Sincerity is the backbone of a Muslim’s life. Allah will not accept anyone’s worship if it is not done in a sincere way.
One who is sincere will not care about others flattering, praising, blaming, or denunciation. As such, he will not expect any benefit for any form of worship except from Allah. According to Imam Gazaali, even the intention of living a healthy life by fasting is regarded as the opposite of sincerity.
Show off (hypocrisy, riya’a) is against the sincerity. Allah knows the thoughts and actions of man, thus to do anything good with insincerity is like cheating Allah. It will terminate and cancel the worship itself leading to committing a sin.
Sincerity does not necessarily mean doing worship in secret, because it stays in the heart and not in the organs. Performing worship to show off to others is condemnable. However, one can perform any act of worship in public if he thinks that other people will follow him if they see him doing it.
Some worships cannot be done without revealing them such as Jama’t prayer, Hajj or Zakat
The same applies to doing evil things. Don’t reveal evil deeds with the intention of letting others assume that you are a sinner. It is not encouraged by Islam, rather a Muslim should try his best to gain the contentment and pleasure of all believers and angels. On the other hand, doing evil in public gives very dangerous meaning to himself and his people. Also, committing sin in public will not be forgiven by Allah.
Does anybody increase his prayer because a camel is watching him? Can anybody avoid committing sin because an animal sees him committing a crime? Nope!. The author says a believer should not be affected by the presence or absence of a man, he should only consider the watchful eye of Allah.
Sincerity also gives courage. A sincere man only fears Allah and doesn’t care about the attitudes and reactions of people.
Performing good deeds to show the people is a kind of Shirk; because he is expecting reward from someone other than Allah. Meanwhile, one cannot abstain from doing good things out of fear that if people see him they will assume that he is a pious person. It is regarded as hypocrisy, because he has depended his worship upon others’ thoughts.
By performing Ibadah (worship) seeking a good status in the hearts of people is not recommended. The ruling on seeking the good image in the hearts of people depends on the situation, exactly like gaining money. Sometimes, having a good image can benefit him, such as in a job interview. Money and status- both are capable of rescuing oneself from some kind of impending danger.