Simple but Powerful Deeds- Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Simple but Powerful Deeds

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ — We praise Him and send blessings upon His noble Messenger. After that, I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ — Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. Allah Almighty has spoken the truth.

Respected friends and elders and brothers, mothers and sisters, students — السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

The system of entrance into paradise and salvation from hellfire — a system reserved by Allah only for Allah. And Allah has, in this world, given us certain guidelines. That if we follow these guidelines, إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ تَعَالَى, we hope that we will be from amongst the lucky ones, the chosen ones, who will gain the mercy of Almighty Allah.

So there are certain deeds, although they may seem very insignificant, but are very powerful in gaining the mercy of Allah. And the flip side of that, there are certain sins as well, that may seem very insignificant, but are extremely potent when it comes to depriving a person from Allah's mercy in this world and in the next as well.

The Hadith of Three Saviours and Three Destroyers

The Prophet عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ, who was given jawāmi' ul-kalim — who was given the honor of being able to summarize huge, vast amounts of knowledge in very few words — left the ummah with oceans of knowledge to sit and interpret and extrapolate from for years and centuries. So there are many such narrations.

And one of those narrations: the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentioned three things that would save a person on that Day, and three things that would also destroy a person on that Day.

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat lil-Tabarani; also referenced in similar wording in various hadith collections)

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said: Three things are such that will save a person — that will give najāh, that will put a person away from the pit of hell. And three things will destroy a person.

The Three Things That Save a Person

1. Fear of Allah in Private and in Public

Number one is khashyatullāh — to fear Almighty Allah while a person is alone in secrecy, without anyone being present, in seclusion, and even when he is in a public place. No matter where he is, he fears Almighty Allah.

This is the key thing. If a person can have this fear of Allah, then every aspect of his life will come right — rather, the whole world will be a whole different place.

We usually stress the importance of education and stress the importance of the various advancements in technology that the world has achieved and continues to strive towards. But when a person asks himself, why are we promoting this and why do we enjoy this? The purpose of all this technology — from a washing machine to a dishwasher to a cell phone to a Bluetooth piece to some new medical procedure — all of those things, the purpose behind all of that is to improve the quality of life on earth. For everyone, that should be the purpose. That people become better humans. We become good servants and helpers of each other.

But if a person were to see and study the statistics across the world, across the board — as we see this increased rate of education, increased rate of literacy, increased rate of availability of technology — has that brought about a more secure, more balanced and more loving household? A more strong network at home? Or has that broken families? Has that created children to rebel against the parents? Has that created animosity between husbands and wives and spouses? Has that spiked the rate of divorce and separation? Has that caused conflict between partners and siblings and so forth? And you obviously know the answer.

All of this advancement of technology and advancement of knowledge — has that brought about more world peace and more harmony? Where everyone is looking after each other's well-being, and poverty is completely removed, sicknesses are completely removed, and there is world justice all over? Obviously, that has not been the case. Arms are ever increasing, and there are more precision ways of wiping out — in different ways — entire generations, entire groups of people, entire villages and towns and entire cities. What happened? There's so much knowledge, so much education.

Whenever a student — a Muslim, subhanAllah, who attended Quran class in some little school where all our kids attend Quran class — but if he happens to do something, we always link it back to the school, the madrasa, the masjid. That's where the media always does that, doesn't it? That he attended such and such school and studied two hours after school there. That's where he probably got radicalized.

But what we don't understand, and what we don't concentrate on, is that all the cases of harassment and rape and murder and trafficking of all sorts that takes place on earth — and the biggest murders, upon whose buttons thousands and millions are being killed — they are graduates not of some two-hour program. They are graduates of the most advanced and the most prestigious schools and universities of the world. They have spent 18 years in formalized education, 20 years in formalized schools. But no one seems to ever think that that could possibly be a problem. That's where this criminal mindset is being created. That's where this murderous streak is being created within people.

Look at our own city. We have, I think, now number one in the entire country — the highest murder rate, subhanAllah — much, much higher than last year, much higher than previous years. It's ridiculous. Just on one weekend, 18 or 20 are being murdered on the average weekend in the city. So what's going on? There's so much education, so many masters and PhDs, etc., or at least even a bachelor's is no less. Twelve years of schooling plus another four — that should be enough to make a person into a human being. But we're seeing that it doesn't. It obviously doesn't.

When khashyatullāh and the fear of Allah is not present — whether he's a Muslim graduate of a Quran school or he's a non-Muslim graduate from a top-notch Ivy League school — it makes no difference. If fear of Allah is not present, his life will get ruined, her life will get ruined, and they'll become a means of ruining other people's lives. The only thing that keeps checks and balances in this world is the fear of the Supreme Being that is above and beyond all prime ministers, all presidents — that is above and beyond election year. He doesn't have to worry about being elected, doesn't have to change His principles in order to get re-elected. Doesn't have to be worried about campaign finance money. They are straightforward principles that Almighty Allah has established on this earth. And when a person fears Almighty Allah, then most definitely he will be able to create a very peaceful, nice society.

Allah asks us in Surah Al-Hashr:

O believers, fear Allah. And every one of you — every soul — should think and consider what that soul has prepared and is ready to present to Allah.

When a person is standing in line for immigration, is next in line — what does he do? At that time, he pulls out his passport, has his boarding pass, other documents. If he's a foreigner coming to this country, he's got his visa, he's got his invitation papers, all that ready. Because it's al-'ard now — it's about presentation. So I have to have everything in order.

Allah is asking us: وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ — You're next in line. غَدٌ is tomorrow. You're next in line. Already, so many — all of those who've gone, the janazahs that have taken place yesterday and this morning — that was today. غَدٌ — tomorrow is your turn. Allah is saying: remember, tomorrow you're up next. وَلْتَنظُرْ — see, are your papers in place? Are you ready to present to Allah? And then He repeats the same thing: وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ — Fear Almighty Allah. Make sure you are not doing anything that will make your presentation difficult.

So this is the crux of everything. The crux of everything — to have a beautiful life on this earth — is to fear Almighty Allah. فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ — In public, it's to a certain extent much easier, because we're afraid of what people are going to pass judgments against us. The difficult time comes with sirr — when we're alone, when we are alone. But we're not alone. Almighty Allah — هُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَمَا كُنتُمْ — with you wherever you may be, with His knowledge encompassing us everywhere.

We ask Almighty Allah to grant all of us that khashyah, that taqwa, that fear of His that will keep us on the right track. When we have a right to overcharge someone in business — order a procedure that is not necessary, overcharge the insurance company, overcharge the patient, overcharge a client, bill them for things that we haven't done — these are things that are very difficult to track. Very easy to cheat people. The only one who's not going to do this is the one who's afraid of Allah.

It is very easy to say harsh comments to our spouse. It is very easy for us to break our children's heart, our student's heart — to say something because, what are they going to do? They can't sue us. So we can say whatever we want to our son and daughter. We can say whatever we want to our grandchildren. The only thing that's going to keep us on track is the fear of Allah.

2. Justice in Moments of Happiness and Anger

The next thing the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said: وَالْعَدْلُ فِي الرِّضَا وَالْغَضَبِ — that a person remains just, a person follows the rules regardless of whether it's for him or against him, whether it's in favor of his family or against his family, in happy moments and angry moments, always.

We see that when a marriage takes place — this is usually, alhamdulillah, a happy moment for both sides. So people will say, we should try to get married on Jumu'ah, we should try to get married after Asr, we try to get a khatib, a scholar, an alim to come. We try to do sunnah. Most of us, mashaAllah, we're conscious of our deen. And we want to make sure our child's marriage becomes blessed. We try, to our best, to follow the sunnah in certain aspects at least. May Allah grant us tawfiq to follow it 100%, inshAllah.

But when things go bad — when a person gets angry — Allah forbid, a time of dissolution of the marriage comes. Then the sunnah is thrown out. Then the method of sunnah is completely disregarded. And a person goes all out. Hell breaks loose. A person has absolutely no understanding that, listen, I am not an average person. I have to follow — just because the law of the land is on my side, but if the sharia says I don't have a right to do this, I can't do this. Just because I've hired a very good, competent lawyer who knows how to get around things, I cannot take more than my right. And I can't demand that which is not mine.

What's going on? A person is angry. So at that time, a person is forgetting all aspects of sharia — as though sharia is out the door and now we're in charge of everything. So Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said, that's not going to take you far.

The thing that's going to take us far is that we follow the rules every single day. For us, every day is Jumu'ah. Every day is Eid. Every month, for us, is Ramadan in that sense. Just like we follow the laws in Ramadan — we try to show the sacredness and the holiness of this blessed day — every single day for a Muslim is that. As though he is in i'tikaf on the 27th night of Ramadan in front of the Ka'bah, in front of the Hajarul Aswad. He's fasting. How would he, subhanAllah, deal with temptation? If someone says, would you like to cheat? Would you like to steal? Would you like to look at this haram? This is — astaghfirullah — اتَّقِ اللهَ! I'm in the Haram. I'm fasting. I am in i'tikaf. How dare I do that?

My brothers and sisters, it makes no difference whether we're in the Haram or outside the Haram, whether it's Ramadan or outside Ramadan. Allah is watching all of us. And we're going to be accountable for that. So just like we have this heightened version of Islam and taqwa in the month of Ramadan or on Jumu'ah in the masjid — keep it. Alhamdulillah, we're not saying decrease that. But we have to ensure that outside of the masjid and outside of Ramadan and outside of these beautiful events and beautiful gatherings, we are also ensuring that we're following that.

Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ trained his Sahabah such that his Sahabah, even in the moments of anger, were amazing. There's a famous incident of Umar al-Khattab رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ where he became upset. At a time when someone said, you are doing injustice in distributing the spoils of war, you are doing injustice in dealing with the people — and he got very upset. So a companion who was next to him — even though he was ameer al-mu'mineen, he was khalifah — a junior companion simply recited an ayah:

He became upset, but the companion just recited the ayah — that Allah tells you to turn away from those who act in an ignorant manner. He's ignorant. He's not someone who's respectable, who has knowledge, who knows how to speak to ameer al-mu'mineen. Allah says, say that. All of a sudden, Umar al-Khattab رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ — his anger subsides. It's all over, finish. Let's move on. Let's move forward, as though the incident never happened.

There are other instances with some of the other ulama of the past as well. Certain things made them very, very upset, and they were going to take some action. But someone simply recited a verse of the Quran. It was as though they were pouring water over fire. وَكَانُوا وَقَّافِينَ عِنْدَ كِتَابِ اللهِ — They stood by the Book of Allah. Thank you for reminding me. That's it. It's over. Let's move on. As though nothing has happened.

So the anger and being cool — it made no difference to following the teachings of Islam.

3. Moderation in Spending — in Poverty and in Wealth

The third thing the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that is going to save us in this world and the next is الْقَصْدُ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَى — that a person leads a life of moderation in spending.

To be moderate in spending when a person is suffering some poverty or a difficult financial situation — that's understandable, you're forced to do that. The problem comes again, like the previous example: while happy, we do it; while we're angry, we don't want to do it. Same thing — moderation during times of poverty, we're forced to it by our means. But the issue comes about with moderation when a person has wealth.

For a person to drive a decent car but not overspend because that's all he can afford — mashaAllah, that's good for him. But a person who's sitting on loads of wealth, and he says, most definitely I can overspend for ostentatious purposes — but he says, no, I am going to fulfill my need and not spend where it's absolutely not necessary. This is where the challenge comes.

A person doesn't have enough wealth so he stays in a humble dwelling, enough for his family — alhamdulillah. But a person has the ability to upgrade it, to overspend, and at that time remains humble. This is where the challenge comes. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is saying this is what's going to save us.

That's what Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said in another hadith:

The one who leads a life of moderation in spending will never become poor. He will never become poor. So this financial crisis that we went through — and it seems another round of it is coming — happens when a person overspends, goes beyond his means. So خَيْرُ الْأُمُورِ أَوْسَاطُهَا — the best option and the best method is for a person to take the middle ground.

The Three Things That Destroy a Person

1. Following One's Desires Blindly

Briefly, the three things the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that will destroy a person — the first is هَوًى مُتَّبَعٌ. We all have that lust, that desire is present — but control it.

People nowadays say, I have X, Y, and Z desire — what should I do? Am I excused? My friends, if you go outside and you have a simple car, and you see a very, very nice car next to you — you say, mashaAllah, I really like that car. You have a desire. Do you just go and sit in the car and drive away with someone else's car? We have a desire — that doesn't mean we follow the desire. So if a person has a desire of any type of sin, that doesn't mean we are automatically excused from the sin. We can say, no, God created me like this. But if a person has that inclination or desire — Allah make it easy for you — know how to overcome it.

Like a person has a desire to look at haram, or a person has a desire to take something — we don't do those things. We control that. So Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is saying, what's going to kill and destroy a person is obeying every impulse and every base desire and lustful desire — anytime Shaytan whispers in his ear, he follows it.

Recently, two or three days ago, a brother late at night texted, saying that — subhanAllah — I was trying to help people. For the past many months, I've been helping youth in the university who are about to leave Islam. I am convincing them to come back to Islam or to remain Muslim. But now I have myself reached a level where I am considering to become an agnostic. I am now in complete doubt. What should I do?

So subhanAllah, the answer that came to mind immediately at that late hour is that he knows the truth — he knows the haqq. He has been helping so many people for the past few months. But now Shaytan got to him as well. The doctor at times also gets sick when he is dealing with patients who have contagious sicknesses. You have to protect yourself. So if you do not take protective measures, you're going to get sick. So if you are out there defending Islam but you don't have a source you're connected with — scholars or mashayikh you're connected with — eventually those doubts will creep into your mind as well.

So I said, subhanAllah, if a person sees someone he's attracted to, and the heart desires to fulfill one's lustful desire — it can happen to anyone. Do we just impulsively act on that? Obviously not. We don't deny that the desire is present. We don't deny that, as human beings, we have impulses, we have attractions. But we have to control that. So if you are having this impulse — that's it, I want to become an agnostic, I've had enough of this deen, I've tried and I've been convincing people but now it's come to me — my friend, you have to be firm and you have to say: this is coming from Shaytan. I have to put my foot down on this impulse. I have to put my foot down on this desire. And just like I control myself from committing other major sins on a daily basis — this sin, it's a sin of the mind. This is the sin of the aql. This is the sin of the intelligence that is asking you to deny the existence of Allah, because it is thinking out of bounds. So we have to put our foot down on that aql and say: nope, I don't allow you. I understand there's a desire within you, but I'm not going to allow that to happen.

So Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said, هَوًى مُتَّبَعٌ — that would destroy a person.

2. Greed and Miserliness That Is Obeyed

شُحٌّ مُطَاعٌ — Greed coupled with miserliness that a person obeys. There's an element of greed that we have, but do not obey that. That would destroy a person. A majority of us have those feelings — they are present within all of us. That I want to keep this for myself, keep this for my family, etc. That shuhh is present, but muta' — he obeys it. There are some people who overcome it, but this person doesn't. If a person falls prey to his lower self that asks him to be miserly, and at the same time be greedy for more — this is going to destroy the person.

3. Self-Conceit

And lastly, وَإِعْجَابُ الْمَرْءِ بِنَفْسِهِ — when a person thinks of himself as the best, when a person thinks of himself as superior to others: I don't need correction, I don't need advice, I have understood it properly. mashAllah, I'm in a good situation, always good, I'm correct, I'm right. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said, this will destroy a person as well.

Conclusion

These are the three things that the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said would destroy a person in this dunya and the Akhirah. And three things we covered that would grant a person success in this world and the hereafter. This is from the جَوَامِعُ الْكَلِمِ — the very comprehensive teachings of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

We pray to Allah that He allows us to adorn ourselves with these three beautiful qualities — of remaining just, of leading a middle life without overspending or underspending, and having the fear of Almighty Allah in all situations. And we pray to Allah that He frees us of all spiritual and physical diseases as well.