The Most Beloved Deeds to Allah سبحانه و تعالى - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah al-Ula — Opening

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, and ask for His forgiveness. And 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 leads astray, none can guide him.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant, His Messenger, pure of heart, from His creation, and His friend. Allah has sent him to all people as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner.

He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah. And he left us on the white path — its night is like its day; nothing escapes it except destruction. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family and companions, and whoever is guided by his guidance, follows his Sunnah, and calls to his call until the Day of Judgment.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it a wife, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah with Whom you ask for mercy, for Allah is watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah, and say the right words, that He may amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great triumph.

My beloved ones in Allah, I advise you to fear Allah and do good, for Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.

The Most Important Matter for the Believer

My brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah Almighty, and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved Messenger Muhammad, صلى الله عليه وسلم. That which should busy the believer is that which is the most important to the believer while they are in this world.

And although there are a lot of things that we do, and a lot of things that we want, it all boils down in the end of the day to one thing — and that is the one thing that accompanies us to our graves. In the grave you don't have family with you, you don't have wealth with you. All you have is the good deeds that you've done while you're alive. Those good deeds — those a'mal saliha.

This is the most important thing, and this is what should busy and occupy the Muslim. Ensuring you are doing enough good deeds, ensuring you are doing the right good deeds, ensuring that they are, inshallah, accepted by Allah Almighty. This is what should busy you. And everything about your life should revolve around that which you have been created for, which is to worship Allah through these righteous actions.

The Sahaba's Question: What Are the Most Beloved Deeds?

And this is what you will find if you look at the greatest generations — the Sahaba. They would often come to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asking him, "What are the most beloved deeds to Allah? What are the best actions that one can do?" And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would always answer them.

Sometimes the Prophet would instruct them and say, "Do this action because this is the most beloved to Allah. Do this because this is what Allah loves the most." And then the Sahaba would ensure that at the very least, they were doing that thing which the Prophet said Allah Almighty loves the most.

And there are numerous hadith where the Prophet listed these actions — just as he would list the major sins. He would say the most major of major sins:

…is for you to give an equal to Allah — to commit shirk. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5976)

And he would say among the worst sins is al-uqooq, which is to be abusive, insulting, or not dutiful to your parents. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would mention, for example, among the major sins is adultery and zina.

Similarly, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would also teach and talk about the most beloved actions to Allah. And as a Muslim, once you realize that something is a major sin, you should stay away from it as much as you can. And similarly, when you're told "this is one of the greatest ibadat," you should try and do it as often as you can.

The Hadith of the Awliya' — Drawing Near Through Obligations and Nawafil

Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه reports a hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم where the Prophet gave us a general guideline — something to generally always remember. This is the hadith where Allah spoke about the saints, those who are near to Him, those whose worship, righteousness, and prayer carry them to a level where they are very close to Allah.

And Allah described them and said: "There is nothing that brings someone closer to Me than doing that which I have obligated upon him or her." So if you want to get close to Allah — and we all do — then your first priority is to fulfill the obligations. And then the hadith continues:

"And My servant does not cease to draw near to Me with voluntary acts of worship until I love him." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

And my servant does not come near me with the things that I have recommended or encouraged — these are the sunnah acts. So you don't only fast Ramadan, but you fast on Thursdays and Mondays. You don't only pray your five daily prayers, but you also pray the sunnahs. You don't only go to Hajj once, you go several times in your lifetime. You don't only go and do Umrah once, but you do it several times. You don't only give zakat, but you also give sadaqah. This is how you get near to Allah.

So as a general rule, remember this: Allah loves the obligations more than those things that are encouraged. Fasting Ramadan carries more reward than fasting outside of Ramadan. And praying your Dhuhr is more beloved to Allah than praying the night prayer. This should teach you that the obligations come first, and then you build upon that.

What the Prophet ﷺ Said Are the Most Beloved Actions

In another hadith of Abu Hurairah, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was asked what are the most beloved actions to Allah, and he said:

"Faith in Allah and His Messenger." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 26; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 83)

Now here you'll understand something quite interesting. We all have faith in Allah and His Messenger. So what did the Prophet mean here? It means that you strengthen your faith with knowledge. It means that you increase your faith with actions — because as we know, our iman increases and it decreases. It increases with righteous actions and it decreases with sin. So your belief in Allah and your belief in the Prophet — your iman — can increase by doing more khayr. Working on your iman and having true faith: this is among the most beloved actions to Allah.

The Prophet then mentioned jihad fi sabilillah. The Prophet mentioned going to Hajj — and a Hajj that had no sin in it, where you did your Hajj without argumentation, without anger, without insults — a Hajj mabroor.

Another time, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud asked the Prophet, "What are the most beloved actions to Allah?" And the Prophet said: praying on time, then being dutiful to your parents, then jihad fi sabilillah. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 527; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 85)

Another time the Prophet said the most beloved actions to Allah are Allah's remembrance — to make dhikr, to say SubhanAllah and La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar.

In another hadith the Prophet mentioned that the most beloved action to Allah is putting happiness in someone else — making another Muslim happy. The Prophet said it is feeding those who are in need.

So you have this range of ibadat that are all being described as the most beloved to Allah.

Why Did the Prophet Give Different Answers?

A question the scholars try to answer is: why each time was the Prophet giving a different answer? Is the most beloved action to Allah the prayer, or is it the Hajj? Is it jihad, or is it entering happiness into another Muslim? Is it being dutiful to your parents, or is it dhikr?

The scholars said this comes down to the person, and to the situation and time. You can't fast at night — what you can do is pray. So at night, the most beloved action for you is to be awake in prayer. During the day, perhaps it is fasting. When the sun comes up and it is time to pray the Duha prayer, then the most beloved action would be the Duha prayer. When you have a poor person asking you, then the most beloved action would be to help him. If you have guests coming, to host those guests in an honorable way is more beloved than reading Qur'an at that moment.

So you look at the situation and you use every situation possible to gain ajar — to gain reward. The situation dictates what would be the best thing to do at that time. When it is Hajj time, the most beloved action would be to go to Hajj. This is always something you have to keep in mind.

Deeds That Benefit Others Are More Beloved

A general rule to keep in mind, my brothers, as it relates to righteous actions, is that that which affects more people in a positive way is more beloved than that which only affects the person. Now of course there are exceptions to this, but generally speaking. This is why the Prophet said:

"The best of people are those who are the most beneficial to people." (Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani, Hadith 5787; classed as hasan by al-Albani)

And why is that? Because whatever good that you are doing, if you are affecting others, then that khayr is going to spread. This is why a person who is praying a sunnah prayer — although he is doing something really good — and a person who is teaching Qur'an to ten people: whose action is affecting more people? The Qur'an teacher. So in this case, the Qur'an teacher would be doing something that is better because it is affecting more people.

Now I mentioned there are some exceptions, because we know the salah that is wajib comes before everything else. But if you have to choose between an action that is limited to yourself or an action that will affect many people, then you choose that which affects many people.

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked: "What is more beloved — someone who is fasting and praying, or someone who spreads the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and teaches his Sunnah?" He thought about it and then said: "Verily, the one who is teaching the Sunnah is on a higher level than the one who is praying and fasting." And when asked why, he said: "Because the person who is praying and fasting is only benefiting himself, while the person who is teaching the Sunnah is benefiting many."

Now — is this a call towards not praying and not fasting? No. It is for you to understand that sometimes, try and do righteous actions that affect other people. Come and give sadaqah, go and volunteer, help your neighbors, teach people — whatever you can. Look at yourself and ask: how much of the good things that I do affect other people in a positive way? Because that is where the greater reward lies.

Remember the statement of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم:

"The best of people are those who are the most beneficial to people."

Similarly, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "The best among you are those who feed the people." In another hadith, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "The best among you are those who keep their harm away from people." Again, showing the importance of taking into consideration those whom you are living with and ensuring that people are living in peace.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Khutbah al-Thaniyah — Second Sermon

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ — my brothers and sisters in Allah. We were speaking about the most beloved actions to Allah and how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would give different answers. And those different answers were sometimes tailored to the person asking him. So if someone was extremely poor, the Prophet would perhaps not encourage him to give sadaqah because they wouldn't be able to do so.

So it is important that you know your situation — and also know the situation around you — and what you can do the most. And always keep in mind — and this is another extremely important point — I believe it was Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah who said: when it comes to righteous actions, one shouldn't only look at these ahadith and say, "I'm going to do this one and that one and that one." You should really look at the one that affects you the most and brings you closer to Allah.

Which one of these righteous actions has an effect on your heart where you become a better Muslim because of it? If it is the reading of the Qur'an, then read the Qur'an. If it is prayer, then pray. If where you find your iman increasing and the effect on your heart is when you're helping others and giving sadaqah, then do that. And people are different. Allah has created us all differently. So this is something only you can answer.

Key Factors to Keep in Mind

So what are some of the factors to keep in mind when we want to do the most beloved actions?

Number one: Learn the ahadith where the Prophet mentions the beloved actions — because there are a number of them — and see which one you can apply.

Number two: Remember, my brothers and sisters, that every situation calls for a particular ibadah — keep that in mind as well.

Number three: Remember your own personal situation and what you can do best.

The Most Beloved Deeds Are Those Done Consistently

One final hadith I want to share with you: the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم also said that the most beloved actions to Allah are those that are done consistently, even if they are small. It's not about doing a lot, but about continuously doing something.

Let's say someone one night read the whole Qur'an or read fifteen juz, and then that's it for months — he didn't read any Qur'an. And another person reads half a page or a number of ayat every single night. Which one is better? The Prophet is telling us: the most beloved to Allah is that which you do consistently, continuously.

Why is that important? Because this person, every single night, is remembering Allah. This person has dedicated his time to Allah, however small it is — whereas the other was a moment of passion where you read a lot and then let it go. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to a companion: "Do not be like that person — he used to pray at night and then he left it." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1152; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1159)

One of the ways that you continuously perform an ibadah is to not burden yourself. Start a good habit. Pray your witr at night. Or maybe give sadaqah every Friday when you come to the masjid. Or whatever the case is — something small — and do that continuously.

Maximizing the Reward of Your Deeds

Three more points I want to add: how can we ensure that we maximize as much as possible the ajar — the reward — that we can get from a certain ibadah?

Number one: Ensure that you have the right niyyah. Ensure that you have the right intention when you are doing an act of worship — whatever it is. Always go back to your intention: why am I doing it? I am doing it for Allah. I want Allah to reward me for this. You are a servant of Allah, following the footsteps of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Always ensure that you are looking at your intention.

Number two: Consistency — we mentioned this already.

Number three: Following the Sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Every act that you do — following the Sunnah — if you really try and follow the Sunnah of the Prophet, this within itself carries more reward. I'll give you one example to conclude.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said in a hadith: "The two raka'at of Fajr" — that means the two sunnah raka'at of Fajr that you pray before the Fard Fajr — "they are better than everything in this world." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 725) In those two raka'at, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would read the smallest surahs in the Qur'an. If you decide, when praying those two raka'at, that you are going to read Surah al-Baqarah, you are not getting more reward than if you were to follow what the Prophet read. And one could argue — isn't Al-Baqarah a lot more? Yes it is, but the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم read those short surahs, and you get more reward by following the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So ensure you are enacting the Sunnah wherever you are, whenever you are — and this inshallah will also increase your reward.

Du'a and Closing

I ask Allah to make us among those who follow the Prophet always. I ask Allah to make us among those who always do righteous actions. I ask Allah to make us among those upon whom Allah and His angels send blessings — as He said:

Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, pray for him and give him your blessings.

O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.

I ask Allah to make us among those who follow the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, always.