The Virtue of Righteous Deeds - Shaykh Waleed Basyouni

The Virtue of Righteous Deeds

أَمَّا بَعْدُ — All praise is due to Allah, and His praise and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, his family, his companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment. I bear witness that Allah is the only one worthy of worship, and Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam is the last and final messenger.

The Certainty of Death and the Day of Judgment

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah told us about a fact that I do believe each and every one of us knows very well:

Say, for you is an appointment of a day you will not remain thereafter an hour, nor will you precede it.

That moment of death — that everybody knows is coming — yet sometimes we are so deceived by this life. That is why Allah warned us from being deceived, deluded, and unaware of this fact and this destiny that is meant for every living creature to meet.

O mankind, indeed the promise of Allah is truth. So let not the worldly life delude you, and be not deceived about Allah by the deceiver — ash-Shaytan.

It has been said that the following verse is the last verse revealed to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

In Surah al-Baqarah, Allah said: And have fear of Allah for the day that you will be returned to your Lord. And on that day, each and every soul will be held accountable for their deeds.

On that day:

On the day a man will flee from his brother, his mother, his father, his wife and his children. His family members, his tribe, his friends. And as Sahih Muslim mentions, even Isa — when his mother Maryam calls upon him — he will say to her:

My mother, today I cannot help you with anything.

And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said before his death, when he gathered his family members: Ask me whatever you want now, because on the Day of Judgment I cannot help you with anything.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 402)

O Fatimah, ask me for whatever you wish, for I cannot avail you anything against Allah on the Day of Judgment.

Do not rely on it. And there is no contradiction between such a statement and the other statements regarding intercession. Because the intercession will happen later on, after the hisab. But if Allah has not given permission for someone to intercede, no matter how much you want to help, that desire or feeling would not help — unless Allah is the one who allows intercession to take place.

The Day When Only the Sound Heart Will Avail

My brothers and sisters, that day:

The day when there will not benefit anyone wealth or children, but only the one who comes to Allah with a sound heart — الْقَلْبُ السَّلِيمُ — the heart that is free from kufr, from doubts, and from forbidden desires that have taken it over. At that day, the fortunate one is the one who will enter Jannah and be saved from the Hellfire.

Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your full compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained great success. فَقَدْ فَازَ — that is the point, the point we should always keep in mind. How will I be on that day, saved from the Hellfire and entering Jannah?

And it is simple. Allah made it very clear and very visual for us:

And the weighing of deeds that day will be the truth. So those whose scales are heavy — heavy with good deeds — they are the successful ones. They are the saved ones. They are the ones who will be admitted to Jannah and drawn away from the Hellfire. But if your good deeds are light — not as heavy as the bad deeds — that is where people will be in trouble. Those are the biggest losers on the Day of Judgment: the ones who will lose themselves to the Hellfire.

The Importance of Maximising Good Deeds

If this is the case, I think it is a good thing to always remind yourself of — to always talk to yourself about the concept of good deeds and righteous deeds, and how much I can do and offer. And to always be ready to do more.

Some of the Salaf, rahimahumullah, many scholars, were once asked — or they initiated a statement — saying something along these lines: If death comes tomorrow, or tonight, or the Day of Judgment starts tomorrow, I have nothing more to add. I have already maximised myself.

If we were told tonight is the last night, many of us would think of many good things we can add, many things we can do and include in our daily routine. But those scholars said: if we were told tonight is the last night, or tomorrow the Day of Judgment will start, there is nothing extra they could do — they were already maximising themselves. They understood the virtue of good deeds, the importance of doing as much good as you can.

There are certain principles I want you to keep in mind. I hope they will inspire you — and inspire all of us — to do more of what is good and righteous.

First Principle: Good Deeds Are Multiplied

Allah, out of His generosity — مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَكَرَمِهِ — made any good deed you do to be multiplied to ten, and then all the way up to seven hundred, and even sometimes more than seven hundred times. Can you imagine? Any good deed you do will not be written for you as one — it will be written as ten or more.

Whoever comes with a good deed, it will be ten times the like thereof. And whoever comes with an evil deed, he will not be recompensed except the like thereof, and they will not be wronged.

Indeed, Allah does not wrong anyone even as much as an atom's weight. And if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.

Many of the early companions and successors — such as Ibn Mas'ud and others — said regarding يُضَاعِفْهَا: He multiplies it to ten. And gives from Himself a great reward — that is what goes beyond ten, beyond seven hundred and more.

Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhu narrated — and this hadith is in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim — that Allah said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6491; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 233)

If you intend to do something good and you did not do it, Allah will give you a reward for it. And if you do it, Allah will write it for you as ten to seven hundred and far more. And if you do one bad deed, it will be written as one against you.

And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said in the hadith of Abu Dharr, the same concept — that it will be multiplied ten to seven hundred. And as for the sin: it will be written as one, or I may even forgive the sin, and not write it at all against you. (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 234)

The Simplicity of Earning Great Rewards

In the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam once asked the companions: Is it hard for you to gain 2,500 rewards every day? The companions thought — what would 2,500 good deeds a day look like? Then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: it is simple. More simple than what you think.

Maybe this is the lesson that you take away today from this khutbah: that doing good deeds is much simpler than what you think. It is so easy to gain so much reward and to be proud of it on the Day of Judgment.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to them: after each salah, you say SubhanAllah 10 times, Alhamdulillah 10 times, and Allahu Akbar 10 times. This is 150 by your tongue — because you pray 5 times a day, saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar 30 times each prayer. Then the Prophet said: and it is 1,500 in your scale. And before you go to sleep, say SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times, and Allahu Akbar 34 times. This is 100 with your tongue, and 1,000 in your scale. That is 2,500 hasanat — from a simple, easy thing that you can do. (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 5065; authenticated by al-Albani)

Most of you may already say 33 times of tasbih, tahmid, and takbir after salah — not just 10, but more. And in one narration he said: And who among you would commit 2,500 sins a day? I love this addition, because it reminds me of that scale on the Day of Judgment — you see your good deeds versus the bad deeds.

How to Increase the Multiplication of Good Deeds

If this is the case, remember this rule: any good deed will be multiplied by default to ten. But sometimes it can go beyond ten, up to seven hundred and more. How can you make it more than ten?

1. The Virtue of Time — Fadl al-Zaman

Certain acts of worship at certain times will be multiplied way more than ten. Like in Ramadan, the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, the last third of the night, the time of fitan, the time of hardship, Laylatul Qadr. Even the place matters — the prayer in the masjid is multiplied 27 times compared to praying at home. And in Mecca, in Medina, in Jerusalem, and so forth.

And giving nasiha and da'wah in a land where we are few — where we are a minority — when we stand up for the truth, for what is right, when people are silent and scared, that place where we stand up for the haq is a place where the reward is multiplied far more than if you were in a place where you are a majority and you have many supporters.

2. The Nature of the Deed Itself — Fasting and Charity

The famous example is what Allah said in the hadith al-Qudsi:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1904; Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 2707)

Every hasanah will be multiplied ten to up to seven hundred. Then Allah said: except fasting. Fasting belongs to Me, and I am the one who rewards for it. Fasting is way beyond seven hundred. How much reward? Allah said: it belongs to Me, and I am the one who will reward you for it. Nobody knows how much reward you will get from fasting.

Also another act of worship — as-sadaqah, charity. Ibn Umar radiallahu anhu said:

Every deed starts with ten, except sadaqah — charity starts from seven hundred.

So when you walk out from the masjid, don't hesitate to put that sadaqah in the box, or when a brother calls you to give. When you get an invitation to donate to a trustworthy cause, make sure that you do. Make sure you don't pass it by. It doesn't matter how much you put — what matters is how much you care, how much you think about the concept.

3. The State of the Person — Sincerity and Ihsan

One of the things that has a great impact on the amount of reward and its multiplication is the state of the person — how much ikhlas and sincerity you have, how much you do it with love, with ihsan, with fear of Allah.

When you make wudu, consider two people making wudu in the masjid. One person does it mechanically — he doesn't even think about it, he starts with his hands and ends with his feet. But there is another person who, while making wudu, is thinking about his sins being washed away. He is thinking about how he is purifying himself and how he needs to purify his heart, because he is about to stand before Allah. He washes his hand this way because he remembers that this is how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam washed. Whatever you feel in your heart at that moment — مَا يَقُومُ فِي الْقَلْبِ — it will definitely make the reward of that ibadah not equal to the person who just does it mechanically. Like two people who pray next to each other: one's salah will barely pass the requirement, and the other's is already in the heavens.

A Note on Sins and Their Gravity

This is not the place to go into the full scholarly debate on whether sins can also be multiplied. Some of the ulama said a sin can be greater in weight in certain places. They give the example of Mecca — that some of them said: السَّيِّئَةُ فِي مَكَّةَ بِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ. That is why many of the Sahabah never lived in Mecca because they were worried about that particular point.

Other scholars said sins will not be multiplied in number. In my opinion — as a middle position between the two — I believe sins will not be multiplied in count, but they will be greater in their effect and consequence. تَعْظُمُ فِي أَثَرِهَا وَعُقُوبَتِهَا وَلَيْسَ بِالضَّرُورَةِ ضَاعَفَ فِي أَعْدَادِهَا وَأَرْقَامِهَا. This, I believe, takes into consideration all the evidence mentioned in this regard.

In the same way, the sin of the scholar and the student of knowledge is not like the sin of an ignorant person. The sin of an elder is not the same as the sin of a young man. The sin committed against a respected person will not be equal to a sin committed against someone of lesser standing. That is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that one of the worst sins is to commit adultery with the wife of your neighbor — because the neighbor has more rights. As well as the time: a sin in the masjid, in a place of virtue like Mecca, is not similar to outside these places. And sinning in the last third of the night, in the time of Ramadan, in the time of ibadah — it is not equal to sinning outside of these times. It makes the sin greater and worse.

Second Principle: Good Deeds Erase Bad Deeds

There is another principle I want you to think of — another concept that is so profound in the Quran about good deeds. Allah said:

Good deeds erase bad deeds. Remember this.

A man came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and said: Ya Rasulullah, I am ruined. I did something terrible. When he mentioned it, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to him: Go and pray two rak'ahs. And he recited this verse:

Follow bad deeds with good deeds — it will erase them. Remember this: it will never be the opposite. Bad deeds after good deeds will not harm your good deeds. But good deeds will erase the bad deeds you commit. So anytime you feel you did something bad — do good to wipe out all those bad deeds.

Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhu said: I don't know any sin that will not be erased by بِرُّ الْوَالِدَةِ — being good to your mother, being good to your parents.

Imam Ahmad said: بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ يُكَفِّرُ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ — being good to your parents wipes even major sins. And similar to birr al-walidayn in this regard is al-hajj.

May Allah forgive our sins.

Third Principle: The Reward of Intention

One of the things I mentioned earlier in the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is that even if you intend to do something good and you did not do it, you still get the reward for it. That is why it is so important for you to always have the intention to do what is right, to do what is good. You get the full reward. If I intend to wake up and pray before Fajr, to pray the sunnah, and to give — even if you get distracted and forgot, or overslept — you will get the reward for it.

That is why the scholars, rahimahumullah, said: إِنَّ نِيَّةَ الْمُؤْمِنِ أَبْلَغُ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ — the intention of the believer is more powerful than his deed.

Fourth Principle: Repentance Transforms Bad Deeds into Good Deeds

And finally, when you repent to Allah, Allah transfers the bad deeds into good deeds. As Allah said in Surah al-Furqan:

Except for those who repent, believe, and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good ones. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.

After you repent to Allah, Allah takes that amount of bad deeds and transfers it — replacing them with an equal number of good deeds and rewards. But not the other way around. If you have been good for a time, and then you are not as good as you used to be — if you start committing sins and changing your relationship with Allah — it will not erase your good deeds, unless you commit shirk. Because the only thing that destroys your deeds after they are done is kufr and shirk.

If you commit shirk, you lose your deeds.

Conclusion: Seize Every Opportunity for Good

The point of my khutbah today — ma'adhAllah — is not to undermine the dangers of sin, but actually to magnify in your eyes the size of the reward of good deeds. In other words, I encourage each and every one of us, after this khutbah, not to let a single opportunity pass by for doing something good without doing it. And to feel that love, that trust, and that comfort in dealing with Allah.

Because if Shaytan convinces you to commit a sin, he knows that you have gained one sin. But if Shaytan convinces you to pass on a good deed, he knows you have missed ten or more. For him, making you miss ten is better than making you gain one. Because in the end of the day — ten versus one — you are still winning by nine.

The point of this reminder is to make sure that we are always ready to do what is right, to do what is good. When you see an opportunity, do not let it pass without having a share in the khayr, without being part of that goodness. That is my advice to myself and to every brother and sister here — to make sure that this year will be filled with good deeds.

May Allah accept from all of us our good deeds, and forgive our sins.