10 Signs of Accepted Good Deeds - Ustadh Aqeel Mahmood

10 Signs of Accepted Good Deeds

In this blessed month of Ramadan, and we know that in the month of Ramadan the gates of paradise are wide open and the gates of hellfire are closed. And the shayateen are locked up, they're chained up. And in this blessed month it feels like it's easier to perform good deeds.

And we see many people who come to the masjid and they're reading Quran. And maybe they wouldn't come to the masjid to read Quran outside of the month of Ramadan because of the baraka and the blessing of this month. And they'll come to the masjid and they'll pray. They'll come for the night prayer. They'll stay here till 12 o'clock, 1 o'clock in the morning praying to Allah. Something they wouldn't normally do.

And they'll give in charity. They'll give more in the month of Ramadan in charity than they would maybe for the rest of the year. And they would feed the poor. And they would do other good deeds. They would invite people to their homes and would give them food. And we'd share our iftar with them.

In this month of Ramadan, brothers and sisters, we do lots of good deeds because of the baraka and the blessing of this month. And it feels like it's easier to do these good deeds. But, in this month, when we do these good deeds, even though we're hopeful of the reward of Allah and we understand and we know the enormity and the magnitude of these deeds that we do in this blessed month — at the same time, brothers and sisters, even though we're optimistic, how sure are we that Allah is going to accept our good deeds? What guarantee do we have that Allah is going to accept these deeds of ours in the blessed month of Ramadan?

Yes, we pray in this month. Yes, we give sadaqa and we do other good deeds. But even the hypocrites themselves, the munafiqoon, even they pray to Allah.

When they stand for the salah, they stand in laziness. They just pray and they stand in front of Allah to show other people that they're Muslims. And they don't remember Allah except for a small amount, except for a little bit.

So even the hypocrites pray. So what guarantee do we have that our deeds are being accepted by Allah? Is there any guarantee? Or is it just a matter of us facing Allah on the Day of Judgment, being optimistic of all the deeds that we've done, thinking that we've done enough, and then we realize that it's not enough? Or are there certain signs? Maybe there are certain signs that a person has in this world where he knows, or he has some type of hint or clue, that his deeds are being accepted by Allah.

Who Are the Bankrupt?

How can a person guarantee? How do we know that we won't be from those who are bankrupt? Do you know who the bankrupt ones are? The Messenger of Allah, alayhi salatu wasalam, said to his companions: "Do you know who the bankrupt one is?" And the companions said, "The one who has no dirhams. He has no pounds. He has no pennies. He doesn't have any provisions. This is the one who is bankrupt."

And the Messenger of Allah told them that al-muflis, the bankrupt one, from my ummah, from my nation, are those who are going to come on the Day of Judgment with salawat, with prayers, with fasting, with charity. They'll come with all of these good deeds on the Day of Judgment, optimistic of the reward of Allah for all of these good deeds that they used to do in this life. Hoping for the rewards of Allah, hoping to enter into the gate of Jannah and reaping the rewards of all these good deeds that they did.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 32, Hadith 6251)

And then, after they've shown these good deeds to Allah, after they have these good deeds presented in front of Him, in front of the Most Great, they will also come with sins. They'll come with insults. He might have insulted somebody. He might have slandered somebody. He might have consumed the wealth of another individual. He might have shed blood. He might have hit somebody in this life. Even though he prayed, and he gave zakah, and he did good deeds in this month and outside of this month of Ramadan.

And those who he oppressed in this world, they will be given from his good deeds. And if his good deeds run out, and there still needs to be justice served to those who he oppressed after his good deeds have finished, then their sins will be cast upon him until everyone has been given their due justice on that day. And that person will be the one who is bankrupt on the Day of Judgment.

How does a slave know that his deeds are going to be accepted by Allah? Or is he in the dark until he stands before Allah on the Day of Judgment? Or are there certain signs that his deeds may be accepted by Allah? The scholars mention that there are certain signs of an accepted action. There are certain signs of acts which are going to be accepted by Allah. And I want to mention ten of these signs of accepted actions in this world — certain signs, certain clues, certain hints that will show us that our deeds are being accepted by Allah.

The Ten Signs of Accepted Good Deeds

Sign 1: Fear That Your Deeds May Not Be Accepted

The first sign that our deeds are being accepted by Allah is when a person is in this state of mind — when he's actually thinking about whether his deeds are being accepted by Allah. Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah talked about how the slave, the believer of Allah, always has two things on his mind with regards to Allah: fear of Allah and also hope in Allah. He has fear that maybe Allah won't accept his good deeds in this world, won't accept the actions that he does or the good deeds that he does in his life. So when a person is in this state of mind, when he's thinking about whether his acts are going to be accepted by Allah, this in and of itself is a sign that his deeds are going to be accepted by Allah.

Allah says in the Quran:

Whoever is grateful, whoever is thankful with regards to the deeds that he commits, then that gratefulness that he has, that thankfulness that he has, it's only going to benefit himself. Sometimes when a person does a good deed, regardless of how hard he tries, or how little he tries to perform that good deed, maybe he does a half-baked job, maybe he doesn't do a good job of doing that good deed properly, and automatically he thinks that that deed is going to be accepted by Allah. Allah is not in need of any of our deeds; rather we are the ones who are going to benefit from our deeds ultimately at the end of the day.

Aisha radiyallahu anha once asked the Messenger of Allah about an ayah in the Quran:

Those who give what they give in charity and in good deeds, while their hearts are fearful, they're afraid. Aisha radiyallahu anha asked the Messenger of Allah: "Are these people those who drink alcohol and those who steal? Meaning they do good deeds but their hearts are fearful because they know they're committing sins." And the Messenger of Allah, alayhi salatu wasalam, replied:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3175; declared Hasan Sahih)

"No, O daughter of al-Siddiq. But these are the people who fast, and they pray, and they give in charity, and they are afraid that those deeds won't be accepted from them. Those are the people who are hasty — they rush to do good deeds."

So one of the signs of an accepted action from Allah is that he's afraid when he prays to Allah. When he gives in sadaqah, he's questioning his own intention. He's worried about the actions that he's doing. Am I really doing this for the sake of Allah? When I invite people to my house for iftar, am I just doing this to show them that I have lots of food? Or am I doing this for the sake of Allah? When I pray the long nights of taraweeh and I go home, am I doing this just so people might not ask where I am? Or am I doing this for the sake of Allah?

Umar radiyallahu anhu would always question his good deeds. And he said that if someone was to come down from the heavens and announce that all of you are entering paradise except one of you, he said, "I would have been afraid that that one person would have been me." SubhanAllah. And this is Umar radiyallahu anhu having this fear — having this fear that he would be from those who are sinful.

And once he approached one of the companions who was known as Sahib al-Sirr, the companion of the secret, because the Messenger of Allah, alayhi salatu wasalam, had told him the names of the munafiqun — he gave the names of those hypocrites to this companion. And Umar radiyallahu anhu went to this companion and asked him who these munafiqun were. Not because he wanted to establish hudud on them, not because he wanted to punish them or teach them a lesson, but because he was afraid that his name would be from amongst those who are from the hypocrites. SubhanAllah.

So when a person questions his good deeds and thinks about whether his deeds are being accepted by Allah, this is a good sign. Because it encourages a person to do more good deeds. The righteous people of the past would say: "By Allah, if I knew that just one of my prayers in my whole life was going to be accepted by Allah, then I would be happy. Just one prayer." But a person doesn't have this guarantee.

Sign 2: Not Returning to Sin After Performing Good Deeds

The second sign of an accepted action is that a person doesn't return to evil deeds and to sin after performing good deeds. He tastes the sweetness of good deeds. He tastes the sweetness of prayer and the sweetness of reading Quran and he realizes the positive effect that it has on his life, on his soul. He sees the fruits of his deeds in his life, on his family, on his wealth. And when he sees the fruits and the sweetness of these good deeds, he doesn't want to go back to sin and he stops doing those sins that he used to do.

Sign 3: Allah Grants Him the Ability to Do More Good Deeds

The third way a person can tell that his deeds are being accepted by Allah is that Allah gives him the ability to do more good deeds after doing that one single deed. A person does a good deed — he gives sadaqa, he gives charity, he prays during the night, he reads a portion of the Quran — but that one single deed leads him to do lots more. It opens up the gates of goodness for him. And he ends up doing much more than what he initially expected or wanted to do. And so that one single deed was a gateway for him to perform lots of good deeds for the sake of Allah. And he revels in doing those good deeds. He looks forward to doing those good deeds. He enjoys doing those good deeds for the sake of Allah.

Sign 4: Not Being Impressed With His Own Good Deeds

The fourth sign of an accepted action from Allah is that when a person does a good deed, he's not impressed with his own good deeds. He's not impressed with his actions. Sometimes we perform good deeds and after we perform that good deed we become proud. We become happy and we think, "Yes, I've done a very good deed today. I've prayed really hard today. I've done a good job today." And we start praising our own selves, patting ourselves on the back, thinking we've done a really good job. But a person when he starts thinking this — that he's doing a really good job and that he's doing lots of good deeds — he's not going to make as much effort as he would if he was fearful of those deeds that he's doing and whether they're being accepted by Allah. He needs to always realize that he can do more good deeds. Always aim high. Always have ihsan and excellence whenever you're doing a good deed. Never think that your good deeds are going to be enough.

Scholars of the past would say that when somebody praises you, when somebody sees you doing something good and he praises you to your face, don't become happy. Because when you become happy when someone praises you, you might think, "I'm doing a good job. I'm actually doing lots of things. I'm a good person." And you won't try as hard later. Further down the line, in the future you won't make as much effort because you'll be deceived into thinking that you're doing enough good deeds.

And they would also say that when someone criticizes you, don't become upset. Don't become angry. Because even if his intentions weren't sincere — even if he intended to mock you, or make fun of you, or criticize you, or was jealous of you — ultimately when he's criticizing you, when he's pointing out a void in your good deeds, a void in your Islam, in your faith, you ultimately could benefit from that piece of advice. It's you who's going to benefit. Always look at how you can benefit. How you can improve. Sometimes we're oblivious to our own deficiencies. We don't know what our weaknesses are until somebody actually tells us.

We might be at work and we might think we're doing an amazing job until our boss tells us that we haven't done something that we should have done, or that we did something incorrectly. We only realize later on when somebody tells us. So when someone criticizes us, we shouldn't become upset. We shouldn't become sad. Rather, we should use this as a springboard to doing more good deeds.

Sign 5: Loving Good Deeds and Hating Evil

The fifth sign of an accepted action from Allah is that the believer ends up loving good deeds. He loves to do good deeds. He desires to do good deeds. And he hates the idea of sinning. And he hates evil deeds. He dislikes them. He doesn't want to do them. Every time he sees someone doing a good deed, or he sees something which is haram, he stays away from it. He turns away from it. He feels this disgust in his heart. He doesn't want to do that bad deed, that evil deed. He wants to stay as far away from it as possible. And this is one of the signs of an accepted action from Allah.

And Allah says in the Quran:

Those who believe and their hearts are tranquil — their hearts are at peace by the remembrance of Allah. They love to do those good deeds. They feel that sweetness of that good deed when they do that good deed. Verily by the remembrance of Allah do the hearts find true rest and true peace.

Sign 6: Being Hopeful and Making Du'a for Acceptance

Also from the signs of an accepted action from Allah, the sixth sign, is that a person is hopeful — at the same time as being fearful — that Allah will accept his actions. And he makes lots of du'a. He supplicates to Allah. And he makes du'a to Allah that He accepts the good deeds that he's doing. And this is why sometimes we make the supplication:

"O Allah, make us love Iman and make it attractive and decorative in our hearts. And make us dislike and make us hate disbelief, fusooq and sins, and bad deeds. And make us from those who are guided to the straight path."

Ibrahim alayhi salam, the Khalil of Allah, the friend of Allah, when he was building the Ka'bah — when he was laying the foundations of the first house of Allah on the face of this earth with his son:

And when Ibrahim alayhi salam was raising the foundations of the house, and Ismail his son — what did he do? What did he say? He was building the first house of Allah. He wasn't proud of his action. He wasn't thinking, "I'm doing a lot of work. I'm building this house on my own, just me and Ismail." He was never boastful about his actions. Rather he said: رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ — "O my Lord, accept from us. Verily You are the One who hears and knows everything." Even in this state, Ibrahim alayhi salam is making du'a to Allah that He accepts this deed from him. And look at the rewards of this du'a — ever since that time, people have been making tawaf of the Ka'bah because of the du'a and because of the efforts of Ibrahim alayhi salam.

Sign 7: Good Deeds Become Easier to Perform

The seventh sign of an accepted action is that performing good deeds becomes easier for the individual. It doesn't become a burden for him. When he's praying to Allah, when he's reading Quran, when he's giving in charity, it doesn't become something which is a strain on him — physically, emotionally, or spiritually. It becomes easier for him to do. It becomes easier for him to pray as time goes on. He finds that it's easier for him to do those good deeds. Allah says in the Quran:

As for the one who gives and he is fearful and he believes in goodness — We will ease him towards ease. Meaning We will make it easier for him to do those things which are good. And so when a person feels that it's easy for him to do good deeds, to do good actions, this is a sign that Allah may accept those good deeds from him.

Sign 8: Loving the Righteous and Avoiding the Sinful

The eighth sign that may show an individual that his deeds are being accepted by Allah is that he loves those who are righteous. He loves those who are pious. He loves those who are good. And he hates those people who are sinful and those people who are evil, and he hates socializing and being with those individuals.

The Messenger of Allah, alayhi salatu wasalam, talked about who we socialize with and how this has an effect on us. He said:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4833; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2378)

"A man is on the religion of his friend, so let each of you look at who he takes as a friend." Look at who you become friends with. Look at who you socialize with. Because whoever you're socializing with, whoever you're hanging around with, is going to have an influence on you — consciously or subconsciously. The way they speak, the things that they talk about, the things that they do is going to have an effect on how you speak, on how you behave, on what you think — not just when you're with them, but even when you're not with them.

You may socialize and hang around with certain people at work who don't always do the right thing. They may say the worst and the most evil and vile of things. And they may do the worst of things. But then when you go home, it's still on your mind. You're still thinking about those things. The things that they say stay in your mind and you may even start saying and doing those things that they used to do, because you're with them, because you're socializing with them.

One of the scholars of the past said: "If you want to know your position with Allah, if you want to know your standing with Allah, then look at where you're standing in this world. Look at who you're with. Look at where you reside. Who you're socializing with. Who you're being with. Where you're living. Who you're hanging around with."

Sign 9: Increasing in Istighfar After Good Deeds

Another sign — the ninth sign of an accepted action from Allah — is that he increases in istighfar and he makes lots of istighfar after performing his good deed. After Allah talks about the ayat of Hajj, He says: "Depart from the place from where all the people depart" — meaning go back to where you came from after you performed the pilgrimage, your job is done — and then He says: "And seek forgiveness in Allah." So a person, once he does a good deed, should seek forgiveness in Allah.

Just like when a person finishes the salah — what does he say? He makes istighfar. He says أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ. And when Allah revealed the final surah to the Messenger of Allah — Surah al-Nasr:

"When you see the victory of Allah come, and you see the people coming into the religion in crowds — then praise your Lord, and seek forgiveness in Him. Verily He is the One who accepts repentance." So whenever a person does a good deed, whenever he does an action which he hopes is going to be accepted from Allah, then he should make istighfar once he does that good deed.

Sign 10: Consistency in Good Deeds

Lastly, brothers and sisters — the last sign — is consistency in good deeds. One of the signs of an accepted action to Allah is that a person, when he does that action, doesn't just do it once and then leave it, but he is consistent in doing that action. The Messenger of Allah, alayhi salatu wasalam, said:

"The most beloved of actions to Allah are the ones which are consistent — the ones which a person does all the time." And the Messenger of Allah, when he would do a good deed, he would establish it — he would do it properly, he would do it as best as he could. So a person should be consistent whenever he's doing a good deed.

Don't just do these good deeds inside the month of Ramadan. If you're intending on doing these good deeds just in the month of Ramadan and then intending on stopping them outside of the month of Ramadan, that is a sign that your deeds may not be accepted by Allah in this blessed month.

We ask Allah that He accepts all of our good deeds in this month and also outside of the month of Ramadan.