the heart, and that Allah—glorified and exalted be He—knows the servant’s intention. A person may perform a deed that appears to people to be righteous, yet it is in fact corrupt, ruined by a faulty intention, because Allah knows what is in the heart, and on the Day of Resurrection a person will be recompensed only for what is in his heart. Allah the Exalted says, “Indeed, He is able to bring him back—the Day when secrets will be laid bare—then he will have no power and no helper” (al-Ṭāriq 86:8–10), meaning: the day when the hidden secrets—the hearts—are examined. He also says, “Does he not know that when what is in the graves is overturned and what is in the breasts is laid bare” (al-ʿĀdiyāt 100:9–10).

In the Hereafter, therefore, reward and punishment, the value of deeds, and their acceptance all depend on what is in the heart.

In this world, however, judgment is based on what is outwardly apparent; people are treated according to the visible aspects of their condition. If a person’s outward state accords with his inward state, then both his public and private selves, his inner and outer realities, are sound. But if they are at odds and the heart conceals a corrupt intention—may Allah protect us—the loss is immense! He labors and toils yet gains no share of reward for that deed, as is stated in the authentic hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah the Exalted said, ‘I am the One who has no need of partners. Whoever performs a deed in which he associates someone else with Me, I leave him and his act of association.’”

So fear Allah—fear Allah, O brothers—and make your intention sincere for Allah, Exalted be He!

And know that Satan may come to you when you decide to do a good deed and say to you, “You…"