Whose Praise?


Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever acts to be
heard and seen, God will cause his falsity to be heard and
seen.” [Bukhari, Muslim]

If B works for C but then comes to you demanding payment, wouldn't you
say, "Go and ask C for your wages, it is not me that you worked for!"
When you do good deeds, you either do it for Allah (subhana wa
ta'ala), or for other than Allah (subhana wa ta'ala). This "other than
Allah" could be people's appreciation, fame, money, power, or anything
else.

In order for any action of yours to be worthy of reward in the
Hereafter, it must have been done sincerely for Allah (subhana wa
ta'ala), and for Allah alone. The reward/hasanaat for the deed will be
decreased in proportion to the extent that other motives enter into
the intention behind the good deed. Furthermore, Allah (subhana wa
ta'ala) tells us in this hadith, that He will make known to the people
the real reason that you are doing good deeds.

Abu Umar explained ikhlas (sincerely doing something only for Allah)
in this way: “It is present when one wishes to be praised for
something only by God.”

According to Dhul-Nun, one of the ulema explained the possession of
ikhlas in this manner: “Whenever a man does something sincerely for
God, he feels a longing to be in a cave where he will not be
recognized.” This is because if only Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) knows
what you did for Him, your reward will not be diminished by others'
praise and your taking pride in what you have done. Always ask Allah
(subhana wa ta'ala) to purify your intentions and not let your sins
and shortcomings take away from your good deeds.

The online version of Daily Hadith is available now, please visit
http://dailyhadith.adaptivesolutionsinc.com

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