. J '-Ɵ  (cont.)

For example, if a person attends the prayer with the purpose of pleasing Allah and gaining His pleasure and out of fear of His punishment, then he may be rewarded up to seven hundred times (or more) for that deed with that proper intention. The effects of his greater fear, hope and love of Allah make his deed even greater than other people performing the same deed but who are missing that quality. Ali ibn al-Madeeni once said, "A small act may be made great due to the intention behind it and a great act may be made small due to the intention behind it."1 Furthermore, a person may also attend the prayer in the mosque with many "intentions"- all of them valid intentions that have only one final goal, the pleasing of Allah. He may attend the mosque to pray in congregation, to improve the quality of his prayer, to set an example for others, to support the mosque and to meet with the others in the mosque to strengthen the ties of brotherhood. Hence, his action of going to the mosque will be greatly pleasing to Allah due to all of those intentions he had. 2 If someone attends the prayer simply because he knows it is an obligation and he fulfills it lazily and not desiring to please Allah much, then he will be rewarded accordingly. If one attends the prayer, for example, simply not to be punished by his father, then he may be punished by Allah for that deed as he did not fulfill the obligation of performing the prayer on his own. And if one attends the prayer simply to fool the people into thinking that he is a very pious person, then he will be severely punished for his act of show or riyaa, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) called this a type of shirk. A similar example can be given for studies of a secular nature. If one studies for the sake of Islam, helping the Muslim community and becoming superior to the unbelievers, he will be rewarded accordingly. If one studies in order to be called a knowledgeable person or just to get ahead in this world, then his reward/punishment will be accordingly. The same types of examples can be given for any act. The acts that are not performed for the sake of Allah are performed for a number of other reasons. Sometimes people perform deeds purely for the sake of show, as Allah states that the hypocrites do. Allah says, o J. ,,,. I ,,. ';Z ,., ,,,. o _ _, ,,,. ,,,. ,,. .,. .J. J ""' ,,. J. ,,,. 4 ,., ,,,. ). ,,. J ,,. ,,. J , ,., r; l_yU ࡃ\ J; l_yU 1?;J r-¥௝ _Jib) .ui\ uYৠ 01ৡ­, ·ৢII u; 1 Quoted in ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 1 , p. 7 1 . 2 In surah Taha, verse 1 8, the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) mentions a number of uses for his staff. Ibn Hubaira cites that as an example where one act or object may have many good purposes for it and the person will be rewarded for all of those good things he intended. See Al­ Wazeer ibn Hubaira, Al-Ifsaah an Maani al-Sihaah (Riyadh: Daar al-Watn, 1996), vol. 1, p. 136. Hadith #1 : All Actions are but by Intentions . . . "Indeed, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is Allah who has outwitted them. When they stand up to worship they perform it lazily, without enthusiasm, and to be seen by people, and are mindful of Allah but little" (al­ Nisaa 142). Allah also says, .,, / .JI O P ' c. .. -Ƌ / .,, / .JI ȑ Ji ௛ .. ii "t".0• ¬ u../ {i)J 0.Y' :/ if ¬ J../ Ȑ · -/ / ৹yJ "Woe to worshippers who are heedless of their prayer; who perform it to be seen yet refuse small acts of kindness" (al-Maaoon 4-7). Also, Allah describes the unbelievers performing deeds simply for show: ,,,. / ,,,. ,,.. .J. SJ੮l'৛j թu1 ;EĊ.J 1ժ ֡f..; u-: i_;...;._ ; • 1\ · / --?/@• I\ 2··f lff c J .r !..,? ௜ '...F'° / ./ r v-:- i:.r / __,...., ௚ / r-- ..?' "I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus, he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me." Another hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) states, (/J ,,,. 0 0 (/J J ,,,. ,,,. J ,,,. .... ,,,. ,,,. (/J ill\ I . /.. . / ' . t.:k.JI / ill\ 0 ; r! Ƒ ' ঊ I 1 ৵ 1 . 1 1 ; .... • ; \..:)..: .... ; ,,. ,,. ; "[Yusuf said:] Verily, the (human) self is inclined to evil, except when my Lord bestows His Mercy [upon whom He will]. Verily, My Lord is Oft­ Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Yoosuf 53).