Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 276
Malf uza t - English translation of Urdu Volume 8 276 Sincerity is a Prerequisite for Virtues If there is sincerity, Allah does not discard even an iota of any good deed. He Himself has said that: 1 ْنَمَف ْلَمْعَّي َلاَقْثِم ٍةَّرَذ اًرْيَخ ٗهَرَّي ْنَمَف ْلَمْعَّي َلاَقْثِم ٍةَّرَذ اًرْيَخ ٗهَرَّي Therefore, if there is even an iota of goodness, it will be rewarded by Allah the Exalted. So what is the reason that doing so much goodness does not yield any fruit? The reason for this is indeed that there is no sincerity in it. Sincerity is a prerequisite for vir- tues, as God has said: 2 َنْيِصِلْخُم ُهَل َنْيِّدلا َنْيِصِلْخُم ُهَل َنْيِّدلا This sincerity is found in those who are Abd a l [Saints]. 3 These people become Abd a l and no longer belong to this world. There is sincerity and worthiness in all their actions, but the case of worldly people is such that even if they do charity, they want praise and appreciation for it. If someone donates to a good cause, the purpose is to be praised in the newspapers— that people praise him. What does this virtue have to do with God Almighty? Many people distribute bread throughout the entire village at the time of weddings, but not for God—simply for display and ostentation. If there was no ostentation involved and this act was done simply out of compassion for Allah’s cre- ation and sincerely for the sake of God, they would become 1. Then whoso does an atom’s weight of good will see it ( S u rah az-Zilz a l, 99:8). [Publisher] 2. Serve Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience ( S u rah al-Bayyinah, 98:6). [Publisher] 3. Al- H akam, vol. 10, no. 17, p. 4, 5, dated 17 May 1906