Hazrat Anas ibn Malik (d. 709) says that once a person came to the Prophet and asked him: “O Prophet of God, which action is superior?” The Prophet replied, “Realization of God.” The man again asked, “O Prophet of God, which action is superior?” The Prophet again replied, “Realization of God”. Then that person said, “O Prophet of God, I am asking you about action and you are telling me about knowledge.” The Prophet said, “A small action with knowledge benefits more, while a greater action with ignorance does not benefit at all.” (Jami’ Bayan al-Ilm wa-Fadlihi, Hadith No. 214)

In this tradition, by “knowledge” is meant realization of God. In this way, small or greater does not mean small or greater in quantity, but rather that action which is performed with God-realization, or inner spirit, is the true action. The action which is bereft of God-realization, or inner spirit, is of no value.

The truth is that Islam begins with the discovery of the existence of God and the discovery of one’s relation with God. Another name for this discovery is faith in God. Whenever one receives this kind of faith, it necessarily begins to express itself in his life. One’s thinking, one’s speech, one’s behaviour, one’s worship, everything is a reflection or an expression of this discovery. The truth is that one’s level of God’s realization equals one’s Islam, and the level of one’s conscious discovery equals the level of one’s external action.

God-realization is the spirit of Islam, it is the life of Islam. It makes one’s Islam a living thing. The action done with God-realization is like a green tree, whereas any action without God-realization is like dried up wood.

Source: Discovering God