“All praise is to Allah. We praise him, we seek His help, His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. Whomsoever Allah leads astray, none can guide him.
I testify there is no God but Allah alone, without any partners, and that Muhammad, ﷺ, is His servant and messenger.”
Welcome to the Friday Khutbah! A weekly series on the AlMaghrib Journal, based on sermons delivered by our esteemed instructors! We hope you find it beneficial!
After one of the battles during the Prophet’s ﷺ time, he was distributing the spoils of war. One Muslim who was absent during the distribution had his share sent to him. When the man received it, he returned to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “Ya Rasulullah, this is not why I followed you”—not for material gains. While the wealth was completely permissible, he feared that his intentions might become corrupted if he grew accustomed to such rewards.
The Prophet ﷺ, wanting to highlight the beauty of this man’s sincerity, asked him: “Why did you become one of my followers?”
The man pointed to his throat and said, “For me to be struck right here with an arrow.”
The Prophet ﷺ responded, “Be truthful to Allah, and Allah will display your truthfulness.”
In the very next battle, this same companion was brought to the Prophet ﷺ in the arms of his brothers, struck by an arrow in the exact spot he had indicated. The Prophet ﷺ, recognizing him, said with amazement: “Can that really be him?” When confirmed, he declared: “صَدَقَ اللَّهَ فَصَدَقَهُ، وَأَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكَ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ“, “This man was truthful to Allah, and so Allah showed his truthfulness, and I too am among those who testify to his truthfulness.”
The Hidden Martyrs Among Us
On the Day of Judgment, we may find people whom we never knew were so sincere, standing in the ranks of the martyrs, interceding for seventy of their family members, despite never having died in battle.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“مَنْ طَلَبَ الشَّهَادَةَ بِصِدْقٍ بَلَّغَهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَإِنْ مَاتَ عَلَى فِرَاشِهِ”
Whoever sincerely seeks martyrdom, Allah will grant him the station of the martyrs even if he dies on his mattress. (Sahih Muslim)
This demonstrates the magnitude of intentions in our religion. Allah looks at the hearts before the actions.
Four Categories of People
The Prophet ﷺ described this reality in the hadith of Abu Kabshah Al-Anmari (رضي الله عنه), where he said that this world is essentially divided among four categories of people:
First: A person whom Allah granted both wealth and knowledge. He obeys his Lord with that wealth, maintains family ties, and recognizes Allah’s rights in his money. This person will have the highest of stations.
Second: A person whom Allah gave knowledge but no wealth. He says, “If I had wealth like the first person, I would do everything he does.” Because he is sincere in his intention, he will be ranked according to his intention—in reward, they are equal.
Third: A person whom Allah gave wealth but no knowledge. He does not fear Allah regarding his wealth, does not maintain family ties with it, and does not recognize Allah’s right in it. This person will have the most pitiful station.
Fourth: A person whom Allah gave neither wealth nor knowledge, and he says, “If only I had money, I’d be like the third person.” He will be ranked according to his intention—in sin, they are equal.
The fourth person is remarkable: he committed none of the sins, enjoyed none of the wealth, yet is held accountable for all of it. Why? Because Allah knew that the only reason he abstained was his inability, not his righteousness. He gets no credit for abstaining from what he was unable to do anyway.
The Difference Between Wishful Thinking and True Determination
You may hear people say, “I wish I could build a masjid” or “I wish I could memorize the Quran.” On the Day of Judgment, some will be rewarded in full for having built masajid, dug wells, memorized the entire Quran, or freed Palestine—even though, as far as we could tell, they never accomplished these things in a recognizable way during their lifetimes.
But there is one critical condition: we must differentiate between wishful thinking and true determination.
The Prophet ﷺ said that when a person intends a good deed, he receives its reward, and if he actually does it, he receives ten times the reward (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6491). In one narration, he clarified that this applies when the intention comes “مِنْ شَعَارِ قَلْبِهِ” (min sha’ar qalbihi)—from the innermost depths of the heart, from a place of genuine resolve.
If you are truly sincere about receiving the reward for what you cannot do, you will be doing everything you can do. For instance, when the Prophet ﷺ spoke about traveling to pray in Bayt al-Maqdis, he was asked, “What if I cannot go?” His response: “Send some oil for its lamps”—do what you can.
This is why the Prophet ﷺ said that when a person becomes sick or travels, he continues to receive the full reward for all the good deeds he used to do when healthy and resident (Sahih Al-Bukhari). How do we know this person was truly determined? Because when he could do it, he did it. When he could pray, he prayed. When he could donate, he donated.
Learn What an Intention Is
Yahya ibn Abi Kathir used to advise people: “Learn what an intention is”, meaning understand the difference between wishful thinking and true determination, because the latter will deliver you farther than your actions alone ever could.
When you have a plan to please Allah in a particular way, it needs to be a real plan. Think about traveling: you save money incrementally, look for flights, consider alternatives if one doesn’t work. You have a plan, a plan B, and a plan C. Similarly, your spiritual goals require a calendar, a commitment, a contingency—thoughtfulness and effort behind them for them to be rewarded in full.
The Charity of Reputation
The hadith of ‘Ulba ibn Zayed illustrates this beautifully. When the Prophet ﷺ called the Muslims to jihad, some walked away because he couldn’t provide them with animals to ride. The Quran records that they left while their eyes were overflowing with tears, pained that they couldn’t afford transportation to join the expedition (Surah At-Tawbah, 9:92).
‘Ulba ibn Zayed was one of them. That night, heartbroken, he prayed: “O Allah, You commanded Your Prophet with this, and You commanded us to go out with him, but he did not give me something to ride. O Allah, my contribution is that I am going to donate to every Muslim any violation or abuse they have done to me—whether they violated my wealth, my reputation, or physically harmed me. I am donating it all back. I will not call them to account on the Day of Judgment. Let this be my charity.”
The next morning, the Prophet ﷺ asked, “Where is the person who gave charity last night?” No one stood up, perhaps out of sincere humility or uncertainty about whether such a donation even counted. He repeated: “The one who gave charity last night must stand.”
‘Ulba finally responded: “Ya Rasulullah, I offered something in charity yesterday.”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Receive glad tidings! By the One in whose hand is my soul, Allah has written it in the heavens among the most accepted charities.”
He tried to give what he could to compensate for what he couldn’t, and so he received the full reward.
The Journey Is the Arrival
The final example is the hadith of Damra ibn Jundab, an elderly man who could not migrate to Madinah. Though he was excused, he insisted on trying. He set out into the desert, but midway through his journey, he realized he was dying.
As death approached, he placed one hand in the other as if pledging allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “اللَّهُمَّ هَذِهِ بَيْعَتِي لَكَ” , “O Allah, here is my pledge to You.” “اللَّهُمَّ هَذِهِ بَيْعَتِي لِنَبِيِّكَ“, “And here is my pledge to Your Prophet.”
He died alone in the desert. He never completed the migration.
Yet scholars of tafsir say he was the first person Allah intended in the verse:
“وَمَن يَخْرُجْ مِن بَيْتِهِ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ الْمَوْتُ فَقَدْ وَقَعَ أَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ”
And whoever leaves his home emigrating to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him, his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah (Surah An-Nisa, 4:100).
You must exit. You must walk out. You must try. And whoever exits his home with sincere intention toward Allah and His Messenger, and is then interrupted by death—his reward with Allah is guaranteed in full.
The Lesson: Getting Started Is Arriving
Brothers and sisters, with Allah, getting started on your journey is arriving. Why? Because He is Al-Kareem (the Most Generous) and Al-‘Aleem (the All-Knowing). He knows what is in the heart.
The immaterial, the heart, the spirit, the intention, is not merely important; it is the most important thing that Allah looks for.
May Allah purify our intentions and yours. May He propel us forward with our good intentions, in His sight and for His pleasure. May He forgive us and our loved ones, grant healing to the sick, relief to those in affliction, mercy to those who have passed, and victory to the Muslims in every corner of the globe.
Allahumma amin.
This article is based on a khutbah by Shaykh Mohammad Elshinawy. You can watch the original sermon here
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