The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Verily, actions are judged by their intentions, and everyone will have only what they intended.”[1]
We begin with the quality of ikhlāṣ because there really is no point to dawah if it is devoid of ikhlāṣ. Instead of working in your favour, it will work against you. The Prophet ﷺ warned against teaching Islam for show in the famous hadith about the first three types of people who will enter the Hellfire.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The first of men whose case will be decided on the Day of Judgment will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought forward. Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them.
Allah will say: What did you do? He will say: I fought for You until I died as a martyr.
Allah will say: You have told a lie. You fought that you might be called a” brave warrior”. And you were called so.
Orders will be passed against him, and he will be dragged with his face downward and cast into Hell. Then a man will be brought forward who acquired knowledge and imparted it and recited the Qur’an. He will be brought, and Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them. Then will Allah ask: What did you do?
He will say: I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur’an seeking Your pleasure.
Allah will say: You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called” a scholar,” and you recited the Qur’an so that it might be said: “He is a Reciter” and such has been said.
Then orders will be passed against him, and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire. Then a man will be brought whom Allah had made abundantly rich and had granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought, and Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them. Allah will ask: What have you done?
He will say: I spent money in every cause in which You wished that it should be spent.
Allah will say: You are lying. You did it that it might be said “He is a generous fellow” and so it was said.
Then will Allah pass orders and he will be dragged with his face downward and thrown into Hell.”[2]
This makes ikhlāṣ the single most important thing to any Islamic preacher. Devoid of ikhlāṣ, a scholar or preacher is simply calling to himself, preaching for fame, and building his own home in the Hellfire. All success therefore depends on ikhlāṣ.
Ikhlāṣ linguistically means sincerity. In Islam, it refers to the concept of doing good deeds for the pleasure of Allah. It must be made clear that dawah is an act of worship. It is not a hobby, a career, a business deal, or a personal pursuit.
It is a legislated act of worship that must be done in accordance with the laws of Islam for the pleasure of Allah. Like any other good deed, dawah with ikhlāṣ is not only devoid of reward, but rather it becomes a sinful act that counts against the individual on the Last Day.
Dr Osman Latiff says about sincerity:
Sincerity is the essence of all we do. Without it, things are futile. An underlying premise of our testimony of faith is to testify with sincerity. Everything that follows, speech and action are performed with a conscious heart and mind. It is for Him that we do, and for Him too that we refrain from doing.[3]
One-Third of the Religion
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Verily, actions are judged by their intentions, and everyone will have only what they intended. Whoever emigrated for Allah and His Messenger, his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever emigrated to get something in the world or to marry a woman, his emigration is for that to which he emigrated.”[4]
This hadith forms of the foundation of Islamic ethics. One-third of our religion revolves around intentions, and that includes the validity of one’s dawah. The opposite of sincerity is riyā (showing off) which is a minor form of shirk and a major sin. The Prophet ﷺ warned against riyā in many hadiths.
In the field of dawah, the struggle with our intentions is our biggest jihad. Especially in modern times, there are too many competing factors trying to distract us from being focused on pleasing Allah. The rise of the internet and social media has made it easier than ever for a preacher to forget their purpose. It is too easy to become famous, wealthy, and popular through preaching online, and while these are not prohibited as results, they are prohibited as intentions.
By this, I mean that if someone does dawah for the pleasure of Allah, and Allah makes that person popular or wealthy through it, then this is both a gift and a test from Allah. It is a gift in that it can be a sign of acceptance in this world and part of their reward. It is also a test in that it could lead to corruption of intentions or falling into temptation.
Wealth and fame are not the problem, it is the intention in the heart that matters. As long as dawah is done solely for the pleasure of Allah, it is rewardable and blessed. Once intentions are corrupted, then it becomes a force of destruction and a source of sin.
Many problems in the dawah scene today relate directly to intentions. Many preachers use the religion as a means of self-promotion and become obsessed with working with the algorithm to promote their own content and ideas. This over time becomes a form of self-worship in which Allah is forgotten and everything becomes about one’s own ego and fame.
Incorrect intentions works against a preacher, whether they are successful or not. If successful, they grow in their ego and self-importance and forget Allah. If they fail, they become bitter and jealous at those who have more followers and support than them and may fall into sabotage against more popular preachers. Either way, it is ugly and a source of many problems today.
Struggling with Ikhlāṣ
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Verily, what I fear most for you after me is ostentation and hidden lusts,”[5]
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever seeks knowledge that should be sought for the sake of Allah Almighty, but only to gain some worldly benefit, he will never know the fragrance Paradise on the Day of Resurrection.”[6]
The reality is that every caller will struggle with intentions many times. In fact, we all may stray in our intentions from time to time. However, with self-reflection and sincere counsel, we can always find our way back to Allah and renew our sincerity. The real danger lies in not even realizing that one’s intentions have been corrupted.
The opposite of ikhlāṣ is riyā (showing off). There are many ways to fall into riyā. I want to focus on five traps of the devil that lead to riyā. Over the years, I have found these five trials to be the most common and biggest trials regarding intentions. These five traps are fame, jealousy, greed, lust, and ego.
Fame is the most common trap used to mislead people. When one’s intention becomes gaining followers, increasing reach, and becoming more popular than others, then one has strayed. This does not mean that fame is itself a bad thing. If Allah makes someone famous, they must use that fame to benefit the religion, but fame should not be the goal. The goal should always be the pleasure of Allah.
If the devil cannot trick someone into pursuing fame, he may trick them into becoming jealous and bitter at those who are more famous than him. This jealousy consumes the caller and becomes his primarily focus. When consumed by jealousy, one forgets about the pleasure of Allah, and focuses on the downfall of others. This leads to an obsession with refutations, slander and takedowns, instead of focusing on doing work that is pleasing to Allah.
Another way in which the devil may mislead us is through greed for wealth. There is a fine line to walk here because I believe preachers should be financially independent, especially in modernity. However, in pursuing financial freedom, we must be careful of becoming greedy and obsessed with wealth. Money should be seen as a tool for dawah, not the goal of dawah.
The devil may also try to misguide you true lust and temptation from the opposite gender. When beginning one’s journey of knowledge, many people may not realize that they will be tried in this manner. Yet I have seen so many potentially great preachers fall from grace because of giving in to temptation. Do not underestimate the power of lust. Shield yourself from it by keeping a distance from the opposite gender, getting married young, and renewing your intentions regularly.
Finally, the devil may try to mislead you through self-amazement (ʿujb) by playing with your ego. Many preachers are gifted with amazing intellect, skills, and knowledge. If they do not work on remaining humble, they may become egotistical. When the ego takes over, the dawah stops being about Allah and becomes about oneself. Often cults and new sect begin when a preacher thinks he is better than everyone else, leading to him starting his own version of the religion. We seek Allah’s protection from all these trials.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever seeks knowledge to impress the scholars, to argue with the foolish, or to attract the attention of people, Allah will admit him into Hellfire.”[7]
Benefits of Ikhlāṣ
Ikhlāṣ keeps one grounded regardless of worldly success. A true believer knows that his job is simply to convey the message in the best way possible, and that guidance is in Allah’s Control. Allah guides those who deserve guidance, and our role is simply to be a means through which the message reaches people.
Therefore, worldly results are inconsequential and do not define success. Success is measured by two methods only; did you convey the message properly and did you do it for the sake of Allah? Everything else is outside one’s control.
With this mindset, a believer can remain grounded and focused regardless of whether people listen to him or not. If he remains unknown and unpopular, he continues to do his work for the sake of Allah, expecting his reward in the Afterlife. If he grows famous, he remains committed to Allah and does not allow fame to change him. His sincerity is his shield against both corruption and quitting.
Sincerity brings added value to the dawah as well. It produces barakah[8] in the dawah that cannot be explained in worldly terms. When dawah is done solely for the pleasure of Allah, this effort becomes blessed, and the blessings manifest in different ways.
Sometimes, a small dawah effort can be the means of guidance for millions of people. Other times, it can be a means of purification and improvement for the preacher himself. Sometimes, just one person may accept the message, but that person becomes a great asset to the ummah. All these are from the blessings of sincere dawah.
To maintain sincerity, check your intentions regularly, make dua for sincerity, accept sincere advice, have righteous friends that keep you in check, and ensure that you have a lot of secret good deeds to make up for any slip-ups regarding your intentions for your public deeds.
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[8] Barakah literally means blessings. In Islamic theology, it refers to the concept of something providing value beyond what is expected in an almost supernatural manner.
