waste:
“O
you who believe! Do not render in vain your Sadaqah (charity) by reminders of
your generosity or injury, like him who spends his wealth to be seen of men,
and he does not believe in Allah, nor in the Last Day. His likeness is the
likeness of a smooth rock on which is a little dust; on it falls heavy rain
which leaves it bare. They are not able to do anything with what they have
earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.”
- Qur'an (Surah Al Baqarah 264)
The heart which is bereft of
sincerity cannot be acceptable, as the rock with some dust on it cannot grow
any grain when rain falls on it. If the kernel is rotten, beautiful outer skin
cannot be of any use.
However, if the self is full of
sincerity, then its blessing helps to make an ordinary thing as weighty as a
mountain. If it is devoid of sincerity, then what reward can mounds of chaff
and husks achieve from Allah? That is
why, Allah’s Messenger said,
“Make your faith pure, a little righteous act will be sufficient to save you from hell.”(Al Hakim)
In the Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad), the reward for virtuous acts
has been mentioned to be from ten times to hundred times depending on the
performer’s intention and sincerity hidden in his heart, which is known only by
Allah Who knows about all the manifest and hidden things. Accordingly, the
reward increases according to the sincerity and honesty of the intentions.
The external acts of man can neither
achieve the pleasure of Allah nor the grandeur of worldly life. Allah gives
attention to His faithful and sincere servants and accepts only those acts
which bring them nearer to Him. As regards the worldly show and human
trappings, they have no importance and no value. Prophet Muhammad said,
“Allah
does not judge you according to your bodies and appearances, but He scans your
hearts and looks into your deeds.”
(Muslim)
(Muslim)
The one who would adopt these
realities in ones life would experience relief and comfort in this world and
would also achieve eternal bliss in the Hereafter. He will not be harmed by the
loss of anything nor will he grieve over any act.
“And
they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none
but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him). And perform As-Salah
(prayer), and give Zakat (charity), and that is the right religion.”
- Qur'an (Surah Al-Bayyinah 5)
Sincerity is the Desired Thing
In times of scarcity and adversity,
the rays of sincerity draw their light in full force. At such times, man
separates himself from his vain desires and yearnings. He severs his relations
with their defects and errors. He repents before Allah and weeps and wails and
prays for His blessings. He shakes from the fear of Allah’s wrath. The Noble
Qur’an has drawn a very fine picture of such a man who is surrounded by
adversities, who out of fear, has forgotten all of his mischief and is
appealing to his Merciful Lord so that He may lift him out of his mire:
“Say,
Who rescues you from the darkness of the land and the sea (dangers like
storms), (when) you call upon Him in humility and in secret (saying): If He
(Allah) only saves us from this (danger). We shall truly be grateful. Say,
Allah rescues you from this and from all other distresses, and yet you worship
others besides Allah.”
- Qur'an (Surah Al-An’am 63-64)
This heat of sincerity dies down
gradually as passion for wealth, self-love, egotism, hunger for position and
office, hypocrisy, and desire to be famous increases. For this reason, Islam
has considered hypocrisy in righteous acts as most abominable and has declared
it as Shirk, associating someone else with Allah.
The truth is: this hypocrisy
destroys all acts as white ants slowly destroy things they come in contact
with. When the habit of hypocrisy takes roots in any man’s dealings, as germs
of an infectious disease spread in the society, then it becomes a sort of idolatry
and throws its practitioner into the fire of Hell.
Allah wants that He should be
truly and correctly known and recognized and should be respected and honored in
all conditions. People should give their due place to honest and sincere
intention and good conduct in their lives. Their attachment to these qualities
should be strong and should not break at any time, and they should not make any
other thing but selflessness and Allah’s pleasure as an ideal to follow in
their life.
The severe criticism and attacks
which Islam has unleashed on the evils emanating from hypocrisy and lack of
sincerity is because it is a kind of corruption that is not discernible, and
keeps the carnal desires and the wicked wishes of the self hidden.
The evils which can be seen give
rise to other evils and increase the rate of corruption of the society considerably.
Such evils are considered very low and mean, and on account of this
consciousness and feeling, it is possible that the man who commits them may
give them up sooner or later and may turn a new leaf.
But that act of sinning which puts
on the garb of worship has its evils hidden from the sight of the sinner
himself and the society is also not able to recognize it. It is so because such
a person remains absorbed in the ramifications of his acts. He is under the
impression that he is working towards the pleasure of Allah, but how then can
he realize that he has committed a sin? And how can he turn away from a thing
which he considers righteous?
As regards the general society, it
is harmed more by the learned hypocrites than by the poor and needy people. Lack
of sincerity of talented people makes their ability a curse, and such a society
suffers a set-back instead of making a progress. It is also true that to
pollute a virtue with the impurities of the self is to downgrade its value.
This is another crime which is committed for lack of sincerity. The man who
wants to please other men and is neglecting to seek the pleasure of his Lord;
he does not understand, on account of his ignorance, as to what his sin
signifies. He is turning away from Allah, Who is Most Powerful, Who is
Independent of everything, to those beggars who have neither power, nor riches.
In the fields of learning and
culture, deep sincerity is extremely necessary. Knowledge is such a pure and
high thing that on its basis Allah has granted superiority to man over all the
other creatures. Therefore, it would be a very mean thing if it is utilized in
furtherance of self-interest, and if it is reinforced with mischief,
corruption, and vain desires. The world experienced a great setback at the
hands of those learned men who did not possess good moral character, and were
deprived of purity and sincerity.
Islam severely disapproves that a
man should attain learning and when he gets proficiency in that line; he should
start impressing others with his learning and his greatness, and open a
battle-field of debates and controversies.
The magicians of Pharaoh established
a perfect example of true belief and high sincerity when they rejected all the
threats of Pharaoh, and trampled below their feet the love of wealth and high
position, and replied to that tyrant king’s challenge:
“They
said, we prefer you not over what have come to us of the clear signs and to Him
(Allah) Who created us. So decree whatever you decide to decree, for you can
only decree (regarding) this life of the world.”
- Qur'an (Surah Ta-Ha 72)
What a great difference between
these two groups! One group disdainfully kicks at the material world, and the
other group, in order to reach up to some big personality or to achieve some
small gains, makes fun of its own religion and faith in order to achieve
temporary success in this world.
[Excerpted
from: Chapter 10 of Muslim’s Character by Mohammed Alghazali]
