Islam’s View on Righteous Act
Quran introduces some criteria for man’s deeds and behavior. According to the Quran, only those deeds that are righteous will be accepted.
Islam believes that every act should be assessed based on intentions and incentives behind it, not based on material interests. As long as good intentions do not accompany righteous acts, we cannot describe that act as “good” or “righteous”.
According to Islamic principles, the value of everyone’s acts lies in their intentions and spiritual and intellectual traits. A good act is one that was formed and done based on principles such as Belief in God and the Day of Resurrection and also based on good emotions and incentives.
This is why Islam has forbidden hypocrisy and considers acts that are void of God-related intentions worthless even if these acts have an attractive appearance. “The pagans do not have any right to establish (and patronize) the mosque of God while they testify against their souls to its disbelief. Their deeds are devoid of all virtue and they will live forever in hell fire.” (Surah At-Tawbah, verse 17)
Islam wants humans to distance themselves from any act that includes deception.
This article was derived from a book by Seyyed Mohammad Bagher Sadr
