The Ahkam of The Dunya are applied upon the appearance
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
‘Ali bin Abi Talib sent a piece of gold not yet taken out of its ore, in a tanned leather container to Allah’s Apostle . Allah’s Apostle distributed that amongst four Persons: ‘Uyaina bin Badr, Aqra bin Habis, Zaid Al-Khail and the fourth was either Alqama or Amir bin At Tufail. On that, one of his companions said, “We are more deserving of this (gold) than these (persons).” When that news reached the Prophet, he said, “Don’t you trust me though I am the truth worthy man of the One in the Heavens, and I receive the news of Heaven (i.e. Divine Inspiration) both in the morning and in the evening?” There got up a man with sunken eyes, raised cheek bones, raised forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head and a waist sheet that was tucked up and he said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Be afraid of Allah.” The Prophet said, “Woe to you! Am I not of all the people of the earth the most entitled to fear Allah?” Then that man went away. Khalid bin Al-Wahd said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall I chop his neck off?” The Prophet said, “No, for he may offer prayers.” Khalid said, “Numerous are those who offer prayers and say by their tongues (i.e. mouths) what is not in their hearts.” Allah’s Apostle said, “I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people or cut open their bellies.” Then the Prophet looked at him (i.e. that man) while the latter was going away and said, “From the offspring of this (man there will come out (people) who will recite the Qur’an continuously and elegantly but it will not exceed their throats. (They will neither understand it nor act upon it). They would go out of the religion (i.e. Islam) as an arrow goes through a game’s body.” I think he also said, “If I should be present at their time I would kill them as the nations of Thamud were killed.” (Bukhari)
Khalid said, “Numerous are those who offer prayers and say by their tongues (i.e. mouths) what is not in their hearts.” The Prophet reprimanded Khalid for saying this because only Allah knows what is in the heart of a person and no one but Allah has access to them. We cannot judge the heart because only Allah has access to the heart. And with this the Prophet said, “I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people.” It means that whatever the state of the people’s hearts may be and whatever they may conceal, I have not been ordered to make judgement upon the heart. Rather I will judge the people upon what is apparent from them, the apparent of every person being their sayings and actions, not the heart.
We as Muslims must judge based upon what is apparent from the deeds (sayings and actions), as opposed to making assumptions. This hadith is a proof that judgement is made upon the apparent acts of a person and not with what resides in the heart. What the individual has in their heart will be left for Allah to judge upon on the day of resurrection.
Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab:
People were (sometimes) judged by the revealing of a Divine Inspiration during the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle but now there is no longer any more (new revelation). Now we judge you by the deeds you practice publicly, so we will trust and favour the one who does good deeds in front of us, and we will not call him to account about what he is really doing in secret, for Allah will judge him for that; but we will not trust or believe the one who presents to us with an evil deed even if he claims that his intentions were good. (Bukhari)
‘Umar bin Al-khattab reiterated that the people will be judged by their deeds, by what is apparent (sayings and actions), and what the people hide and conceal in the hearts will be left for Allah to judge upon.
The laws of the shari`ah, the regulations of the dunya, apply to the individual according to their apparent condition only. The heart will not be probed. In this life whatever is concealed within the heart is not known by the people and will not go against the individual. It is only when the regulations of the dunya are applied upon what is apparent from the person that judgement will be made. What is in the heart will be left to Allah to pass judgement upon on the day of resurrection. The Prophet said, “I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people,” and this is what is meant by, “…are applied upon the appearance,”.
We can therefore conclude from the definitive proofs above that the meaning of “the ahkam of the dunya (the regulations of the present life) are applied upon the appearance” is that only the rules/regulations/laws which Allah has set to be applied in this life, are to be specifically applied only upon the appearance (sayings and actions) of the people.
