purely for Your Face—sincere (1)—and do not let any share of it be for anyone else (2).

Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, commenting on the Almighty’s words,

“That He may test you as to which of you is best in deed” (al-Mulk 67:2),

said, “The most sincere and the most correct.”

It was asked, “O Abū ʿAlī, what is meant by ‘the most sincere and the most correct’?” (3)

He replied, “If a deed is sincere but not correct, it will not be accepted; and if it is correct but not sincere, it will not be accepted—until it is both sincere and correct. Sincere means that it is for Allah, and correct means that it conforms to the sunnah.” (4)

Allah the Exalted has also said,

“Or do they have partners who have legislated for them in religion that for which Allah gave no permission?” (ash-Shūrā 42:21).

The aim of all acts of worship is that the entire religion be devoted to Allah alone (5). Allah is the One who is worshipped and the One to whom requests are made, the One in whom hope is placed and whom people fear (6); He is the One who is asked and the One who is worshipped. To Him the religion is rendered in purity; to Him has submitted all that is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly. The Quran is filled with this, as He, the Exalted, says:

“The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book in truth, so worship Allah …”