By Asma bint Shameem
فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا* *وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
“So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord."
(Surah al-Kahf:110)
*The Two Conditions needed for our ibaadaat to be Acceptable*
In order for ANY act of ibaadah to be accepted, it MUST fulfill TWO conditions
1.*It has to be SINCERELY for the sake of Allaah*
2.*It has to be according to the PRACTICE and TEACHINGS of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.*
If EITHER of these conditions are missing, the ibaadah will *NOT be accepted* and would be a *WASTE of time*.
So let’s look at each of these conditions in more detail, to make sure we fulfill them.
Condition #1:
*SINCERITY*
ALL acts of ibaadah HAVE to be for Allaah ALONE
If it is for any other reason, like for showoff, or to gain fame, or for worldly reasons etc., that act of ibaadah will be of NO use to us on the Day of Judgment.
One of the scariest ahaadeeth that I’ve EVER come across regarding the importance of sincerity is the following:
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“Verily, the first to be judged on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who had died as a martyr.
He will be brought forward. Allaah will remind him of the favors He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them.
Then He will ask him:
“What did you do to express gratitude for it?’
The man will reply:
“I fought for Your Cause till I was martyred.’
Allaah will say:
“You have LIED. You fought so that people might call you courageous; and they have done so.”
Command will then be issued about him and he will be *dragged on his face and THROWN into HELL*.
Next a man who had acquired and imparted knowledge and read the Qur’aan will be brought forward.
Allaah will remind him of the favors He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them.
Then He will ask him:
“What did you do to express gratitude for it?”
The man will reply:
“I acquired knowledge and taught it, and read the Qur’an for Your sake.”
Allaah will say to him:
“You have LIED. You acquired knowledge so that people might call you a learned (man), and you read the Qur’aan so that they might call you a reciter, and they have done so.”
Command will then be issued about him, and he will be *dragged on his face and THROWN into HELL*.
Next a man whom Allaah had made affluent and to whom Allaah had given plenty of wealth, will be brought forward.
Allaah will remind him of the favors He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them.
He will ask him:
“What did you do to express gratitude for it?”
The man will reply:
“I did not neglect any of the ways You liked wealth to be spend liberally for Your sake.”
Allaah will say to him:
“You have LIED. You did it so that people might call you generous, and they have done so.”
Command will then be issued about him and he will be *dragged on his face and THROWN into HELL*.”
And the wording,
“So these are the FIRST of Allaah’s creation the Fire will be KINDLED with on the Day of Resurrection“
(Saheeh Muslim)
Subhaan Allaah!
What a scary, scary hadeeth!
Ibnul Qayyim said:
"Deeds without sincerity are like a traveler who carries in his water-jug, (nothing but) DIRT.
The carrying of it burdens him and it brings no benefit."
And Ibn Mas'ud radhi Allaahu anhu would advise his students:
"If your intention is one of these three, do not seek knowledge:
a) To shame the ignorant, or
b) to argue with the Fuqahaa' (scholars), or
c) to cause people to turn their faces in your direction.
Intend with your actions and words that which is with Allaah, for indeed that which is with Allaah shall remain and everything else shall perish."
So the first thing to do before embarking on any act of ibaadah, is to check your heart and CLEAR it.
PURIFY your intention for the sake of Allaah.
Do it so that He’s PLEASED with you.
HOPE that He’ll accept it from you and FORGIVE you.
Condition#2:
*MUST be according to the Teachings of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.*
The second condition that we need to fulfill in order for our hajj (or any other ibaadah, for that matter) to be accepted is that it has to be according to the *teachings* and *practice* of the PROPHET sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.
Otherwise all that ibaadah, all that hard work will NOT be accepted by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala;
Rather, it would be REJECTED by Allaah and THROWN in our FACE, Astaghfirullaah!
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“Whoever does any action that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (i.e., Islaam), will have it REJECTED.” (Muslim)
Ibn Rajab said:
“This hadeeth forms one of the most important principles of Islaam.
It is like a SCALE for weighing up deeds according to their OUTWARD appearance, just as the hadeeth ‘The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions’ is the means of weighing up the INNER nature of deeds.
Just as every action which is not intended for the sake of Allaah brings no reward to the one who does it, so too every deed which is not in accordance with the command of Allaah and His Messenger will also be rejected and thrown back at the one who does it.
Everyone who innovates in Islaam something for which Allaah and His Messenger have not granted permission, that thing has NOTHING to do with Islaam.”(Jami’ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hikam, part 1, p.176)
And the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam will DISOWN the one who leaves the way of the Prophet ﷺ and invents “new” ways of worship!
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“I will be ahead of you in reaching my fountain (on the Day of Judgment) and there will be people who will be prevented from reaching it, therefore, I will say:
'Yaa Rabbi! These are my followers!'
It will be said:
'You do not know what they innovated and altered after you (i.e., after your death)!
Therefore, I will say:
“AWAY FROM ME! AWAY FROM ME!”
(al-Bukhaari and Muslim)
Subhaan Allaah!
Just imagine all the hard work going to waste, if the ibaadah is not according to the Sunnah of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam!
After all, isn’t the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam our perfect role model?
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam is the one who SHOWED us HOW to worship Allaah and HOW to do any act of ibaadah.
HE’S the one we’re supposed to follow.
He Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
“Pray as you have seen me praying.” (al-Bukhaari)
And he said:
“Take your rituals (from me), for I do not know whether I will perform Hajj after this one." (Muslim)
And actually obeying the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam means obeying Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala Himself.
Allaah says:
مَّن يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ
“Whoever obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allaah.” (al-Nisa’, 4:80)
The Sahaabah understood this important principle VERY WELL.
That’s why Umar radhi Allaahu anhu said when he kissed the black stone:
"By Allaah, I know that you are a stone, you neither bring harm nor benefit, and if I had not seen the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam kiss you, I would never have kissed you." (al-Bukhaari)
In fact, the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam ordered us to follow his ways and WARNED us of following newly invented matters.
The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
“You have to follow my Sunnah and the way of my rightly-guided successors (al-khulafa’ al-rashidoon); bite onto it with your eyeteeth (i.e., cling firmly to it).
Beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is a going astray.” (al-Tirmidhi- saheeh by al-Albaani)
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
“Allaah has made devotion of worship to Him alone and following the Sunnah the means of deeds being accepted.
If these conditions are not met, then deeds are *unacceptable*.” (al-Rooh, 1/135)
And al-Fudayl ibn Iyyaad said:
"If the deed is pure but not accurate, it won't be accepted;
and if it is accurate but not pure, it won't be accepted,
until it is BOTH, pure AND accurate.
The meaning of PURE is that it is for Allaah Alone.
And the meaning of ACCURATE is that it is according to the Sunnah.”
That is the *actualization* of Allaah's statement:
“So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord.” [Surah Al-Kahf :110]”
Thus we must fulfill those two conditions that are needed for any of our ibaadaat to be accepted.
Let us purify our intention and make it sincerely for the sake of Allaah
And let us practice Islaam according to the Sunnah of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.
After all, isn’t Allaah’s acceptance and His Pleasure what we’re all after?
May Allaah accept from us and forgive us.
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