considerations with regard that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
No act of worship will be accepted from a Muslim unless it meets two
basic conditions:
1 – Sincerity of intentiontowards Allaah, may He be exalted. This
means that the aims of the person in his words and deeds, both outward
and inward, should be to seek the Countenance of Allaah alone.
2 – It should be in accordance with the ways in which Allaah
hasordained that He be worshipped only. That is achieved by following
the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and what he
taught, and shunning anything that goes against that, and not
introducing any new acts or forms of worship that have not been
narrated in proven reports from him(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).
The evidence for these two conditions is the verse in which Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
" 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"
[al-Kahf 18:110]
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord" – means His reward
"let him work righteousness" – means, that is in accordance with the
laws of Allaah.
"and associate none as apartner in the worship of his Lord" – means
the deed by which is sought the Countenance of Allaah alone, with no
partner or associate. These are the two features of the deed thatis
acceptable: it must be sincerely for the sake of Allaah alone, and it
must be in accordance with the sharee'ah of the Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Endquote.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 4/108
Hence Allaah says in the greatest soorah in the Qur'aan (interpretation):
" You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each
and everything)"
[al-Faatihah 1:5], to indicate that Tawheed and sincerity are
essential in order for a deed to be valid.
The second condition comes immediately afterthat:
"Guide us to the StraightWay"
[al-Faatihah 1:6]
No act of worship is valid unless it is in accordance with the right
way, the straight path, which Allaah has enjoined, by following His
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Inal-Saheehit is
narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the
Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever does anyaction that is not in accordance with this matter of
ours will have it rejected." Narrated by Muslim, 1718. i.e., his deed
will be thrown back at him and not accepted from him. If anyone goes
against these two conditions (sincerity towards Allaahalone and
following His laws) in any action, then he will not benefit from it.
The one who seeks goodness and wants to please his Lord, let him
worship Him and draw near to Him by the means that He has ordained.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): If you (really) love Allaah, then follow
me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism,follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah),
Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allaah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:31]
So it is not sufficient to have a good intention, and it will not
intercede for him if he goes against sharee'ah and worships Allaah by
means of any kind of bid'ah (innovation). Many of those who invent
innovations – because of their ignorance – invent theseinnovations in
order to draw closer to Allaah.
Hence when Ibn Mas'ood(may Allaah be pleased with him) denounced those
who gathered to remember Allaah (dhikr),they gave the excuse that
their intention was good and that they did not mean anything but good,
and he said to them: "How many of those who intend good do not attain
it!" Narrated by al-Daarimi, 204. So it is not sufficientto have a
good intentionin order to do good and attain the reward and draw
closer to Allaah. Rather it is essential to also act in accordance
with sharee'ah and avoid bid'ah.
A good intention may intercede for a person intwo cases:
1 – Turning habits into acts of worship
A good intention may turn a habit into an act of worship for which a
person will be rewarded. So by eating and drinking he may intend to
strengthen himself to obey Allaah, and by getting married he may
intend to keep himself and his wife chaste, and so on.
2 – Earning reward without doing any deed,if the Muslim is definite in
his intention.
A Muslim may form a definite intention to do acts that are prescribed
in sharee'ah, then something prevents him from doing that – but hewill
still be rewarded forit. There are a number ofahaadeeth concerning
that, such as the following:
1 – It was narrated that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
We were with the Propheton a campaign and he said: "You did not travel
any distance or cross any valley but inMadeenah there are men who were
with you, but they were kept behind by sickness." According to another
version: "… but they shared the reward with you." Narrated by Muslim,
1911.
2 – It was narrated from Abu'l-Darda' (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Prophetsaid:"Whoever goes to his bedintending to get up and
pray at night, then his eyes overwhelm him and(he sleeps) until
morning, the (reward for) that which he intended will be written for
him, and his sleep is a charity for him given by his Lord, may He be
glorified and exalted." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i, 1787; Ibn Maajah,
1344; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Targheeb,
601.
3 – It was narrated from Sahl ibn Haneef that the Prophetsaid:
"Whoever sincerely asks Allaah for martyrdom will attain the status of
the martyrs even if he dies in his bed." Narrated by Muslim, 1909.
And there are many other such reports, all of which indicate that
whoever forms a sincere, definite intention to do good or obey Allaah,
then is prevented from doing that deed, Allaah will decree the reward
for him.
So this is the case where a sincere intention will intercede for a
person until he is rewarded for it.
And Allaah knows best..
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