How sincerity leads to a happy ever after
In Surat Maidah, Allah states:
إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلۡمُتَّقِينَ
Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous. [5:27]
In this ayah, Allah is talking about the acceptance of deeds and the fact that He only accepts the deeds of the righteous – the mutaqeen.
Ramadan has come and gone. Now we are waiting for acceptance from Allah. What if 30 days of fast, night prayers, Quran, and charity was not accepted? How do we know whether Allah accepted from us?
Conditions for acceptance
Allah has given us the conditions we have to fulfil in order for our deeds to be accepted in the Quran. This is one of the main verses in the Quran regarding the acceptance of deeds. Firstly, the deed should be carried out purely for Allah, uncontaminated by our desire for recognition and praise, or to demonstrate to others how good we are. Secondly, the deeds should be carried out in line with prophetic guidance.
Accordingly, we have to keep a close eye on our intentions, and what is the true motivation behind our actions. For instance, did we fast with the right intention or did we do it because everyone else around us was doing it and it would look bad if we didn’t? Did we pray with the right intention or because our friends were going and we didn’t want to be the odd one out. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) famously quoted that “actions are judged by their intention.” (Bukhari).
Were they carried out with sincerity or for other reasons? Our intentions are not apparent = their reality is known only to Allah. Even the angels cannot access your intentions, only record the actions.
They write down how many rakahs you prayed and how enthusiastically you recited the Quran, but they cannot penetrate your heart to see what your real motivation was deep down: so they write what they see. Their camera does not have the X-ray vision technology required to perceive your heart. But Allah knows.
This is why the beginning of any deed must be accompanied by the right intention. Yet, our intentions are tricky. They easily veer off. They fluctuate more than the stock exchange. Shaytan tries to corrupt and ruin every action you begin – if he does not succeed with its initiation, he tries to meddle with the middle or tamper with the end of the action.
Three stations for every action
This is why we have three stations for every action – the beginning, middle and end. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also stated that actions are judged based on their conclusion. (Bukhari) As one may have started with a good intention, but along the way, Shaytan sneaked in and whispered into your ears how good you are, and you began boosting about your actions to impress others, to demonstrate your piety. Shaytan thus succeeds in ruining the acceptance of your action. This is why the most beloved deeds to Allah are the ones done in secret. As He mentions in the Quran, those who spend in charity during the night and during the day, as He loves the deeds done away from people’s eyes. Actions performed in the night, are away from people’s gaze.
ٱلَّذِینَ یُنفِقُونَ أَمۡوَ ٰلَهُم بِٱلَّیۡلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ سِرࣰّا وَعَلَانِیَةࣰ فَلَهُمۡ أَجۡرُهُمۡ عِندَ رَبِّهِمۡ وَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَیۡهِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ یَحۡزَنُونَ
Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and publicly—their reward is with their Lord, and no fear shall be upon them nor shall they grieve. (2:274)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) also stated in another hadith recorded in Bukhari and Muslim that “actions are judged according to their endings.” (Bukhari). If you managed to perform an action with a good intention, and maintain that intention throughout that is good. But if you started with the right intention, and then you listened to Shaytan, who whispered to you that you are, mashallah, so good and you start boasting about your action, he manages to ruin your action.
Gaining access to the VIP lounge
Allah has promised extra special treatment for those who succeed in protecting their actions from becoming corrupted, saying that they will be among the seven categories who have the shade of His Throne on the Day of Judgment – access to the VIP lounge.
“Seven people will be shaded by Allah under the shade of His throne on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: 1. A just ruler 2. A young person who grew up worshipping Allah 3. A person whose heart is attached to the mosques 4. Two people who love each other for the sake of Allah, meeting and parting upon that love 5. A man who is invited by a woman of status and beauty, but he says: ‘I fear Allah’ 6. A person who gives charity and conceals it so that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given 7. A person who remembers Allah in private and his eyes overflow with tears.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Imam As- Suyuti (d. 911 AH) collated a book on those who will be among these people, beginning with the seven categories but once he counted the subcategories, he included seventy. One of these is that one who is so keen to hide his charity that his left hand is not aware what his right hand has given. He is not giving to show off, but for Allah. This is sincerity (Ikhlas).
Monitor the beginning, middle and end of the action. Imam ibn Rajab al-Hanbali commented that we know if an action is accepted by certain signs, for instance if you are inspired to do good deeds after Ramadan, like fasting the six days in Shawwal. Another indication is that you have changed during Ramadan for the better, and you maintain this afterwards. But if you do not show any improvement, or you have become worse, that is a sign of rejection. Allah only accepts the actions of the pious and righteous, so we ask Him to count us among them.
The best conclusion
In the hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, that when Allah intends good for a servant, he inspires him to perform good actions before his death and takes his soul while he is performing it.
“If Allah intends good for a servant, He uses him before his death.”
They said: “O Messenger of Allah, how does He use him?”
He said: “He grants him success in performing a righteous deed, then takes his soul while he is upon it.” (Musnad Ahmad)
This is the true explanation of the hadith that actions are judged according to their ending. (Bukhari)
At Eid, we rejoice the fact we managed to fast in Ramadan. Allah did prescribe this celebration at the completion of our worship at Eid al Fitr. We should therefore celebrate, not to show off, but to show gratitude to Allah for granting us the ability to fast and for empowering us to achieve this extraordinary month of self-restraint. His support is immense and ongoing – 24/7. When we complete Hajj, we celebrate with Eid al Adha.
We ask Allah for the acceptance of our deeds and a good ending to our lives. Ameen.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 20th March 2026