The Essence of Worship: Sincerity
The sole and absolute condition for a believer’s acts of worship and good deeds to be accepted by Allah is “sincerity” (ihlas). Sincerity means performing every action solely with the intention of pleasing Allah, without any trace of worldly benefit or showing off (riya) mixed in. Abdülkadir Geylani (q.s.) emphasizes that an action performed without sincerity is like a lifeless corpse: “Nothing done without sincerity has any benefit; know this well… You will burn in the fire with your acts of worship.” Hypocrisy is when a person worships not Allah, but their own nafs (ego) and creation – which is the most dangerous form of hidden associationism (shirk).
The Gaze of People and the Cunning of Associationism
Whoever performs an action solely because “people will see it, like it, and praise it” is actually worshipping the created beings instead of the Creator. Geylani (q.s.) exposes this lack of awareness as follows: “Woe to you, you hide behind a curtain so that the servants do not see. But you do not see the Creator. How can you conceal an act from Him?” Whoever forgets that Allah sees him at every moment and instead gives importance only to the evaluations of transient people is a fool who sells his afterlife for small benefits. A person who does not differentiate between praise and blame from others cannot reach the station of true tawhid (monotheism).
Rectifying Intention and Reaching Truth
The beginning and essence of every action is correct intention. Before a servant speaks or performs any act, he must purify his intention for Allah. Geylani (q.s.), saying “Let your actions be sincere; otherwise, you will not find success,” states that a servant should not even expect benefit, rank, or miracle from their acts of worship. True servitude (ubudiyet) is when a servant submits only because Allah commanded it, without expecting any worldly or otherworldly reward. The heart of a believer who dons the armor of sincerity will never be affected by the whispers of Satan and the nafs.