At dawn he noticed a dog cowering in a corner of the mosque.

At dawn he noticed a dog cowering in a corner of the mosque. Perhaps it had come into to mosque to save itself from the extreme cold outside. This proves that he was praying the whole night to make a show to the dog. Satan’s Laments If you are people of sincerity, then your concern will be only with Him and consider only Him as your Only Accomplisher (Kaar Saaz) of all your affairs. Pomp and pelf of the world should not overwhelm you. The causer of recognition or ignominy for you is only Him.

It is He who sends ailments and also it is He who cures them. All the affairs in this world trace their origin to Him. When a person who has reached the stage of Sincerity of Faith (Ikhlas al-Iman) enters the mosque, Satan becomes restless and starts lamenting. But this situation is very difficult and requires intense effort.

This is a task of great valor that man comes in conflict with Satan and does the Major Jihad with his own baser instinct (Nafs al-Ammara) till he attains the status of a person of sincerity (Ahl al-Ikhlas) . Three Types of Persons are Accountable I would like to quote a tradition in this connection. It is recorded in Mahajjat al-Baida that on the Day of Judgement three groups will be the first to be called for giving the account of their deeds. The first will be the group of ‘Ulama or scholars.

Allah (S.w.T.) will inquire of them as to what they were doing in the world and how did they use the knowledge that was imparted to them? They will say, “O Sustainer! You are witness that we spread knowledge in the world, kept ourselves occupied with teaching and education, we authored books and guided the people in general.” Allah (S.w.T.) will say in reply, “You are lying because you did everything to be termed an ‘Allama (an erudite scholar) and a wise person.

This was mere show and its compensation was the people's praises for you. What do you expect from Us now?” The second group will be that of rich persons. They will be asked by Allah (S.w.T.), “How did you use the wealth given to you by Us?” They will say, “O Allah! You are witness that we spent the wealth in your way.

We did good turns, helped the beggars and needy and didn't go to our graves with any regrets about the wealth that we left behind!” Allah (S.w.T.) will reply to them, “You are liars! You spent on others because you wanted them to praise you and call you magnanimous and your name appeared on the newspapers and other media.