Is Worshipping Allah in Hope of a Reward in Paradise a Corrupt Intention?
Question
Severe waswasa keeps telling me that my intention is corrupt, because I have come back to worship mainly in the hope of one particular thing I long for in Paradise. Is my intention sound?
Answer
May Allah Most High bless you and relieve you of such misgivings. Your intention is not corrupt. Worshipping Allah in hope of what He has promised is sound and praiseworthy; the Sacred Law asks this of you. The thought telling you that you have turned Allah into a bargaining tool is a baseless misgiving (waswasa).
What Spoils an Intention, and What Cannot
Let’s begin with what Islamic law says, as it clarifies the matter before considering various spiritual levels.
The great reference scholar of the Hanafi school, Imam Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him), states clearly: praying and seeking reward from Allah is an act of sincerity [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar].
What Does Sincerity Require?
Imam Birgivi (Allah have mercy on him) defines sincerity (ikhlas) in the Tariqa Muhammadiyya as stripping the intent to draw near to Allah of two things: (1) seeking worldly benefit, and (2) seeking people’s approval. [Birgivi, al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya]
His commentator, Imam Khadimi (Allah have mercy on him), transmits and expounds upon that definition [Khadimi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya]. The reward of the next life is neither of the two things that go against sincerity.
The Quran locates the fault in the same place. Allah Most High says of those He praises for feeding others, “We feed you but for Allah Himself; we want no requital from you, or any great gratitude.” [Quran 76:9; Keller, The Quran Beheld] Imam Nasafi (Allah have mercy on him) glosses “for Allah Himself” as seeking His reward [Nasafi, Madarik al-Tanzil].
The verse rules out wanting something back from people, and that is not what you are doing.
One verse describes your position exactly. “Whoever strives hard for the yield of the next world, we shall increase for him in his tillage.” [Quran 42:20] Allah does not rebuke the man who wants the harvest of the hereafter. He increases him [Nasafi, Madarik al-Tanzil].
Prophetic Clarity on Acting for Reward
The Sunna is plainer still: A man told the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) that his whole prayer was, “O Allah, I ask You for Paradise and I seek refuge with You from the Fire.” He admitted he could not manage the long murmured supplications of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) or of Muadh (Allah be pleased with him). He was not corrected. He was told, “It is around it that we murmur.” [Abu Dawud]
And Dhu al-Nun al-Misri (Allah have mercy on him) counts claiming the reward of the deed in the next life among the signs of sincerity, not among its defects [Khadimi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya].
Your Trouble Is Not Corrupt Worship
The scholars saw this concern coming up. Imam Khadimi opens his discussion of the matters that hover between showing off and sincerity by teaching how to repel the whispering of Shaytan, which is needed everywhere, “especially in the matter of sincerity.” [Khadimi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya]
Disregard the misgivings and whispers, and count them as nothing each time they come. Khadimi compares Shaytan to a barking dog: turn to face it, and it fastens on you; walk on, and it falls quiet [Khadimi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya].
The jurists say the same in their own idiom. Where a man means to pray or to recite the Quran and fears that showing off will enter, he must not leave it, because the fear is a thing of the imagination [Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa al-Naza’ir].
A man asked Imam Suhrawardi (Allah have mercy on him) whether it was better to stop working and sink into idleness, or to work and let self-regard in. He wrote back: work and seek Allah’s forgiveness [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar].
So do not examine this intention again. Do not renew it, do not test it, and do not check whether the hope is still the main one. That inspection is the illness, and every round of it costs you a prayer you could have prayed.
Hope Is the Prescription, Not the Problem
Imam Khadimi weighs the hardest questions in this field and gives his verdict in his own voice: the sound position is that a person carries out Allah’s commands in hope of His reward [Khadimi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya]. He prescribes your exact motive as the remedy for your exact worry. You have not fallen into something you must climb out of. You have been handed something to hold.
As for the thing you long for, ask Him for it. Allah Most High says of the people of Paradise, “They shall have anything they may wish therein: And with Us is unutterably more.” [Quran 50:35; Keller, The Quran Beheld]
Say what you want, in your own words, and leave the how to Him. Bring the loneliness that began all of this to Him, too, and let a trusted friend or a qualified counselor help you carry it. Allah accepts your worship by His grace, not by the tidiness of your motives, and He is not waiting to catch you out.
And Allah knows best.
Faraz Rabbani
Related Answers
- Do I Need To Have an Intention To Receive a Reward From Allah? — Reward follows the intention behind an act, so consciously intending it in the moment is what earns it.
- Only Concerned With Allah’s Pleasure not His Reward: Do I Need to Repent? — Wanting Allah’s pleasure over His reward needs no repentance, though learning what He commands and forbids remains a duty.
- How Do I Develop Sincerity in My Relationship with Allah? — Sincerity grows through private worship, asking Allah for it directly, and renewing a right intention before each act.
- Why Do We Perform Good Deeds If We Enter Paradise Through Allah’s Mercy? — Good deeds remain the means Allah has set, even though no one enters Paradise except by His mercy.
