will bring him before Himself on the Day of Resurrection. Allah will then remind him of His favor; the man will recognize it, admit it, and confess. He will be asked, “What did you do”—that is, how did you show gratitude for this blessing? He will reply, “I sought knowledge and recited the Qur’an for Your sake.” Allah will say, “You have lied. You only studied so that people would say, ‘He is a scholar,’ and you recited the Qur’an so that they would say, ‘He is a reciter.’ You did it for display, not for Allah.” He will thereupon be ordered to be dragged on his face into the Fire.

This proves that anyone who pursues knowledge must keep his intention purely for Allah alone and never concern himself with whether people call him a scholar, shaykh, professor, mujtahid, or any other title. Such labels are of no consequence to him; what matters is the pleasure of Allah—protecting the sharia, teaching it, removing ignorance from himself, and removing ignorance from Allah’s servants—so that he may be recorded among the martyrs, whose rank is just below that of the siddiqin (the ever-truthful).

“Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger will be in the company of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace: the prophets, the ever-truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous.” (Qur’an 4:69)

But anyone who studies for some other motive—so that people may say he is a scholar, a mujtahid, an authority, and the like—his deeds are nullified, and we seek refuge with Allah. On the Day of Resurrection he will be the first person called to account, dragged on his face into the Fire, branded a liar, and rebuked.

The second individual is a fighter who fought in the cause of Allah and was killed. On the Day of Resurrection he will be brought before the Lord, Glorified and Exalted, and Allah will remind him of His favors; he will recognize them—namely, that Allah supported, prepared, provided for, and strengthened him until he reached the point of fighting. Then he will be asked, “What did you do with them?” He will answer, “My Lord, I fought for Your sake.” It will be said, “You have lied; you fought only so that people would say, ‘So-and-so is brave and daring,’ and they have said it.” He will then be commanded to be dragged on his face into the Fire, and we seek Allah’s refuge.

Likewise, combatants who fight in the cause of Allah differ in their intentions. Whoever fights so that the word of Allah may be supreme is the one who is truly fighting in Allah’s cause, as