Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

380 The oath of allegiance fo 'Ali, his characferistics & his way of life
whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work
righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his
~ord.'B (Qur'an 18: 110)
60, call you [O Muhammad and the believers] upon [or invoke]
Allah making [your] worship pure for Him [Alone] [by worshipping
none hut Him and by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allah's sake
only and not to show off and not to set up rivals with Him in
worship], however much the disbelievers [in the Oneness of Allah]
may hate [it].) (Qur'an 40: 14)
Amir al-Mu'rnineen 'Ali ibn Abi Tab (+$) learned from the
Messenger of Allah (g) that good deeds are not accepted unless they
are done with a sincere intention. Sincerity is a basic pillar of
worship, and worship in which there is no sincerity will he rejected,
as it says in this hadith, whose meaning was revealed to the Prophet
(g) from Allah: "I am the least in need of a partner. Whoever does
any deed in which he arsociates someone else with Me, I will reject
him and his deed."z39 'Ali (&) fought polytheism in all forms and
types, whether it related to not believing in the Lordship of Allah or
to performing acts of worship to other than Allah. He was keen to
ensure that all of his actions were done sincerely for the sake of Allah
(&) alone, and he would encourage people, especially seekers of
knowledge, to avoid showing off. He said: "0 hearers of knowledge,
act upon it, for the knowledgeable one is the one who acts on what he
knows and whose actions and knowledge are in harmony. There will
he people who acquire knowledge, but it does not go any deeper than
their collarbones; how they are inwardly will be contrary to how they
appear to be, and their actions will differ from their knowledge. They
will lead study circles and compete with one another to the extent that
one will get angry with a person in his circle if he leaves him to go
and sit with someone else. Those people's actions do not ascend from
their gatherings to Allah (&)."240