prayer except sluggishly, and they do not give except unwillingly.” Allah Most High also says:

“So woe to those who pray, yet are heedless of their prayer, who make a show of their deeds and withhold even small acts of kindness.”

And Allah Most High says:

“When they stand for prayer, they stand sluggishly, showing off before people, and remembering Allah only a little.”

Our scholars have differed over whether zakat forcibly collected by the ruler inwardly discharges the payer’s obligation. There are two views, although it is not collected from him again. The first is that it does not discharge his obligation, because he lacked the intention despite being capable of forming it. The second is that the ruler’s intention takes the place of the intention of the person refusing to pay, because the ruler represents the Muslims in fulfilling the obligations incumbent upon them.

The first view is more correct. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to accept it from them when they gave it to him, yet the Quran explicitly denies its acceptance because they gave unwillingly. It is therefore clear that if someone gives while disliking giving, it is not accepted from him, just as with someone who prays to be seen by others.

But if a hypocrite or someone who acts to be seen by others repents, is he inwardly obliged to repeat those deeds? Or does his repentance extend retrospectively to his earlier deeds, so that he is rewarded for them? Or is he neither required to repeat them nor rewarded for them?

As for repeating them, the hypocrite is certainly not obliged to do so. A number of hypocrites repented of their hypocrisy during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he did not command any of them to repeat their deeds.

Allah Most High says:

“They resented nothing except that Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His bounty. If they repent, it will be better for them; but if they turn away, Allah will subject them to a punishment