‘For the Sake of Allah Alone’ – Is it really?

Ibn Taymiyyah said:
حكي أن أبا حامد الغزالي بلغه أنمن أخلص لله أربعين يوما تفجرت ينابيع
الحكمة من قلبه على لسانه
قال: فأخلصت أربعين يوما فلم يتفجر شيء فذكرت ذلك لبعض العارفين فقال لي:
إنك إنما أخلصت للحكمة ولم تخلص لله تعالى
"… News reached Abu Hamid al-Ghazali that whoever proves sincere to
Allah for forty days, wisdom springs from his heart and is established
upon his tongue.
He (al-Ghazali) said, 'So I became sincere to Allah for forty days but
nothing happened so I mentioned this to a righteous person and he said
to me, 'You were not sincere for the sake of Allah, rather you were
sincere for the sake ofattaining wisdom."
Ibn Taymiyyah then says:
وذلك لأن الإنسان قد يكون مقصودهنيل العلم والحكمة أو نيل المكاشفات
والتأثيرات أو نيل تعظيم الناس له ومدحهم إياه أو غير ذلك من المطالب وقد
عرف أن ذلك يحصل بالإخلاص لله وإرادة وجهه, فإذا قصد أن يطلب ذلك
بالإخلاص لله وإرادة وجهه كان متناقضا, لأن من أراد شيئا لغيره فالثاني
هو المراد المقصود بذاته, والأول يراد لكونه وسيلة إليه
فإذا قصد أن يخلص لله ليصير عالما أو عارفا أو ذا حكمة أو صاحب مكاشفات
وتصرفات ونحو ذلك, فهو هنا لم يرد الله بل جعل الله وسيلة له إلى ذلك
المطلوب الأدنى
"And that is because a person's intention becomes(solely) the
attainment of knowledge or wisdom, or to seek out hidden matters,or to
gain popularity with the people and gain their praise etc. He knows
that he can only achieve all thatby being sincere to Allah and seeking
His Face. So if he seeks these things (praise, gaining knowledgeetc)
by the token of sincerity to Allah and seeking His Face, then such a
person contradicts himself because whoever seeks something (e.g. being
sincere to Allah) for the sake of something else (e.g. gain
understanding/knowledge), then the latter becomes his real goal and
the first is just a means to that .
So if a person intends to besincere to Allah so that he may become a
scholar, or pious, or one endowed with wisdom, or one who discovers
hidden realities etc, then such a person does not intend Allah, rather
he has made Allah a means for him to gain that inferior matter…"
- From the book درء تعارض المنقول مع صريح المعقول by IbnTaymiyyah
(rahimahullah).
- Incredible. It's such a subtle difference in intention (although not
always blameworthy) but it really makes one appreciate and realise the
reasons why the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) feared Riyaa'
for this Ummah so much. Ibn Taymiyyah's statement above is not really
rebuking people who take such a route, but it's highlighting the great
difference between doing something for the Sake of Allah Alone and
doing it in order to attain something specific (even though it may be
praiseworthy and permissible). This difference is what brings out the
true Mukhliseen (sincere) from the Salihin (righteous).
:->