Brothers and sisters in Islam, The nights are passing by, one after another, and time is quietly slipping through our hands. Days and years are flying by, and some of the most blessed moments have already come and gone taking with them parts of our lives that we’ll never get back.
So, whoever made the most of those days should praise Allah and continue striving in [doing] righteous deeds. Obedience to Allah isn’t limited to a specific time it is a right He has over His servants. The believer stays committed to obeying Allah throughout their life because that obligation doesn’t end until their final breath (i.e., death). Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said [about this ayah]:
“Whenever someone worships Allah sincerely and in accordance with what He has revealed, Allah opens for them the lights of guidance without delay.”
So, whoever does a righteous deed should ask Allah to accept it from them. Even Ibrahim the greatest role model of [pure] tawhid along with his son Isma’il, called upon Allah while raising the foundations of the House of Ar-Rahman (i.e. the Ka’bah).
[Brothers and sisters in Islam,] Don’t be deceived by the abundance of your deeds for you don’t know whether they have been accepted or not.
‘Ali once said: “Be more concerned about the acceptance of your deeds than you are about the deeds themselves.”
[After all,] righteous deeds if not done with sincerity hold no value in the sight of Allah.
After hoping that their deed is accepted, the servant must also be careful not to ruin it because sayyi’āt (bad deeds) can wipe out good deeds.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “The things that invalidate and corrupt [good] deeds are [way] too many to count. The issue is not just in doing the deed – it’s in protecting it from what could make them invalid.”
Among the things that corrupt righteous deeds is something known as ‘ujb (self-admiration), because it [can] lead a person to fall short in doing more [good deeds], to also belittle their sins, and to feel safe from Allah and His plan.
Ibn Mas‘ūd said: “Destruction lies in two things: qunut (despair) and ‘ujb (self-admiration).”
The cure for ‘ujb is to acknowledge your sins, admit your shortcomings, reflect on what Allah has blessed you with, fear losing them, and continue to make du’aa that Allah preserves your good deeds seeking forgiveness [for your sins], and His pleasure.
The servant is commanded to have taqwah both in private and in public.
But since none of us is free from falling short at times, we have been instructed to follow up a bad deed with a good one that will wipe it away.
[Brothers and sisters in Islam,] Beware of losing motivation, or becoming bored, or turning away from worship, for by Allah, Allah never grows weary [of giving reward] unless you grow weary [of doing good deeds] and the most beloved deeds [in the sight of Allah] are those that are done regularly, even if they are few in number as the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are done consistently even if they are few.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet ﷺ criticized those who abandon performing good deeds after having been consistent in them.
He said to ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As: “O ‘Abdullah, do not be like so-and-so. He used to stand [in prayer] during the night and then stopped.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Every moment a servant spends not obeying their owner is a moment spent in loss. And every hour they are heedless of the remembrance of Allah will become a source of regret [for them] on the Day of Judgment.
Times and sacred places, in and of themselves, do not make a person righteous. A person will only attain honor and rank through righteous actions and being good both outwardly and inwardly. Merely performing many outward deeds will not benefit someone unless it comes from a sound heart.
The intelligent person is the one who is constantly attentive to the condition of their heart—always checking their sincerity and their inner state in every season and at every stage of life.
So, prepare yourselves with the treasures of good deeds for the day when you will face immense horror. For the passing of year after year, and the flow of night and day, are reminders that our lives are coming to an end, and our time is running out, and we are heading toward Al-Kabeer, Al-Muta’āl (the Most Great, the Most High).
Brothers and Sisters in Islam, Though the blessed month of Ramadān has ended, fasting remains an act of worship that can be performed throughout the year. So follow up the fasting of Ramadān by fasting six days from the month of Shawwāl as the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever fasts the month of Ramadān, then follows it with six days of Shawwāl, it is as if they have fasted for an entire year.”
(Narrated by Muslim)
It is like fasting for an entire year because one good deed is rewarded ten times over. So the fasting of Ramadān is like fasting for ten months, and the six days of Shawwāl are like fasting for two (60 days) together totalling a full year.
The Prophet ﷺ also established the Sunnah of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. He said:
“These are two days on which deeds are presented before the Lord of the Worlds, and I love that my deeds be presented while I am fasting.”
(Narrated by Aḥmad)