Allah accepts only those acts of worship and rituals that are characterized by sincerity. What this means is that one should perform a deed only for the sake of earning Allah's pleasure. One should not be prompted by any other motive.

Although sincerity has been variously defined, the essence of it is conveyed by the definition above. A mystic has defined sincerity as being that one's objective in obeying should be for Allah's pleasure. According to another authority, sincerity consists in being indifferent to other motivations. It is defined also in terms of consistency between one's inward and outward condition. One should be so devoted to Allah that one disregards public criticism. In the words of Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, avoiding a sin with a view to defending oneself against public criticism betrays hypocrisy. A sincere person is one who is devoted heart and soul to Allah. This is evident from the definition appearing in the following hadiths:

`Umar ibn Al-Khattab reported that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he intended. ...Whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

It is reported on the authority of Abu Musa `Abdullah ibn Qais Al-Ash'ari that someone asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that if one takes part in war to make a show of one's bravery while another is motivated only by religious considerations, who will be taken as a fighter in Allah's cause? To this the Prophet replied, "One who fights for upholding Allah's word is the one who fights in His way" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

In another hadith it is asserted that Hellfire will be kindled first for the following three kinds of persons:

1. Those who recite the Qur'an for the sake of being known as reciters of the Qur'an

2. Those fighters who participate in jihad in order to gain fame as mujahids

3. Those who give in charity to gain a reputation as generous persons

The Qur'an offers the following definition of sincerity and brings out its significance in the following verses:

(And they were commanded not but they should worship Allah keeping religion pure for Him, as upright people.) (Al-Bayyinah 98:5)

(Say: It is Allah I worship, making faith for Him exclusive. So worship whatever you will besides Him.) (Az-Zumar 39:14-15)

(Say: Truly my prayers and my service of sacrifice and my life and my death are all for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No associate has He. To this I am bidden, and I am the first of those who submit.) (Al-An`am 6:162-163)

An essential condition of sincerity is that one should perform a deed only for the sake of Allah. Another equally important element is that the deed should be consonant with Allah's command and the Sunnah. These two qualities are integral to sincerity. If a person does something for Allah, but the act is contrary to the command of Allah and His Messenger, it cannot be sincere, since it amounts to showing disrespect to Allah and His Messenger. For it implies that he claims to possess a better understanding of divine commands than what is declared by Allah and His Messenger. This misconception is rooted in pride and polytheism. Therefore any act that violates a divine command cannot have any sincerity, even if it is done with the utmost devotion.

The following observation by Fudayl ibn `Iyad is worthy of note. On being asked to define an excellent deed, he remarked, "An excellent deed is characterized by sincerity and altruism. Moreover, it should have a sense of purpose." When he was requested to clarify further, he said that a deed is not accepted by Allah if it lacks sincerity. It should be only for the sake of Allah, and sound in itself in that it should conform to the Sunnah. He recited some Qur'anic verses in order to substantiate his observation.

If a deed were acceptable by Allah on the grounds of the doer's total commitment, then monasticism would have secured His approval. Indeed, Allah speaks of the sincerity of those who introduced monasticism. However, notwithstanding their sincerity, their monasticism is dismissed as a false innovation. It troubles some people that a good deed is not accepted if it is not done for the sake of Allah or if one associates others with Him. For is it not a good deed in itself? This apprehension betrays an ignorance of the fundamental truth of faith. Allah does not stand in need of man's good or bad deeds. He does not need people to do good for Him, nor is He obliged to them for their good deeds. It is not binding upon Him to appreciate every good deed and recompense it, if that deed runs counter to His will.

Allah might have peopled the earth only with angels. In that case there would not be anyone on the face of the earth who could commit an evil deed. He might have created everyone pious, unable to commit sin. Notwithstanding His absolute power to do so, Allah has not arranged the world in this way. For He does not seek only good deeds and piety. What He wants is that man should do good deeds only to attain His pleasure and in accordance with His command. He places great value on good deeds that meet these conditions, even if they are minor and He rewards them lavishly. However, there is no divine reward for a deed that is adulterated with some base motive. He asks such people to seek their reward from those for whom they did their deeds. In the following hadith qudsi it is affirmed: "I am independent of associates. So if anyone does a deed, while associating others with Me, I disregard it. That deed is only for the one person for whom it is done" (Ibn Majah). When such people claim reward, He will direct them to those for whom they had done what they did. He will not grant them any reward.

Idols, family, tribe, or nation can be such associates. Desire for fame and other base motives can also be associates. Whatever they may be, associates negate the spirit of sincerity and render one's deeds false and vain in the sight of Allah.

This should not, however, give rise to the misunderstanding that a sincere Muslim should not do anything for his family, tribe, or nation. For Allah has specified clearly the obligations one owes in this regard. It is obligatory on every Muslim to discharge these duties in order to earn His pleasure in line with His commands. One who does so is entitled to generous reward from Allah. However, if duties are not done for the sake of Allah, they betray mere worldliness. As already noted, even jihad falls into this category if it is not waged sincerely.

On a little reflection it appears that sincerity or its lack has an important bearing on the thrust of one's deeds. A mother has tremendous love and affection for her baby. Yet, if she overfeeds the baby, or feeds it indiscriminately against medical advice, it will lead only to harming the baby, perhaps to its death. Likewise, if a person does good deeds without the sole objective of pleasing Allah, he will be drawn to fake criteria of good and evil, and the outcome of his actions will increase the spread of evil. While working for the interest of his tribe and nation, he will ultimately follow the principle "My country first, right or wrong." This attitude degenerates into fascism of the Hitler and Mussolini variety. However, if he is prompted by the ideal of pleasing Allah alone, he will not deviate from the right way. For this objective gives his motives and actions a universal perspective, and he will be engaged in serving all mankind even as he works for the interest of his nation.

Thus, Islam forbids man to take anyone besides Allah as the ideal. This constitutes the essence of sincerity. It underlies the doctrine of monotheism, which is the ground of Muslim relationship with Allah.