Following the Truth When It Suits You

Imām Ibn Taimiyyah, may Allāh have mercy on him, said:

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd Al-ʿAzīz said:

Don’t be of those who follow the truth when it goes with their desires and oppose it when it goes against their desires, and then you suddenly find yourself not being rewarded for what you followed of the truth and being punished for what you opposed [of] it.

And it’s as he said, may Allāh be pleased with him, because in both situations, the only thing he was aiming for was to follow his desires—he wasn’t doing [anything] for Allāh.

Majmūʿ Al-Fatāwá, vol. 10, p. 480.