everything he spends, so that he will not lose the reward. Whatever you spend—be it little or much—on yourself, your family, your companions, or on anyone at all, if you seek thereby the Face of Allah, Allah will reward you for it.

Concerning his words, “But the unfortunate one is Saʿd ibn Khawlah…,” Saʿd ibn Khawlah (Allah be pleased with him) was among the Emigrants who left Mecca, yet Allah decreed that he should die there. When he did, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lamented him—that is, he felt sorrow that Saʿd died in Mecca, for the Companions disliked the idea of an Emigrant dying in the land from which he had migrated.

This is what Allah has enabled us to say about this ḥadīth. The author—may Allah have mercy on him—placed it in the Chapter of Intention because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Saʿd, “You will never perform a deed seeking thereby the Face of Allah without it raising you a degree and increasing you in honor,” and he said to him, “You will never spend anything seeking thereby the Face of Allah without being rewarded for it.” Thus the ḥadīth points to sincerity: a person should seek Allah’s Face through his deeds and through his spending, so that he may obtain the reward, higher ranks, and exaltation with Allah, the Exalted. Allah alone grants success.

7- Abu Hurayrah, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣakhr (Allah be pleased with him), reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah does not look at your bodies or your forms; rather, He looks at your hearts.” (Muslim)