Practicing Islam Benefits You, Not Allah - Qari Zakaullah Saleem

Practicing Islam Benefits You, Not Allah

We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomsoever He leaves astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.

O ye who believe! Fear your Lord, Who created you from a single soul, and created from it a wife, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah in Whom you ask for help and mercy. Verily, Allah watches over you.

O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and speak the truth, that He may correct your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed attained a great triumph.

Two Misguided Mindsets

Being a Muslim has become very difficult, and practicing the religion of Islam is not easy. And when we face so many trials and tribulations, Shaitaan takes this opportunity to seduce us and to whisper in our mind doubts about the religion of Islam. And many of us start doubting the oneness of Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام, and doubting the truthfulness of the religion of Islam.

And many of us question ourselves: what is the benefit and what is the point of practicing the religion of Islam? And on the other hand, we have some Muslims who practice the religion of Islam rigorously, very strictly, and they think that they are doing some kind of favor to Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام.

I would like to address both mindsets today in this khutbah, by highlighting some of the facts that Allah revealed over 1400 years ago. These are the facts that Allah revealed in the Quran for our benefit. They are the facts and we cannot deny them.

First: Whatever Good Deeds We Do, We Do for Our Own Benefit

The very first point we need to bear in mind is that whatever good deed we do, we do it for our own benefit. If we choose the path of guidance, we choose it for our own benefit. As Allah said this fact in the Quran in numerous places.

One of them is the end of Surah Yunus, in which Allah says: whoever accepts the guidance, he accepts it for his own benefit. And whoever goes astray, he goes astray for his own detriment.

Allah also says in Surah Al-Hujurat — some of these people try to show their favor to you for them being Muslim. Say to them: by accepting Islam or by practicing the religion of Islam, you are not doing any favor to me, Muhammad ﷺ. You are not doing any favor to Allah. Rather, Allah has done a favor to you in that He has guided you towards the religion of Islam.

Allah also says in Surah Al-Isra: if you do good deeds, you do them for your own benefit. And if you do evil deeds, then you yourself will face the consequences of these bad deeds.

Allah also says: whoever does good deeds, he does it for his own benefit. And whoever commits evil acts, then he himself or she herself has to face the detriment.

The Example of Sayyiduna Sulaiman

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah said in the Quran, telling the story of Sayyiduna Sulaiman (alayhis salam): when Allah gave him power — not only over humans, but also over jinn, and authority over the wind as well — he was so humble that he said: Allah has blessed me with so many bounties and favors so that He can test me, whether I am thankful and grateful to Allah or ungrateful to Allah. And then he says: whoever is grateful to Allah, he is grateful for his own benefit. And whoever is ungrateful to Allah, then he should know that Allah, my Lord, is free of all needs, and He is ذو الجلال والإكرام, Bountiful.

The Wisdom of Luqman

Luqman (alayhis salam) — Allah said in the Quran about Luqman: We gave Luqman wisdom, and the biggest wisdom was: O Luqman, be thankful to Allah. And then Allah said: whoever is thankful to Allah, then his gratitude and his thankfulness will benefit him. And whoever is ungrateful to Allah, then Allah is free of all needs and Allah is all praiseworthy.

Allah is Free of All Needs

The point is, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, that whatever good deeds we do, we do solely for our own benefit. Allah is not in need of our Salah, Allah is not in need of our Zakah, our Siyam, our Hajj, our Du'a — nothing at all. Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام is free of all needs.

Allah says in the Quran in Surah Muhammad: you are such people that when you are called to spend in the way of Allah, some of you withhold — they withhold the wealth of Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام. And whoever withholds, he does it for his own detriment.

Remember, Allah is Al-Ghani — this is one of His beautiful names. Allah is free of all needs. And you are all in need of Allah and you are the beggars. O people, you are all Fuqara — you are Faqir. You are in need of Allah, you are the needies. Allah is free of all needs and Allah is all praiseworthy.

So this is one of the facts that we need to bear in mind when practicing the religion of Islam — we should always bear in mind that my Salah is not benefiting Allah. My fasting is not going to benefit Allah. My sacrifice is not going to benefit Allah. Allah said in the Quran:

The animals that you sacrifice for the sake of Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام — their flesh, their meat, neither their blood reaches Allah. But what reaches Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام is the piety and taqwa of your hearts. So nothing of our deeds is going to benefit Allah.

Second: Giving Up Islam Harms Only You, Not Allah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, we should bear in mind that if we give up practicing the religion of Islam — or if some of us decide, because of the whisper of Shaitan, that we need to give up praying, that there is no benefit, there is no point in establishing the five daily prayers, what is the benefit of fasting and going through the thirst and hunger for many many hours, and what is the benefit of going through the very difficult time of Hajj — if you decide so, if you make up your mind and you want to give up, then bear in mind that your giving up the religion of Islam is not going to harm Allah. Your deeds are not going to benefit Allah, neither your evil acts nor your giving up the practicing of the religion of Islam is going to harm Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام.

Allah says in the Quran: indeed those who disbelieve, and those who prevent from the path of Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام, and those who oppose Allah's Messenger ﷺ after the guidance has become very clear to them — they cannot harm Allah in the least.

Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام also says: indeed those who purchase disbelief in exchange of belief and Iman, they can never harm Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام in the least.

Allah also says in Surah Ali Imran: and whoever turns back on his heels and turns away from the religion of Islam, he is not going to harm Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام in the least.

So if you give up practicing the religion of Islam, if you stop praying, if you stop giving the Zakah, if you do not fast, if you do not go for Hajj or Umrah while you have the ability to do so, and you do not even make du'a to Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام — and Shaitan whispers in your mind, "what is the point of making du'a to Allah? Because Allah does not answer your du'a" — if this is the whisper of Shaitan that you are having in your mind and you decide to give up, then bear in mind: you are not going to harm Allah. Rather, you are going to harm only yourself.

The Hadith Qudsi of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari

The Prophet ﷺ said in a beautiful Hadith Qudsi that Imam Muslim has reported on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari (radiyallahu 'anhu) — a long hadith, and a part of it is that Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2577)

O My slaves, you can never attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you can never benefit Me of anything. O My slaves, if your first one — the very first human being — and the very last human being, all of you, and not only humans but even the jinn, if you all together became the most pious, same as the most pious individual amongst you, it is not going to increase anything in My kingdom. And O My slaves, if the very first of you and the last of you, and your ins and your jinn, all of you became as wicked as the most wicked individual amongst you, it is not going to decrease anything from My kingdom.

So your practicing the religion of Islam benefits you only. Your giving up the religion of Islam is going to harm you only. And you are not going to harm Allah.

Third: Allah Appreciates and Rewards Your Good Deeds

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, you should bear in mind that if you do perform good deeds, then it does not mean that they are not going to benefit you at all in this world or in the hereafter. Rather, if you are doing them solely for the sake of Allah, then Allah is appreciative. Allah appreciates — and one of the beautiful names of Allah is Al-Shakir. He appreciates your good deeds, He appreciates your Salah, He appreciates your Zakah, your fasting, your Hajj, your Umrah, your Du'a, your reading of the Quran, your good akhlaq. He is Al-Shakir. And whoever does and performs good deeds, then he should remember that Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام is all appreciative, and Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام is all knowing.

Allah says in Surah An-Nisa: what would Allah get by punishing you if you were to be grateful and you truly believe in Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام? Rather, Allah is all appreciative and Allah is all knowing.

Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام says in the Quran: whatever deeds you do in this dunya, you are going to receive the full recompense on the Day of Judgment. Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام says in the Quran: whatever good deed you do, even to the size of a small particle, you are going to see it and witness it on the Day of Judgment. And if you do any bad deed, any evil act, even to the size of the smallest particle, then you will see it and you will witness it on the Day of Judgment.

Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام says in the Quran: Allah does not wrong to the size of the smallest particle. Your Lord is not unjust to His slaves.

So if you do good deeds, whether you see the benefits of your deeds in this dunya or not, you will definitely receive the full recompense on the Day of Judgment. That is why Allah, out of His mercy, has instructed us to recite Surah Al-Fatiha in every single rak'ah of our Salah, and to repeat one of His most beautiful attributes — He is the Master of the Day of Recompense. So constantly we remind ourselves that whatever we are doing in this dunya, we are going to receive the recompense on the Day of Judgment. Every single soul will receive the full recompense on the Day of Judgment, and they will not be wronged on the Day of Judgment.

So the point is, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, that whatever good deeds we do, we do it for our own benefit. And if we do not do it, we are not going to harm Allah — rather we are going to harm ourselves. And if we continue practicing the religion of Islam, if we continue praying five times a day, if we continue fasting during the month of Ramadan, if we continue giving in the way of Allah, if we continue begging and supplicating to Allah, Allah will appreciate our efforts. And Allah will definitely give us the full recompense on the Day of Judgment.

We ask Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام to give us complete firmness and steadfastness in our religion. May Allah allow us to practice the religion of Islam the way He ذو الجلال والإكرام is pleased with. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The Multiplication of Good Deeds

If you do a good deed — only one good deed — Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام has promised us in the Quran and the Prophet ﷺ has also guaranteed that at least you will get the reward ten times. Allah says:

Whoever brings a good deed, he will get the better return. And what is the better return? In another ayah, Allah says: whoever performs a good deed, he will get the reward ten times. But this is not the case with evil acts and sins. If you commit a sin, it will be recorded as only one sin. But if you do a good deed, it will be recorded as ten times. If you perform one Salah, it will be written ten for you.

That is why Rasulullah ﷺ, when he received the commandment of Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام on the night of Mi'raj with regards to establishing the five daily prayers, Allah said: O Muhammad, you and your Ummah will be praying only five daily prayers, and I will reward you with fifty prayers. So if you perform only five daily prayers, you will get the reward of fifty on every single day.

If you fast for one day, Allah will reward you ten times. That is why Rasulullah ﷺ said: whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows up with six fasts of Shawwal, it is as if he has fasted the whole year — for three hundred and sixty-five days. So it covers the whole year.

Likewise, if you spend in the way of Allah: one single pound, you will get the reward of at least ten. If you give ten in the way of Allah, you will get the reward of at least one hundred. If you spend one hundred in the way of Allah, you will get the reward of at least one thousand. And I say "at least ten times" because this is what Rasulullah ﷺ has said. And it can go, based on your intention, based on the sincerity, and based on the purification of your heart, up to seven hundred times. You perform one single deed and you can get the reward of up to seven hundred times.

This is the mercy of Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام. And this is the blessing of Allah that He has blessed His Nabi Muhammad ﷺ and his Ummah.

Conclusion: The Final Part of the Hadith Qudsi

Finally, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, I would like to conclude with the last part of that Hadith Qudsi that I mentioned earlier. Rasulullah ﷺ says that Allah said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2577)

O My slaves, these are your deeds. I am recording them — I am recording every single deed of yours, whether it is good or bad. And then I will give you full recompense on the Day of Judgment. And whoever witnesses the good on the Day of Judgment, then he should praise Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام. And whoever witnesses other than that — meaning he faces evil consequences — he must not blame anyone except his own soul.

We ask Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام to grant us firmness and steadfastness in the religion of Islam. May Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام grant us Istiqamah in His Tawheed. May Allah grant us Istiqamah in praying five times a day. May Allah allow us to continue practicing the religion of Islam despite facing so many trials and tribulations. May Allah accept our deeds that we perform solely for His sake. And may Allah protect us and save us from the evils of Shaitan.