Remaining Steadfast on Righteous Deeds - Shaykh Hafeezullah Khan

Remaining Steadfast on Righteous Deeds

الحمد لله، نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره ونؤمن به ونتوكل عليه، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهده الله فلا مضل له، ومن يضلل فلا هادي له.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that our Master and Protector is Muhammad, His servant and Messenger.

My dear brothers in Islam, the blessed month of Ramadan has come and passed. Eid came and passed. It is now a time for us to assess whether we have gained something from Ramadan or not. Because he who has benefited from the blessing of the month of Ramadan, his situation will become even better after Ramadan.

If we continue to do more good deeds after Ramadan, then it is a sign of the acceptance of our good deed by Allah. Even if we cannot do more, then at least continue the good deeds that we did during the month of Ramadan. But most people, they limit their righteous actions just to the month of Ramadan. They think that we need to start doing good as soon as Ramadan arrives — by praying regularly, five times a day, by recitation of the Quran, by spending in the way of Allah. And just after Ramadan, we change back to our normal routine as it was before Ramadan.

Whereas Allah says:

O you who believe, fear Allah — fear Allah by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden. Obey Him. Be thankful to Him. And remember Him — not only in the month of Ramadan, always, always. And die not except in a state of Islam.

So the successful person is he who obeys Allah till his last moment — not only in the month of Ramadan. And nobody knows when the last moment will come, and how it comes, and in which situation we are going to face the last moment. So how can we make it possible that our last moment, our death, comes in the state of Iman, and Allah is pleased with us?

How to Remain Steadfast After Ramadan

1. Remain Firm Upon the Righteous Deeds of Ramadan

In this regard, brothers, the first thing that we need to do is that we have to stay steadfast on the righteous deeds that we used to do in the month of Ramadan. We remember everything — how we started our day and how we finished our day, how we tried to recite the Quran, how we tried to spend in the way of Allah, and how we were always doing nawafil and other acts of worship.

2. Make Du'a to Allah for Steadfastness

We can make ourselves steadfast by making du'a to Allah, by asking Allah's help, by asking Allah's blessing. Because without the support and without the help of Allah, we cannot do any good things — we cannot even read one rak'ah, we cannot even spend one penny in the way of Allah without His blessing.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said in a hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 6418)

Our hearts are between two fingers of Ar-Rahman, who can turn them wherever He wills. And then the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) made the du'a:

O You who turns the hearts, make our hearts steadfast upon Your obedience, upon Your deen. So we should make this du'a to Allah in these days after Ramadan — to keep our hearts steadfast on His obedience, on His deen.

3. Do Not Count Your Good Deeds — Remember Your Sins

Secondly, whatever good deeds, brothers, we did in the month of Ramadan — we should not look back and start counting them. Saying: "MashaAllah, I fasted the whole month of Ramadan, I attended Taraweeh every night, I finished the Quran, I spent so much in the way of Allah." This kind of thought, brothers, will not only stop us from doing further good deeds, but will also perhaps lead us towards evil.

Therefore, after Ramadan, rather than counting our good deeds, we should remember our sins, our bad actions, our disobedience that we did — before the month of Ramadan as well as in the month of Ramadan. Whatever we did, we have to remember.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radiyallahu 'anhu) used to say: the sign of a mu'min, the sign of a Muslim, is that he always remembers his sins, his shortcomings — in Allah's worship, in dealing with the people, in everything. He always remembers his sins. And because of that, he becomes so careful.

And the sinful person — he always remembers only his few good deeds that he perhaps did in the month of Ramadan, or at Hajj, or at other times. He always counts his few good deeds, and at the same time ignores his sins — which may be equal to a mountain. And such a person easily takes the path of evil, the path of Shaytan.

4. Pray That Allah Accepts Your Good Deeds

Thirdly, we should pray to Allah that He accepts whatever good we did in the month of Ramadan. We have to pray to Allah, because nobody knows whether it has been accepted by Allah or not. The Quran mentions the sign of Ahlul Iman, the sign of the mu'min — that whenever they do any good deed, likewise in the month of Ramadan and after Hajj and everything, whenever they do any good deed, they still fear Allah because of shortcomings that may have remained in their good deeds, and that Allah might not accept them. As Allah says:

And they do what they do while their hearts are full of fear, because they are sure to return to their Lord.

Look at the way of the Salaf al-Saliheen — they used to make du'a for receiving the month of Ramadan six months before it. And then they spent six months after Ramadan making du'a to Allah to accept their good deeds. Why? Because they knew that until Allah accepts their good deeds, they will not be successful.

Do Not Be Disheartened — The Doors Are Still Open

Dear brothers and sisters, there will be some of us who have not made proper use of this opportunity — the opportunity from Allah in this month of Ramadan — by doing good deeds, by making Allah pleased with us, by making themselves among the Ahlul Jannah. So they should not be disheartened, because the doors of Jannah are still open, even after Ramadan.

As the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said in a hadith from Sahih Muslim, he mentioned three things:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 32, Hadith 6189)

May he be humiliated who hears my name and does not send salutations upon me — does not read the salawat upon me. And may he be humiliated who got the month of Ramadan and then passes away before he is forgiven by Allah. And the third thing that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned is that we still have an opportunity to enter paradise through our old-aged parents — by looking after them and having good behaviour with them, being patient with them, and not hurting them in any way.

Honouring and Serving One's Parents

As Allah says in Surah Al-Isra:

Allah ordered us to worship none except Him. And after the tawhid — after ordering us to worship Him alone — Allah says: and to be good to your parents. After Allah's worship, the second thing which comes is our behaviour with our parents.

And to be good to your parents — whether one or both of them reaches old age — then what is your duty? Say not to them so much as a word of contempt, and do not repel them, but speak to them with words of respect — always with words of respect. And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy. And say: My Lord, have mercy upon them as they raised me up when I was small.

So brothers and sisters, no matter what age our parents are, it is our duty to treat them well and respect them. And the Quran has emphasised especially to be good to them in their old age — when they reach old age — because as we know, old age is the part of life when one is dependent on others for almost everything. Their body, their eyesight, their hearing, and their power of thinking — they all become weak. They face various kinds of illnesses.

While they were young, they sacrificed their energy, their time, their age, and their own desires — everything — for the goodness of their children only. And these are the people who had a leading, a powerful role most of their life in the family. But when they reach old age, they become lonely and helpless. They cannot even look after their cleanliness. They will start talking irrelevantly in gatherings.

So these are the times, brothers, when children need to consider their age, and be patient with them, and tolerate their behaviour, and try to avoid such comments and words which will hurt them. Always talk to them softly and do not criticise them. In this age they rely on your support, your care, and your love. And because they rely on your support, they cannot convey the pain they might feel because of your harshness, because of your bad treatment of them.

Remember, brothers — our old-aged parents are like an open door to Jannah. An open door to Jannah. So do not close that door upon yourself by behaving badly with your parents, by your bad treatment of them.

And always ask Allah to be merciful upon them, as they were merciful upon you since your birth.

And those whose parents have passed away — they can still benefit them even after their death by fulfilling the good advice which their parents gave to them in their lives, and by maintaining good treatment with their parents' close relatives — their sisters, their brothers — and by making du'a for their parents always, that Allah gives them a high place in Jannah.

May Allah forgive them and save them from the punishment of the grave and hellfire. May Allah help us to preserve our good deeds and continue them with regularity.