Who Are You Doing It For?

Bismillahirrahmaanirraheem

Sufyan Ath-Thawri(may ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala) have mercy on him) said, I did not find upon myself, I did not encounter, I did not experience anything harder upon myself then my niyyah, my intention. Brothers and sisters, how many of us don't even check our intentions. Brothers and sisters, how many of us try to do things for ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala) and (Audobillah), we might be going on day of judgment and we won't find these deeds, and we will say where are they? where are they? and they are nowhere to be found, why? Because they are done for something other than ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala). Renewing your intentions brothers and sisters, It's not something easy, renewing your intentions is something very very difficult. How many people in the field of dawah, going out, sitting in front of the camera, giving lectures, not checking the intention. Subhan'ALLAH (glory be to ALLAH), one of the scholars used to say, "Check your intentions, ask yourself over and over again, whom am I doing this for? Is this for ALLAH? Who am I doing this for? Is this for ALLAH?" And you might answer it, your nafs (desire) will tell you, "yes! it's for ALLAH brother, don't worry , yes! it's for ALLAH sister, don't worry". But then you ask yourself again, really? Is it for ALLAH? Who am I doing this for? Is this really for ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala)? Ask yourself over and over and over again, till you, from the inside are honest with yourself, that maybe it's not for the sake of ALLAH and you renew your intentions, and you change it and you ask ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala) to change your niyyah (intention). "Oh ALLAH! Change our niyyah (intention), oh ALLAH perfect and make our niyyah (intention) to be sincerely for your sake, Oh ALLAH!". 

However, I wanna change it and tell you that a lot of people quit sometimes, and say, you know what brother, sister "I am not too good, I don't think I am doing this for the sake of ALLAH, you know my intention is not there" and they stop . They don't work for ISLAM , they don't work for ALLAH, they don't work for this dawah. Shaitan has fooled them, shaitan has made them stop. He is playing with them, with their intention. This is not what you have to do that you stop. "Oh brother, I am not good , you know, oh some kind of piety and I need to stop". No, you need to fight, it is a war. This Sufyan Ath-Thawari, he is a mountain of hadith, he is a mountain of a scholar of ISLAM and he finds it hard upon himself to deal with his niyyah (intention). 

Umar Al Khattab (may ALLAH have mercy on him), he used to fight with himself, with his nafs (desire), they used to say, he used to put himself down, he used to humble himself and used to (say) "I want to show the nafs of umar, who is umar. I wanna show who I really am" because he knew his real value, he knew his real worth. And they used to do these kind of things to put them down. And that's why ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala) has given us through his messenger Muhammed (peace be upon him), this beautiful thing, whoever humbles himself for the sake of ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala), whoever humiliates himself for the sake of ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala), ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala) will raise him. ALLAH(subahaanawat'aala) will lift him up. ALLAH (subahaanawat'aala) will raise his worth. So, try to always practice something. By ALLAH, brothers and sisters, try to practice something that will humble you, try to remember your sins that will humble you, try to remember the things that you have done that will humble you and put you in check and show you who you really are, so that people when they look at you, when they praise you, you know that riya, that show off will not enter your heart because you know your real worth."

By Ustadh Gabriel Al Romaani