Are good deeds and acts of righteousness that are not accompanied by the intention of drawing closer to God, and whose motivation is custom or fear of blame, accepted?
God accepts no deeds except those done for His sake. A good intention transforms permissible actions and words into acts of worship for which a servant is rewarded, such as sleeping, eating, and the like. Scholars have explained ways to activate this, such as intending to follow the Sunnah, or removing harm from oneself or others. As for acts of worship, whoever performs them for the praise of people has fallen into shirk (polytheism), and Allah, the Exalted, does not accept shirk. Sincere devotion to Allah is the only accepted religion. However, if one intends Allah by their action and people praise them without their intention, there is no fault upon them; rather, it is the immediate glad tidings for the believer.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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