The Effects of Good Deeds

The Effects of Good Deeds

الحمد لله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده

All praise due to Allah and his praise and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam, 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 wasallam is his final and last Messenger.

A Reminder: Praying Between the Pillars

My dear brothers and sisters, before I talk about my topic today, you notice that we put signs for people not to pray between the pillars in the Masjid. That is the Sunnah — that we should not pray between the pillars unless there is no space left in the Musalla. In that case we can pray between them, but to have a line cut off by a pillar is not correct.

Mu'ayyid ibn Qurra radiyallahu anhu, one of the companions, said: we were not allowed to pray between the pillars during the Prophet's sallallahu alayhi wasallam time, and if somebody would line up there he would be pushed away or told to stay away from lining up between the pillars.

Also Anas radiyallahu anhu said:

"This is something that we have been asked not to do." That is why the scholars rahimahumullah said it is highly disliked to pray between the pillars unless there is no space left or the Masjid is too crowded. Since alhamdulillah on Jumu'ah we are not reaching that level yet, we will keep the signs up for a couple of weeks until people get used to it, and inshallah on your own you will not line up between the pillars so that your lines will be complete.

Completing the lines is part of completing the salah.

Reflecting on Ramadan and the Value of Good Deeds

As we have finished Ramadan — and alhamdulillah during Ramadan many of us were involved in many different acts of worship, and at least we all shared the fasting:

كثيرٌ منَّا في رمضان يُكثِر العبادة والطاعة إلى الله سبحانه وتعالى في هذا الشهر الكريم

With this being said, I want to say that الطاعة لها حسنات — good deeds and doing good deeds is something that has its own reward. Not only a reward in the Akhirah when you meet Allah, but also in the dunya. And Allah and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam have told us some of these fruits, the beauty of good deeds.

First Fruit: Good Deeds Bring Tranquility in Times of Hardship

One of them is something related to you when you are in hardship and calamity. There is no doubt that we are all going to face hardship and calamity.

"O mankind, you will struggle and you will be struggling until you meet Allah. You will go from hardship to another."

"Indeed, We have created man into hardship" — meaning the person will be struggling in this life.

But during this life, as these struggles and calamities strike you left and right, the comfort and strength that comes to you comes from the good deeds — from dhikr of Allah, from the remembrance of Allah, from the salah, from the siyam, from the sadaqah that you do. And there is so much evidence to establish that concept.

You can look at the scholars rahimahumullah and the devout worshippers — انظر إلى أحوال العبَّاد عندهم من اليقين والهدوء والسعي — they have so much tranquility and peace when calamity strikes. And this started with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam down to the companions radiyallahu anhum.

Yes, you feel tight, you feel it is hard, you feel squeezed, you feel tired, you feel that things are very bad, you feel pain. But when you engage in that ibadah, when you are consistent in your ibadah and the mention of Allah, and the salawat and salam on Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, it brings a different type of peace, tranquility, and serenity to the heart. Only those who do it understand exactly what I mean by that.

They say about Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah, while he was in his jail:

"The real prisoner is not the one in a cell behind bars. The real prisoner is the one who has been prevented — not from the dunya and meeting friends and being outside — but the one who has been prevented from being connected with Allah. And the real مأسور — the one taken as a prisoner — is the one who has been taken prisoner by his own desires."

That is what the real prison is. And he said: "You see this wall between me and the people outside? It is like what Allah said in the Qur'an:"

"And there was placed between them a wall having a door, its interior containing mercy but its exterior is torment." He said: "That is the mercy side, where I am inside the jail — because I am engaged in the dhikr of Allah, reading Qur'an, reviewing my knowledge."

And these things brought him so much tranquility and peace. To the extent that Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah said: "We used to visit Ibn Taymiyyah in jail. And by Allah, we would come with so much worry and anxiety and thinking about all that was happening in the world around us. وَلَا نَلْبَثُ — the moment we talked to him and saw him, and saw how much tranquility and peace he had, we would change completely. I would leave full of optimism."

And I witnessed some of that personally when I used to visit Shaykh Ibn Baz rahimahullah ta'ala. I would come to him and tell him about what was happening in the world — all the problems happening around the world, sometimes big issues: war, civil war, the torturing of people, Muslims suffering, so many problems, evil things happening. And the moment I would talk to him, the amount of tranquility and peace that he had was immense. And he would always engage in dhikr — say astaghfirullah, subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah. Then you would start talking and the sense of optimism would fill the room — be patient, Allah will never put you down, Allah will never let His deen be lost, Allah will never let the true believer be defeated forever, Allah's victory is coming, Allah's relief is coming, Allah's ease is coming. And when you hear that, you feel so much peace and tranquility, and you start dealing with these problems in a very different way and with a different attitude.

Second Fruit: Allah Places Love for the Righteous in People's Hearts

Another thing about good deeds: because of your good deeds and righteousness, Allah puts love for you in people's hearts. Allah said in the Qur'an, at the end of Surah Maryam:

"Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds — the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection." Meaning, Allah will put for them مودةً في قلوب الناس — love in the hearts of the people. Love by whom? By Allah, by the angels, and by the people. And at the top of this list are the righteous.

And this explains the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in Sahih al-Bukhari:

That when Allah loves someone, He tells Jibreel: "I love so-and-so, so love him." And when Jibreel loves him, he tells the angels, and that person will be loved by the angels. And after that, يُوضَعُ لَهُ الْقَبُولُ فِي الْأَرْضِ — Allah will give him acceptance on earth.

Would people love to sit and talk with you? I can tell you about people I have met and known in my life — until today, I am amazed at how they came to have such love, popularity, and acceptance. And I am not talking about those who polish their exterior, those who use marketing techniques — those people are like a bubble, very soon they get so hyped up on social media, even some speakers, and then they crash. I am not talking about those people. I am talking about people with a long track record, a long record, whom Allah gave acceptance and قبول.

When I get to know such people personally and I ask about them after they became well-known and people were captivated by them, I start observing their relationship with Allah. And when I see that their relationship with Allah is truly strong, I know that is a good sign — Allah gave them acceptance on earth, and people love them from all over the world.

I remember when Shaykh Ibn Baz rahimahullah died — and I can say with full confidence, there is no one in the history of Islam, no one from the time of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam until today, on whose janazah people prayed like they prayed on Shaykh Ibn Baz. That record has never been broken. The amount of people who prayed janazah on him was unbelievable. Even here in Houston, several masajid — from people who barely knew who Shaykh Ibn Baz was — I remember one brother calling me saying, "Shaykh, we are praying janazah on him." Whether we are praying janazah on the absent or not, that is not the point. The point is: what motivated people like this just to pray janazah on him? It is an unbelievable amount of love. People were crying. Can you imagine airlines — airlines where anyone wanting to fly to Mecca to pray janazah on Shaykh Ibn Baz received a free ticket on that day? Nobody asked them. No government asked them to do that. It was simply love for the Shaykh. And that was because of the righteousness of the person.

Umar radiyallahu anhu sent a message to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and said to him:

"When Allah loves someone, He makes people love him. So look at your standing with Allah by looking at how people treat you and how people like you." And that is how we can gauge our status with Allah.

And one of the outcomes of this: Allah grants you the love of your own children. That might sound strange, but I have met quite a number of people who said, "I cannot connect with my parents." These are not little children — they may live with their parents, but there is no love between them. Part of الثمرات, the fruits, is that Allah puts in people's hearts love for you because of your righteousness — even covering your other mistakes because of your ibadah.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam had divorced Hafsa radiyallahu anha. Then Allah said: "Take her back." Why? Jibreel said, Allah tells you: take her back, for she is a woman who always fasts and always prays. Even if you are not interested, even if there is anger, even if you divorced her — that is not a reason to leave her. Take her back. She is a righteous woman. Keep her as a wife.

Third Fruit: The Sweetness of Iman Found in Good Deeds

One of the things that ibadah and good deeds do: the sweetness of doing good, the sweetness of iman that you find when you do a good deed — it is far greater than anything else you might do or find pleasure in. No matter what it is — watching a movie, playing a game, going on a trip — whatever happiness and sweetness you have in your heart because of those things will never compare to the sweetness that you find when you do a good deed.

That is why it is said: if rich people knew how much joy we have in our life, they would fight us over it. But they do not know the sweetness of being able to complete a Khatmul Qur'an, to memorize the Qur'an, the sweetness of understanding knowledge and understanding the fiqh of a hadith, the fiqh of a verse in the Qur'an. Reading the biography of the scholars is a joy.

Al-Bukhari rahimahullah — or one of the other scholars of hadith — was told: "Do you not get bored being alone in the library all the time?" He said: "You do not understand. I am in the company of Abu Bakr, Umar, Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib, and Hasan al-Basri." It is a joy that cannot be compared with anything else.

Fourth Fruit: Sufficiency and Contentment of the Heart

Also, one of the beautiful things about good deeds — the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam told us that Allah says:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4107; also reported in Sunan al-Tirmidhi)

"O son of Adam, dedicate yourself to My worship, and I will fill your chest with sufficiency — with no need for anything other than Me — and I will take care of your needs." When a person feels independent, feels sufficient, feels content — that is the true meaning of happiness. It is something Allah promises to give to those who dedicate themselves to His worship.

It is not about how much you have. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

"Richness is not in possessing a lot of wealth. No — richness is the richness of the soul." It does not matter how large your bank account is or how much money you have. كم من غنيٍّ هو فقير، وكم من فقيرٍ هو غني — So many people have a lot of money but act like the poor, and so many who are materially poor act like the rich. Alhamdulillah — they are content, they are happy.

That is why in Islam, we do not have a problem with you possessing a lot of wealth or not having a lot of wealth. What makes you righteous is not your financial status. Allah does not look at the poor and love them more than the rich simply because they are poor. No. The way Allah judges people is not by how much they have or how little they have — it is by how much taqwa they have.

"Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you." Not the one with less money or more money.

That is why the scholars rahimahumullah had a long debate on this. Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim discussed it at length — which is better: الغني الشاكر أم الفقير الصابر — the wealthy, thankful person, or the poor, patient person? Ibn Taymiyyah said: what makes a person better is not being poor or being rich — it is being grateful and being patient. So if you are both patient and grateful at the same time, you become even greater.

Fifth Fruit: Good Deeds Protect Societies from Calamity

One of the beauties of good deeds is that Allah saves those in calamity for the sake of the righteous among them. It is because of the good people on earth that Allah saves villages, societies, and cities from being destroyed.

It was asked: will we be destroyed even while there are righteous people among us? The answer was: yes, if the righteous become few and the corrupt majority overwhelms them. So if there are more good people, the city will not be destroyed and the society will be protected.

Awn ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah ibn Mas'ud said:

"By Allah, if it were not for those who mention Allah while the people are heedless — those who make istighfar, who make dhikr — the people would perish." Because of those people, Allah protects society.

Sixth Fruit: Righteousness Blesses Your Children and Descendants

One of the beautiful fruits of good deeds is that Allah makes your children and grandchildren righteous because of you. Remember the story of al-Khadr and Musa alayhis salam — where there was a treasure hidden under the wall, and al-Khadr repaired the wall.

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said: that was because their seventh great-grandfather was a righteous person. And Allah, because of that man's righteousness, brought the means to preserve the treasure for those two orphan children. That was because of one ancestor's righteousness.

I increase my salah in the night precisely because I want it to be a reason for my children and grandchildren to be righteous. May Allah grant us the sweetness of iman and commitment to His worship.

Seventh Fruit: Barakah in Time

One of the blessings of good deeds is that Allah puts so much barakah in the time of the righteous, so they accomplish a great deal in a short period. I am amazed when you look at the lives of righteous people and see how much they accomplished in such short lifespans — and not only in the dunya, but in good deeds and knowledge.

For example, I cannot tell you how this person continually blows my mind — look at his books, found in every corner of the earth. I do not think there is any book after the Qur'an that is read more than the books of Imam al-Nawawi. In every masjid they are read. I remember traveling once to Australia and stopping in Guam, then visiting some small islands in the area — a very small Muslim community, literally in the middle of nowhere. An island that did not even have birds — very strange, I was surprised. And yet when we prayed Isha there, I found them reading Riyadh al-Salihin and the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi.

This man, Imam al-Nawawi rahimahullah ta'ala — he wrote so many books in his lifetime. He used to attend 12 classes every single day. Barakah in his time. He died at the age of 45, rahimahullah.

Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah died in his mid-60s — at age 67 — and he wrote more than 300 volumes. I was reviewing a book by Ibn Asakir just recently — one of his books called Tarikh Dimashq, the History of Damascus. Only part of it was published for a long time because the full manuscript was unavailable. I checked how many volumes have been printed from this book — 80 volumes, each several hundred pages.

As for Ibn Aqeel rahimahullah — in his writings, one scholar noted that he found volume number 700-plus of just one of his books — it is called Funun Ibn Aqeel — and it was not even complete. Just one book, over 700 volumes.

Ibn Qudamah rahimahullah — amazing — he would pray 300 rak'ah a day. How did he have the time to pray that, alongside everything else he did? But Allah puts barakah in the time of the righteous.

Eighth Fruit: Allah Opens a Way Out for Those with Taqwa

One of the things about righteousness: Allah says:

"And whoever fears Allah — He will make for him a way out, and will provide for him from where he does not expect." Those who have taqwa, Allah will always bring an exit for them, a relief, a solution, from an area where they never expected it to come. Read the story of the three people locked in the cave — what relieved them? What caused the rock to move? It was the good deeds that they had done. And there are many other stories like that.

Ninth Fruit: Allah Places Nur (Light) on the Faces of the Righteous

Allah will put light on the face of those who are righteous, those who follow the Sunnah — يُنَوِّرُ اللَّهُ وُجُوهَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا قَبْلَ الْآخِرَةِ — in the dunya before the akhira. And in the akhira:

"The Day when faces will turn white and faces will turn dark." I grew up in Saudi Arabia, around people who used to attend royal gatherings and be around very elite members of society. I still remember some people I knew — they were like me in high school and college, just regular clothes and all. But the moment they started frequenting royalty and the elite, their appearance changed: their faces looked different, their haircuts became more refined, the clothes they wore, the way they carried themselves — just by being around that kind of elite in society.

Now — can you tell me how you are going to look if you spend the night in the company of Allah? How are you going to look when you are with Allah throughout most of your day — five times a day in prayer, and in the night when you pray? What do you think you will look like?

That is exactly what the scholars said:

"The kings will make him look good — so what do you think when you are with the King of kings?" Allah will put حلاوة — beauty and radiance — on your face.

"Those with the most light are those who were alone with ar-Rahman in private, and He clothed them from His light."

Conclusion: The Best Reward Is to Be Drawn Closer to Allah

In the end, I say:

"Is the reward for good anything but good?" Do not think that Allah will reward you with something less. If you do good, Allah will be even more generous to you. And you know what is the best of all the good things? The best thing He can do for you is to open your heart to come even closer to Him, to love to worship Him more.

When you make dhikr in the daytime, when you lower your gaze in the daytime, when you hold your tongue from saying the wrong things in the daytime — do you know how Allah rewards you? Allah rewards you by opening your heart to pray an extra two rak'ah in the night. Allah clarifies and purifies your soul so you enjoy reading the Qur'an in the night even more. You contemplate the Qur'an more. You connect with Him more. That is part of the ihsan — the best of the rewards that you can ever receive for your good deeds.

As Ramadan has finished, Allah reward you by opening your heart to so many other good feelings, other areas of goodness that you can do after Ramadan. May Allah give us that, and open our hearts to love Him more, to commit to Him more, to be connected to Him more. Allahumma ameen.

Du'a

And we ask Him to forgive our sins and shortcomings. And we ask Him to make our ending in this life upon goodness, upon a way that He will be pleased with us.

Ya Allah, accept whatever we have done in Ramadan and forgive whatever shortcoming happened in Ramadan. We ask You, Allah, to keep us on the straight path until You meet us. We ask You, Allah, to protect our children, our families, and to forgive our parents — the living and the dead. Allahumma ameen.