20170303- 2nd Khutba- Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

The Five Transformative Effects of Good Deeds

Whoever does good, whether male or female, while being a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "All good, in its entirety, is in Paradise, and all evil, in its entirety, is in the Fire."

Everything We Do Has an Effect

When your brothers, elders and sisters in Islam — today in this world it is a fact which cannot be denied that every single thing that we put into our bodies has an effect on our body. The food that we eat, the drinks that we consume, the needles that we take, the pills that we take — everything we put into our body physically has an effect on our body. My father was a physician; since we were kids he always told us, don't eat those chips, don't drink that drink, it will give you this, it will give you that. Every single thing we eat will have a negative or positive effect on our body.

Today, if a young person, a young boy or girl, decides to eat sugary foods, they will feel the short-term satisfaction and the effect of sweetness on their tongue. But there also might be a long-term effect of diabetes. Today if a person starts involving in intoxications or drugs, he will have the short-term negative effect of depression and isolation. And he also may have the long-term effect of different types of diseases.

So everything we put into our body has some type of effect, may it be positive or may it be negative. Now let us turn our attention to something which is much bigger and much greater than the food that we eat or the drinks that we take, or the needles that we take, or the pills that we eat. Something which is much more important and significant in our life and has a much larger effect in our life — either positive or negative.

And that is that every single amal that I do in my life has a direct effect in my life. How is it possible that the food that I eat can affect me, but the tongue that I speak with cannot affect me? How is it possible that the food that I eat with my mouth and I take the taste of it with my tongue has an effect in my body, in my heart, in my life — and the words that I say with my tongue do not have any effect on me? How is it possible that these eyes that I look through — the medium by which I see visual things — cannot have an effect in my life? The ears that I hear with — how is it possible that what I listen to and what I hear cannot have an effect in my life?

So just like the food that we eat and the things that we put in our body have an effect in our life — maybe a small effect — the amal that I do, what I look at, what I speak about, what I listen to, what I touch, what I walk towards, what I think about, what I ponder about — all of this also has an effect in my life.

Ibn Abbas on the Five Effects of a Good Deed

Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه depicts and explains how amal have an effect in our life in a very concise way. He says:

(Attributed to Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه — cited by Ibn al-Qayyim in al-Jawab al-Kafi)

He says that just by doing a single good deed — anything — from one good deed, maybe picking up garbage from the floor, maybe walking inside the house and kissing our mother or father on the forehead, maybe helping the spouse in the house to clean and help the family, maybe sitting with our children with a smile on our face — we will be astonished and dumbfounded at how many parents come to us and tell us that they have not sat with their son for lunch for six months or for dinner. They have not sat on the same table. How many kids are going into depression because the parents are not giving them time.

So Ibn Abbas says, just by a single good deed — whatever it may be, praying Salah, giving Sadaqah, fasting — we have five positive effects that we can see in our life right away. Right away. Instant satisfaction. This is what the world is about — instant satisfaction. Ibn Abbas says there are five effects that we will see in our life.

Effect 1: Light on the Face

إِنَّ لِلْحَسَنَةِ ضِيَاءً فِي الْوَجْهِ — The first effect of any good deed is that Allah blesses that person with a beautiful radiant light on his face. A beautiful radiant light on his face. A light which cannot be substituted with creams and lotions. A light which comes from Allah. And this is a real light.

How Hassan ibn Thabit says about the Prophet ﷺ:

(From the poetry of Hassan ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه)

That if the Prophet ﷺ throughout his entire life, throughout his 23 years of prophethood, if he did not say a single word, if he did not perform a single miracle — a mu'jizah — if he did not bring a single ayah from the Qur'an, but rather just sat there quietly his entire life — just by looking at this man, a person would know that he is indeed a great person. He is indeed someone that has a purpose in life. He is indeed a person that has come with an objective. Just by looking at him.

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib says that one day he walked outside of his house and looked up and saw the beautiful full moon. And let us understand the fact that in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, it is so hot — desert and scorching heat. If any of us have gone to Umrah or Hajj, we know what we're talking about. And if you have not gone, may Allah give us tawfiq to continue going, ameen.

In this heat, the moon is the epitome of beauty because it brings coolness. So he says, "I walked outside of my house and I see the beautiful moon. And I started thinking to myself, does this beautiful moon possess more beauty? Or does the face of the Prophet ﷺ possess more beauty?" So whilst thinking about this, he said, "Why don't I just go to the Prophet and look? It will be an easy comparison and I'll find my answer."

He goes, and the Prophet ﷺ was praying in the Haram. He walks inside and he observes the face of the Prophet ﷺ. Then he looks up at the moon and observes the moon. Then he looks back at the face of the Prophet and he observes the face. And after three times he says:

"Indeed, by the One in whose hand my life is, the face of the Prophet ﷺ is more beautiful than the moon on the 14th night."

It is said by Ibn Ishaq, the historian — the mu'arrikh — that more than 35 people accepted Islam just by looking at the Prophet's ﷺ face. Not even hearing him speak — just by looking at his face.

Hassan ibn Thabit, the poet of the Prophet ﷺ, says:

(From the poetry of Hassan ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه)

He says: no eye can lay its vision on someone more beautiful than the Prophet ﷺ. No mother can give birth to such a child as beautiful and as magnificent and as perfect as the Prophet ﷺ. He was born free from every defect in this world. His eyes were like how he wanted them to be. His ears were like how he wanted them to be. It was like he told Allah, "Ya Allah, make me like this," and Allah made him exactly like that.

So his beauty was a reflection — a mirror image — of his a'mal, of his actions. Through the actions that he performed in his life, Allah gave him the magnificent beauty and light on his face. The first effect is light on the face.

Effect 2: Light in the Heart

The second effect of this one good deed is وَنُورًا فِي الْقَلْبِ — Allah blesses us with light in the heart, noor in the heart. This noor that we speak about — sometimes we think it's something intangible and not real. Noor is very real.

A youngster came to a Shaykh one day and said, "Oh Shaykh, I have a problem." "What's your problem?" "This girl that I want to marry, my parents are not allowing me to marry her and I cannot get my mind off her." The Shaykh says, "I'll teach you a du'a — read the du'a and you'll forget about her." "Please teach me the du'a." He said:

"Oh Allah, give me noor in front of me, give me noor on top of me, give me noor next to me." The youngster said, "Oh Shaykh, what's going on? Trying to get me in trouble? How am I going to forget about her? Her name is Noor! If you tell me to make the du'a for noor, her name is Noor — I can't forget about her!"

This noor — this is a small anecdote — but it's something very tangible and real. An example of this: I'm from Michigan, and whenever we drive and travel to different places, on a vacation or for seminars or speeches or lectures, I drove once to Pennsylvania, and we drive through those hills and mountains. If anyone has taken that route, or even towards Arizona — you drive through the mountainous regions of Colorado. When you drive through those areas at night time, there is no artificial light, there are no street lamps, there is no fabricated light. The only light we have to guide us is our headlights. There is nothing there except our headlights, because there are mountains and curvy, dangerous roads.

So for example, if a smart person thinks to himself for a second, "Let me turn my headlights off for a second," and there is no light around him — we don't have to be Einstein to understand that it'll be a matter of a few moments before this person falls into utter destruction. Because there is no light, and the roads are very dangerous and curvy, and he turned his only means of guidance off. Now he will go into destruction.

Similarly, the same notion, the same context — as Muslims living in this world, the one item and the one element which can guide us in this world is having light in the heart. If a person possesses this light, it guides him in his life. A life which is full of trials and calamities and chaos, but this light helps bring him back to the right path.

Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah says it is the same light which differentiates for a young boy that there is a difference when he walks in the house and says salam to his parents or does not say salam to his parents. It is the same light which teaches us adults — there is indeed a difference when I wake up in the morning and go to work: there is a difference between praying Fajr and then going to work versus just going to work. The same light in the heart which differentiates for us — makes us comprehend the simple fact — there is a difference between looking at haram and not looking at haram. There is a difference between obeying our parents and not obeying our parents. There is a difference between being nice to our children and not being nice to our children. There is a difference between being respectful and loving to our spouses and not being respectful and loving to our spouses. There is a difference between coming to the masjid and not coming to the masjid. There is a difference between being kind to people, having a smile on your face, and having a frown on your face.

When a person walks to us and says salam to us, it is this same light in the heart which tells us: when he says salam to me, I smile — I don't frown. But if a person does not possess that light, he will not know the difference between smiling or frowning. He will not know that an old lady has walked onto the bus — "let me give her my seat and let her sit down." It's the same light in the heart.

If a person possesses this light, it guides him in this life — it helps become a guide, a navigation for him wherever he is. Today, you know how many parents have come to us and told us, "Mufti Sahib, my son has not said salam to me for a week. He has not met me for a week. He has not sat down at the table to eat dinner with me for months." Because that child has lost the light in the heart which is the internal means of guidance for him — and it's the only means of guidance for him. Similarly, as adults, this is our means of guidance.

Once we lose this, a person does not know the difference between doing good and not doing good. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

"Indeed, there is a piece of flesh in the body — if it is kept intact, the whole body will be kept intact. And if it is in any way, shape, or form polluted, the whole body will become polluted." And even in science and medicine, if the heart stops pumping blood, if the heart stops working, the whole body is finished. If you lose a hand, if you lose a leg, if you lose an arm, you can still live. But if the heart stops functioning the way it's supposed to function, the body will stop working.

Similarly in this world — we can be doing good as much as we want, we can be doing everything in the world — but if our heart is not at the place where Allah wants it to be, with kindness and love for people around us, then these amal and these actions that we're doing will be of little benefit to us.

You know, 75% of non-Muslims, through a survey, have said they have never met a Muslim in their life — which is completely false. Because how is it possible? The problem is that the Muslim who is a Muslim — that person goes to the doctor or the clinic or the hospital; the doctor serving them might be a physician who is a Muslim. When they go to buy a car from the dealership, the salesperson might be a Muslim. The person putting groceries in their bag at Walmart may be a Muslim. But because the exact image and description from the Prophet's ﷺ life has failed to enter our life, they don't even know we're Muslims. Even if we are doing good to them, even if we are being kind to them, even if we are being lovable to them — they don't know we're Muslims. So it becomes difficult for them to know what the true meaning of Islam is.

So this heart of ours can change that. Because every time we do good, Allah puts light in our heart and makes that light a reason for us to do more good. That's the second effect of just one good deed.

Effect 3: Barakah in Rizq

The third effect of just one good deed: وَبَرَكَةً فِي الرِّزْقِ — Allah blesses us with barakah in our life, blessings in our life. This word barakah is very loosely used on our tongues — "Allah put barakah in my house, in my car, in my family." What does barakah actually mean?

We can derive the meaning of barakah from the du'a of the Prophet ﷺ to his grandchildren. He sat them — Hasan and Husayn — on his lap and said, "Learn this du'a:"

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1425; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 464)

"And bless me in that which You have already given me." So barakah does not mean ziyadah — it does not mean that Allah gives us more. Barakah means that with whatever we have in our life — whatever means we have, whatever family we have, whatever wealth we have — that becomes sufficient for us. It is not that today I'm earning a certain amount of dollars, I have two children, tomorrow I have three so I need more. Rather, whatever I was earning, Allah puts barakah in it, and that becomes sufficient enough for three, and for four, and for five.

So Allah puts barakah in our life just by doing one good deed. And barakah does not mean just wealth. Allah can put barakah in our time, in our energy, in our effort, in our care, in our kindness, in our sincerity. Allah can bless us with barakah in so many different angles.

Ibn Abbas says the number one means of earning barakah and blessing in our life is just doing one good deed. It seems so simple that it becomes hard to believe — how can one good deed give so many fruits? How can one good deed give me a light on my face, give me noor in my heart, give me barakah in my rizq, just from one good deed? Because indeed Islam has been made in a way that it is easy for us to succeed. It is not a system in which we are doomed to fail. It is a system — an infrastructure — that if we follow, we are stamped and sealed that we will succeed. So easy.

Effect 4: Internal Strength and Tawfiq

The fourth effect of just one good deed — Ibn Abbas says — is وَقُوَّةً فِي الْبَدَنِ — Allah blesses that person with internal strength, not external strength. Ibn Hajar explains this as أَيْ تَوْفِيقًا لِلْعَمَلِ الصَّالِحِ — a tawfiq to do the next righteous deed.

The muhaddithin and the fuqaha have had a constant debate: how does a person know, how can you and I tell if my Jumu'ah was accepted? How can we tell if my sadaqah was accepted? There is really no means of telling in this world because:

Allah will tell us on the Day of Judgment. But the fuqaha and the muhaddithin have come to a consensus that the biggest sign of an amal being accepted is that Allah gives us the tawfiq and the power to do the next amal again. So if we pray Dhuhr today and Allah gives us the tawfiq to pray Asr, that means our Dhuhr was accepted. If we pray Asr today and Allah gives us the tawfiq and the power and strength to pray Maghrib, that means our Asr was accepted. This is the biggest sign that our amal are being accepted.

And not for a second — not even for a blink of an eye — should we be deceived or living in the deception that today I'm here for Jumu'ah because of who I am. I'm here for Jumu'ah because of what I have done in my life. Allah says:

Even the Prophet ﷺ would say that we cannot do even a single sajdah if it was not for the power and the tawfiq of Allah. Indeed, every single action that we do is because Allah has given us the tawfiq to do that action. And this is earned by doing a'mal-e-hasanah — good deeds. Internal strength. Today we have youngsters who can bench 200 pounds but cannot lift a 2-pound blanket to pray their Fajr. This is the internal strength that Allah gives us through one good deed — one good hasanah.

Effect 5: Love in the Hearts of People

And last but not least — the last effect is something which every single person in the world is striving for. It's the same reason why we get married. It's the same reason why we have children. It's the same reason why we go to work in the morning. It's the same reason why we earn an education. It's the same reason why we have colleagues and friends and we go on vacations. We do all of these things for this one specific reason. What is that? To see some love.

We get married to see some love. We have children to see some love. We work hard so we can provide for our families — to see some love. We take them on vacations to see some love and respect. We want love.

Today people are devoid of love because they have lost the channel of earning love. Yes, it is good — don't take me wrong — if my father stopped giving me allowance when I was a kid, I would probably stop loving him. But it was just a means of love. So we have to give allowance, we have to take them on vacations. But the medium of earning the love of our children is to earn the love of Allah. Proven by the hadith:

When Allah loves a slave, He calls Jibreel and says: "I love so-and-so individual — so you must love him." Jibreel starts loving him. Then Jibreel comes down to the sky and says: "Allah has said and has stated that He loves so-and-so individual — so all of you angels in the sky must also love him." Now all the angels in the sky also love him. Until this love comes down into the world. How is it possible that this love cannot enter the hearts of our children? How is it possible that this love cannot enter the hearts of our spouses, our families, and the community? Because now we have changed our channel — we are earning love from Allah.

Do Not Delay — Act Today

You know how Rumi said: "Yesterday I was clever, so I tried to change the entire world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."

We have these resources and this ability and this power to perform good deeds in our life — and we have it today. But tomorrow, when we go six feet under the ground, when all is said and done, that finishes. The example of this is like an owner of a mansion who has a beautiful garden in his backyard — beautiful grass, beautiful roses and violets and petals and flowers, and birds that are chirping on his trees and singing. Such a beautiful sight. But the problem was this person, this owner of the mansion, forgot to hire a gardener — someone to water his plants and his roses. So one day he wakes up and looks outside and sees no more roses, no more flowers, no more birds chirping on his trees. The stream has dried up. And someone comes and asks, "Where did the garden go?" All that is left to say about the garden is: "Once upon a time there was a flower over here. Once upon a time there was a tree right there. There was a stream that came from over there."

Similarly, we don't want to be in that same position — the "once upon a time" position. Today how I can do good deeds — today — that is my job. It's not anyone else's job.

As the poet says — at the end of the day, when all is said and done, all that matters is how Allah wants me and how Allah thinks about me. And the best way — not only to make Allah happy, but to make our families happy, to make our communities happy, and to have peace in mind and peace in the heart — is to do just one good hasanah that will lead to other hasanat.

The last thing I will say — how Allama Iqbal said this, and so beautifully: if we truly want to have peace and love in our families and our hearts, he says just open the Qur'an and read a few ayahs. Just perform one sajdah in the house of Allah. Just be kind to one person. Just give one smile to a stranger. Just hold someone by their hand and lift them up when they're going through trials and tribulations. Just do one good deed — that will lead to more good deeds — and Allah will bless us with those things and those commodities and factors and elements that we strive for in this life:

The believer who does good in this world — Allah will give him good back in this world. Not only in the Hereafter — in this world also.

May Allah make me a depiction and an image of what I just spoke about, and give all of you tawfiq and ability to act upon this and convey it to those that are not here. Jazakumullahu khayran.

Second Khutbah

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3791; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 154)

The Prophet ﷺ said: "The most merciful of my ummah towards my ummah is Abu Bakr. The most firm of them in the command of Allah is Umar. The most truthful of them in modesty is Uthman. And the most just in judgment among them is Ali." And Fatimah is the Sayyidah of the women of the people of Jannah, and Hasan and Husayn are the leaders of the youth of the people of Jannah. May Allah's pleasure be upon all of them.

Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence, and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may be reminded.

أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ