“A righteous sincere intention has the amazing effect of attaining reward, even for a non-existing action; while an insincere intention has the effect of making an existing action non-existent in the sight of AllÄh ta’ala.
For example, a person makes a sincere intention of donating £1000 to a good cause, but circumstances change and he is unable to do so; he will still get the reward for this non-existent action.
On the other hand if a person actually donates £1000 but the intention is for show or any other corrupt motive, then although the action is existent, in the Sight of AllÄh ta’ala it shall yield no reward. In other words it is as if, in terms of reward, the action was non-existent.â€
“A person will be rewarded even when he spends money on his own family. However, this reward is dependent upon the person’s intention; if the intention is to acquire the Pleasure of AllÄh ta’ala, he will be rewarded.
Therefore, when going shopping for groceries, clothes etc. make the intention, ‘I am doing this to fulfil the Command of AllÄh ta’ala of feeding and clothing my family and I am doing this for His pleasure only.’ InshÄ’allÄh, you will be entitled to reward.
It is unfortunate that we do not make an intention of pleasing AllÄh ta’ala whilst carrying out those actions which we normally carry out as routine.
If only we could learn to make the correct intention at the right time, then all our apparent worldly actions would become a means of acquiring reward and the Pleasure of AllÄh ta’ala.â€
Hadhrat Aaisha (Radhiallahu Anha) relates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: “An army will set out in order to demolish the Ka’bah. When they reach Baaydaa’ (a land on the outskirts of Madinah Tayyibah), the entire army (and all those around the area) will be sunken into the ground.†Hadhrat Aaisha (Radhiallahu Anha) thereupon asked: “O Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), how is it that all of them will be sunken into the ground, whereas amongst them were those who merely joined them as tradesmen, as well as those who were not part of the army (i.e. they did not come out with the intention of war)?†Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) replied: “All of them will be sunken into the ground, then on the Day of Qiyaamah they will be resurrected according to their intentions (i.e. those whose intentions were sinister will be punished, and the pious will be rewarded
“The Messenger of AllÄh sallalahu alayhi wasallam has said in a hadÄ«th that riyÄ (ostentation or show) enters the heart of a person very covertly. It is as undetectable as an ant crawling! (Ahmad)
A person suffering from this will not even be aware of it entering; it will stealthily crawl into the heart without any prior indication. The most common way ShaytÄn misleads pious people is through riyÄ.
However, one should not stop doing an action thinking that it is useless because it is tainted with riyÄ. Rather, one should continue with it whilst keeping check on the intention and taking guidance from his Shaykh in this regard.
Additionally:
1. One should constantly make duâ€˜Ä to AllÄh S to help remove this evil habit.
2. Recite the following duâ€˜Ä three times daily:
Â
AllÄhumma innÄ« a‘ūdhu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a‘lamu wa astaghfiruka limÄ lÄ a‘lamu
O AllÄh! I seek your refuge from ascribing partners to you knowingly, and I repent to you for doing so (by means of riyÄ) unknowingly.
3. Check and correct one’s intention before, during and after every deed.â€
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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