When does Allah accept the deeds of His slave? What are the conditions that an action must meet in order to be righteous and accepted by Allah?
Praise be to Allah.
An action cannot be regarded as an act of worship unless it meets two conditions, namely perfect love and perfect humility. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“But those who believe, love Allah more (than anything else)” [Al-Baqarah 2:165]
“and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us”[Al-Anbiya’ 21:90]
If this is understood, then one will realize that worship is only accepted from a Muslim who believes in Allah alone (Tawhid), as Allah says of the kuffar:
“And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust” [Al-Furqan 25:23 – interpretation of the meaning]
In Sahih Muslim (214) it is narrated that ‘Aaishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, during the Jahiliyyah Ibn Jud’an used to uphold ties of kinship and feed the poor. Will that avail him anything?’ He said, ‘It will not avail him anything, because he never said one day, “O Lord forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement,”’” – meaning that he did not believe in the resurrection or do good deeds hoping to meet Allah.
Moreover, the Muslim’s worship will not be accepted unless it meets two basic conditions:
1. Sincerity of intention towards Allah alone, which means that a person’s intention in all his words and actions, both outward and inward, is to do them for the sake of Allah alone and no one else.
2. The action must be in accordance with the laws which Allah has enjoined and stated that He must be worshiped only in accordance with them. This is achieved by following the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the message he brought, and not going against that or introducing new acts of worship or new forms of worship which were not reported from him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The evidence for these two conditions is to be found in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord” [Al-Kahf 18:110]
Imam Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “ ‘So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord’ means His reward; ‘let him work righteousness’ means actions that are done for the sake of Allah alone, with no partner or associate. These two factors form the basis for an acceptable deed: it must be done sincerely for the sake of Allah alone, and it must be correct and in accordance with the shari’ah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”
The more a person learns about his Lord and His names and attributes, the more sincere he will be in his intentions. The more he learns about his Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the more he will follow him. By having a sincere intention towards Allah and by following His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) he will attain salvation in this world and in the Hereafter. We ask Allah for success and salvation in this world and in the Hereafter.
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