Actions are Branches of The Heart

There is this misconception floating around that in Islam "being good on the inside" (ie. having good intentions) is only what matters - and not the outward actions (ie. ritual acts of worship). But in truth, that is an illogical statement. If one's iman and love for Allah is great enough, he will naturally display it in acts of ibadah for Allah. Our outward actions - whether good or bad - are the symptoms of our heart's condition. The heart to the limbs is like a king to his troops. They both work in tandem and they cannot be said to be separate. That is why Allah judges us based on both our (outer) actions and (inner) intentions.

Yet, Muslims who only believe that only the 'inside' matters like to believe that they have "a good heart" because they may perform some acts that shows their empathy and compassion towards others, such as charity or refraining from talking down to others. Or they may express that they love Allah and are passionate for Islam. However, such people may not view fard ibadah as important and think themselves better than others who may do their fard ibadah but are seen as having "bad heart". At the same time they themselves may also be unrepentantly indulging in outward sins, either publicly or privately. When caught for this hypocrisy, they disregard criticism by others for those actions by adopting a stance of "don't judge". But by then, can they really be considered to still have "a good heart"?

The one who strives to get up from his place of rest, takes wudoo, performs salah in which he remembers God, glorifies Him, asks from Him, praises the Prophet and does all that five times a day, all with (most importantly) the intention of obeying and seeking Allah's pleasure - is a true indication that his heart is filled with love for Allah - the greatest and most important amongst all types of love. Hence it is not right if it is said that he is lower in rank than someone who does not strive to do so, even if the latter proclaims that he is "actually good on the inside". The reason is that while yes, on Judgement day only Allah's Mercy matters (and not your ibadah), the fact that one is moved to perform ibadah is already a sign of Allah's mercy and favour (ie. hidayah) upon him. And the more one forces his limbs to move in accordance to Allah's commands, the more one invites the love for Allah's into his heart. Therefore we should all strive to not give excuses (such as feeling that one is not sincere) but do more ibadah instead!

One must remember that only Allah is the final judge of a person's deeds. Hence, we must know the criterion to which Allah judges a person. It may be that the person who is always seen praying but is disliked by the people and is seen as having a bad "inner self" is because he may be tested with being created with a short temper or intelligence, or hasad has caused his standing among the people to be low, or his actions are frequently misunderstood by those around him (all ironically overlooked by those who conveniently judge him as not having a good heart). Yet who says that such a person will be worse off in the Hereafter as compared to someone who has a good heart? A person who consistently remembers Allah more likely has the love of Allah in his heart, and would try to correct his flaws for Allah's sake. So if he tries his best to overcome those challenges, coupled with performing the ibadah that is obligatory upon him, then in that context Allah would not find fault with him and would increase his rank with Him - unbeknownst to those around him.

In truth, to have the belief that "only what is inside matters" is used as a coping mechanism to justify one's irreligiosity. To pick and choose from Allah's commands and to prioritize fulfilling the rights of mankind rather than the rights of Allah. But that's just hypocritical. Imagine you had a child, who might be charitable, popular amongst his friends and kind-hearted. But when it comes to his parents, he does not visit them, nor gives them an allowance, nor treat them with kind words. It is even worse if one is being pleasing to others not out of sincerity but for the sake of showing off or for some other personal gain. It should only be the parents' right to be upset with that child. So what more for an 'abd of Allah to not fulfil His rights? Far from actually having a sound heart, ignoring Allah's rights is a sign of corruption and a betrayal of your own heart's true desire, which is to submit to Allah in obedience.

On the flipside, to be able to perform ibadah perfectly and consistently also does not give one the right to harbour ill feelings towards others in his heart. To perform outward actions while still remaining hard of heart is also hardly the transformation Islam is supposed to have on us. Verily, a clean heart is a part of faith and a sure way of entering Allah's embrace.

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said, “A man from the people of Paradise is coming to you.”. . . The man [from the people of Paradise] said, “It is not but as you see (the man was not observed to do many additional voluntary ibadah), except that I find no malice within myself towards the Muslims, nor do I envy anyone for the good that Allah has given them.”

Musnad Ahmad 12697

At the end of the day, I'm not saying one is more important than the other. Instead, we should all strive to follow to be like our role model, Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of Allah upon him, who was sincere both inside and out. As we are all sinners and far from perfect, we should also refrain from judging each other, whether or not one seems better at perfecting either his inward or outward state (whilst lacking in the other). Most importantly, we must have all our intentions for Allah's sake. For Allah's judgement upon us is what matters really. And He will only accept deeds done - whether inwardly or outwardly - for His sake. So instead of putting each other down, we should all enjoin in helping each other overcome our weaknesses, with humility and understanding.

An-Nu'man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah peace and blessings of Allah said "Verily, in the body is a piece of flesh which, if sound, the entire body is sound, and if corrupt, the entire body is corrupt. Truly, it is the heart."

Sahih Bukhari 52

And that is to say, one can only truly know if his own heart is sound or corrupt by his actions.

May Allah purify our hearts and reward our actions, amin.

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