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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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The life of authority lies between speech and action.

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Sincerity with Allah.

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Bakr Ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him,

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did not surpass the people by having more prayer or fasting than them;

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rather, he surpassed them because of something that was in his heart.

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'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"You pray more and strive harder than the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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yet they were better than you."

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It was said to him, "In what way?"

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He replied:

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"They were more ascetic regarding this world and more desirous of the Hereafter than you."

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Malik Ibn Dinar, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Sincerity appears in the heart as something weak,

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just as a palm shoot appears.

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It starts as a single twig;

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if a child plucks it,

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its root is destroyed.

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If a goat eats it, its root is destroyed.

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But it is watered and it spreads,

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it is watered and it spreads,

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until it has a firm root that is trodden upon,

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a shade under which one finds shelter,

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and fruit from which one eats.

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Sincerity is the same:

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it appears in the heart as something weak,

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so its possessor tends to it,

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and Allah, the Exalted, increases it.

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Its possessor tends to it,

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and Allah increases it,

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until Allah makes it a blessing for his own soul,

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and his speech becomes a remedy for the erring."

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Then he says:

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"Have you not seen them?"

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Then he returns to himself and says:

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"Yes,

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by Allah, we have seen them:

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al-Hasan,

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and Sa'id Ibn Jubayr.

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A man among them would have Allah revive

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vast multitudes of people through his speech."

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He, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:

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"Tell those who are not sincere:

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do not trouble yourselves."

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Abu Zur'ah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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I said to Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him:

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"How did you escape the sword of al-Mu'tasim

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and the trial of al-Wathiq?"

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He said to me:

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"O Abu Zur'ah,

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if sincerity were applied to a wound, it would heal."

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It was said to Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him:

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"By what did he attain what he attained,

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to the point that he is remembered for it?"

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He replied, "By sincerity."

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Someone mentioned sincerity and devotion to him,

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and he said:

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"It is by this that the people were elevated."

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Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Whoever is sincere in abandoning a desire,

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Allah removes it from his heart."

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The Friends of Allah (Awliya').

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'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"There are people who are keys to the remembrance of Allah;

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when they are seen, Allah is remembered."

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'Abdullah Ibn Abi Awfa, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"The best of the servants of Allah

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are those who love Allah,

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and those who make Allah beloved to His servants."

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One of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"A friend of Allah:

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when his status increases, his humility increases;

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when his wealth increases, his generosity increases;

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and when his age increases, his striving increases."

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Sincerity.

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Condemning hypocrisy and ostentation,

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and fearing them.

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'Umar wrote to Abu Musa, may Allah be pleased with them both:

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"Whoever purifies his intention between himself and Allah,

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Allah will suffice him in what is between him and the people.

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But whoever adorns himself for the people with what Allah knows is otherwise,

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Allah will disgrace him."

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Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"Some of my Companions will see me, and I will never see them after I die."

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This reached 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,

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and he came to her rushing,

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and said to her:

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"I adjure you by Allah,

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am I among them?"

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She said, "No,

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and I will never absolve anyone after you."

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Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by me

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while I was sitting in the mosque,

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and he said to me:

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"O Hudhayfah,

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so-and-so has died, so bear witness [to his funeral]."

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He said:

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Then he walked on,

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until, when he was about to leave the mosque,

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he turned to me and saw me still sitting.

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He realized,

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so he returned to me and said:

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"O Hudhayfah,

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I adjure you by Allah,

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am I among those people [the hypocrites]?"

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He said:

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I replied:

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"By Allah, no.

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And I will never absolve anyone after you."

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He said:

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Then I saw 'Umar's eyes overflowing,

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meaning they shed tears of joy.

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Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"Whoever shows off in this world, Allah will show him off on the Day of Resurrection;

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and whoever seeks fame in this world, Allah will expose him on the Day of Resurrection."

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Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"The hypocrites today are worse than they were during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;

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back then they used to hide it,

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but today they proclaim it."

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A man said to him:

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"I fear that I am a hypocrite."

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He replied:

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"If you were a hypocrite, you would not fear it."

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Some people said to Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him:

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"We enter upon our rulers

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and say to them the opposite of what we say when we leave them."

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He said:

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"We used to consider that hypocrisy."

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Mujahid, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"We sought this knowledge while having no great intention,

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then Allah later granted us the intention."

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Hisham al-Dastawa'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"By Allah, I cannot say

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that I ever went out to seek hadith

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desiring only the Face of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."

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Al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"By Allah, neither can I."

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The salaf used to seek knowledge for the sake of Allah,

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so they became noble and became imams to be followed.

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A group among them sought it initially not for the sake of Allah,

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and they attained it,

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then they awakened and held themselves to account,

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and the knowledge led them to sincerity along the way.

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Al-Rabi' Ibn Khuthaym, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Everything not sought for the sake of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will perish."

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Abu al-'Aliyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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The Companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to me:

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"Do not work for other than Allah,

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lest Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, entrust you to the one for whom you worked."

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One of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"The people closest to ostentation

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are those most confident that they are free of it."

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Mutarrif Ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"The righteousness of the heart is through the righteousness of deeds,

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and the righteousness of deeds is through the soundness of the intention."

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Abu al-'Aliyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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The Companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gathered around me

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and said, "O Abu al-'Aliyah,

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do not perform a deed for which you desire other than Allah,

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lest Allah assign your reward to the one you desired."

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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"By Allah, no believer wakes up or goes to sleep

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without fearing hypocrisy for himself."

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There was a young man who used to recite in the presence of al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him,

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and he liked his voice.

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He said, "O Abu Sa'id,

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I have been blessed with this voice,

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and I stand [in prayer] at night,

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then the devil comes and says,

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'You only want to be heard.'"

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Al-Hasan said:

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"Your intention is [judged] when you rise from your bed."

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It was said to Imam Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him:

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"You have occupied yourself with this book [al-Muwatta'],

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and people have joined you in it,

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and they have produced the like of it."

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He said:

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"You will surely know what was intended for the Face of Allah, the Exalted."

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Ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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I saw Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him,

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and I saw him to be among the humble.

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Allah only elevated him because of a secret between him and Allah.

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This is because I often heard him say:

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"Whoever loves for an opening to be made in his heart,

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and to be saved from the agonies of death and the terrors of the Day of Resurrection,

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let his deeds in secret be more than his deeds in public."

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Ibn Wahb, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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Malik's worship was mostly in secret, by night and by day,

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where no one could see him.

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Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding the saying of the Exalted:

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﴾That He may test you, which of you is best in deed﴿

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"The most sincere and the most correct."

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For if it is sincere but not correct, it is not accepted;

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and if it is correct but not sincere, it is not accepted until it is sincere.

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Sincerity is when it is for Allah,

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The correct view is that which aligns with the Sunnah.

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He, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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Abandoning an action for the sake of people is showing off (riya').

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And performing an action for the sake of people is associating partners with Allah (shirk).

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Sincerity (ikhlas) is for Allah to grant you well-being from both.

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'Abdullah Ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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If two men were traveling together,

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and one of them wished to pray two rak'ahs,

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but he abandoned them for the sake of his companion,

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that would be showing off.

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And if he prayed them for the sake of his companion,

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that would be associating partners with Allah.

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Some of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on them, said:

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Whoever seeks the Countenance of Allah through his knowledge,

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Allah will turn His Countenance toward him,

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and will turn the hearts of the servants toward him.

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And whoever acts for other than Allah the Exalted,

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He will turn His Countenance away from him,

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and will turn the hearts of the servants away from him.

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Yahya Ibn Abi Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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Learn the intention,

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for it is more profound than the action itself.

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It is narrated from Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, that he said:

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The best way a servant can draw near to Allah

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is for Allah to look into your heart

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and find that you desire nothing from this world or the Hereafter except Him.

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Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:

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If a man enters the mosque

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and sees people, so he improves his prayer,

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does this mean it is showing off?

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He said: No.

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That is the blessing of one Muslim upon another.

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The life of peace

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between speech and action.