Islam attaches the utmost importance to intentions. No action is acceptable to God purely on the basis of outer appearance. God accepts only such actions as are performed with proper intention and rejects those performed with ill-intention. Right intention is the moral purposiveness which underlies all actions performed solely for God’s pleasure. One who acts on such feelings will be rewarded by God in the Hereafter. Ill-intention, on the other hand, is a negative spur to worldly attainment. Ostensibly religious acts, if performed for worldly gain or public commendation, are in this sense illintentioned. Any fame, honour or popularity which ensues from an ill-intentioned act is a hollow triumph and is looked upon by the Almighty with extreme disfavour.
Zakat is a great act in Islam. Zakat means to give a portion from your wealth in the path of God. Fi sabilillah means to give wealth for the causes enjoined by God. The causes mentioned by God come under fi sabilillah. For the sake of God means to spend your wealth in the path of God. There is great reward for this. According to a hadith, an honest businessman will be with the Prophet in the Hereafter. If an honest businessman spends his wealth in the path of God, he will be with the prophets.
The Quran says: Copy Arabic text (23:60) Wajilah means to tremble or to have fear. When they give wealth, they don’t do it with a sense of pride. They don’t have superiority complex. They don’t try to show off how wealthy they are. Instead, their hearts tremble with fear. They are worried about their earnings. They doubt whether what they are giving in God's path will be accepted or not. This is why they tremble with fear. They don’t have pride or feelings of superiority about the act of giving money. Giving wealth in God's cause is a very good act. It has both a form and an inner spirit. If we only observe the form, it will have no value in God's eyes. According to a hadith in Bukhari, a person who used to have wealth will be brought forward on the Day of Judgment. God will ask him where he spent his money. Because whatever you have has been given to you by God. Health, wealth and children are all from God.
God will ask him: I gave you money. Where did you spend it?
He will reply: God I spend my wealth in Your cause.
He spent his money in the religious cause, such as in Madarsa or for printing of the Quran.
Apparently, these are religious causes. But God will reply: You are lying.
You gave money so that people say that this person donated a lot of wealth. That is, for fame and receiving people's admiration. (Sahih Musilm 1905)
The hadith then says that such a person will be cast into Hell. God will command that this person be cast into Hell. The person gave money for fame. He did not give wealth in the spirit required by God. He followed the form of zakat, but not its spirit. The Quran also uses the word infaq. Infaq means to give wealth in God's path. If a person follows the form of infaq and does not imbibe its spirit, he will be cast into Hell. This is a very serious matter.
