In societies which live far removed from the moral values of the Qur'an, everyone has his or her own different ideas about the concept of righteousness. Yet the true definition of righteousness has actually been revealed in the Qur'an:

It is not righteousness to turn your faces to the East or to the West. Rather, those with true righteousness are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, the a ngels, the Book and the prophets, and who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth to their relatives and to orphans and the very poor, and to travelers and beggars and to set slaves free, and who perform prayer and give the alms; those who honor their contracts when they make them, and are steadfast in poverty and illness and in battle. Those are the people who are true. They are the people who guard against evil. (Surat al-Baqara, 177)

… Rather righteousness is possessed by those who guard against evil… (Surat al-Baqara, 189)

The way that some people who live unaware of the moral values of the Qur'an seek to portray themselves as lovers of what is good or as "pure-hearted" is actually aimed at easing their own consciences and gaining the esteem of other people. Whenever any of these people are going to do something good, they generally consider what they will obtain in return. If the person in need of help is well equipped with material means, they act at once, bearing in mind the material gains that this person may be able to confer on them later. When it comes to helping someone of little status or who lacks great material means, the misguided individual will perform a virtual profit and loss calculation. Upon realizing there is little benefit in the relationship for them, they find it more difficult to offer help and do good under such circumstances. Their assistance therefore comes slowly and they behave unwillingly or uninterestedly. Indeed, they may give no help at all.

In addition to all this, some people may also do good in order to make greater demands. They act not with the aim of gaining Allah's approval but from a wish to profit from people or the benefits of the life of this world. People of faith, on the other hand, act in a godly manner, placing their hope in Allah alone. As in all their actions, the aim whenever they perform a good deed is to gain Allah's approval. Our Lord has revealed that the return for this godly behavior for believers is more and better of what they have done:

Those who produce a good action will receive ten like it. But those who produce a bad action will only be repaid with its equivalent and they will not be wronged. (Surat al-An'am, 160)

Say: "Servants of Mine who believe! Fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world there is good and Allah's Earth is spacious. The steadfast will be paid their wages in full without any reckoning." (Surat az-Zumar, 10)

Those who do good will have the best and more! Neither dust nor debasement will darken their faces. They are the Companions of the Garden, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. (Surah Yunus, 26)

Everything in the heavens and everything in the Earth belongs to Allah so that He can repay those who do evil for what they did and repay those who do good with the very best. (Surat an-Najm, 31)