Righteous Deeds
﴿ مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ
أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الآخِرَةِ إِلا النَّارُ ۖ وَحَبِطَ مَا صَنَعُوا فِيهَا وَبَاطِلٌ مَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُون ﴾
Whoever wants the adornment of the worldly life, we shall pay in full their deeds therein and they will not be given any less of what they deserve in this world; but
in the Hereafter all they will get is nothing but the Hellfire, and futile is what
they did in this world and worthless is what they used to do. [11:15-16]
If we take this verse to refer to the disbelievers, it means that they will receive goodness in this world for the good actions they carried out, such as charity, helping someone in need and maintaining ties of kinship.
This reward could be in the form of receiving blessings in provision and livelihood; experiencing contentment in the favours of Allah f and being kept away from calamities in this world.
However, they will have no share in the Hereafter and will be punished in the Fire.
In relation to the believers who carried out a particular deed with sincerity of intention, and for the Hereafter – along with the presence of other conditions – this shall be acceptable. And a deed even from the same person that has no sincerity, or where other conditions are missing, will not be acceptable.
If they did it in order to receive praise in this world, they will therefore receive their reward in this world rather than the next.
We learn from the following Ḥadīth:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ h، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ:
« إِنَّ أَوَّلَ النَّاسِ يُقْضَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ اسْتُشْهِدَ ، فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا ،
قَالَ : فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا ؟ قَالَ : قَاتَلْتُ فِيكَ حَتَّى اسْتُشْهِدْتُ ، قَالَ : كَذَبْتَ ، وَلَكِنَّكَ قَاتَلْتَ
لِأَنْ يُقَالَ : جَرِيءٌ ، فَقَدْ قِيلَ ، ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ .
وَرَجُلٌ تَعَلَّمَ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمَهُ وَقَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ ، فَأُتِيَ بِهِ ، فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا ، قَالَ : فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا ؟
قَالَ : تَعَلَّمْتُ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمْتُهُ ، وَقَرَأْتُ فِيكَ الْقُرْآنَ ، قَالَ : كَذَبْتَ ، وَلَكِنَّكَ تَعَلَّمْتَ
العِلْمَ لِيُقَالَ : عَالِمٌ ، وَقَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ لِيُقَالَ : هُوَ قَارِئٌ ، فَقَدْ قِيلَ ،
ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ ، فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ .
وَرَجُلٌ وَسَّعَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ ، وَأَعْطَاهُ مِنْ أَصْنَافِ المَالِ كُلِّهِ ، فَأُتِيَ بِهِ ، فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا ،
قَالَ : فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا ؟ قَالَ : مَا تَرَكْتُ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ تُحِبُّ أَنْ يُنْفَقَ فِيهَا إِلَّا أَنْفَقْتُ فِيهَا لَكَ ،
قَالَ : كَذَبْتَ ، وَلَكِنَّكَ فَعَلْتَ لِيُقَالَ : هُوَ جَوَادٌ ، فَقَدْ قِيلَ ،
ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ ، ثُمَّ أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ ».
It is reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah h, who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah g say:
“The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah f will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. (The Almighty) will say:
“And what did you do about them?” He will say, “I fought for You until I died a martyr.” He will say:
“You have lied – you did but fight that it might be said (of you): He is courageous. And so it was said.”
Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
(Another) will be a man who has studied (religious) knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Qur’ān. He will be brought and Allah f will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. (The Almighty) will say:
“And what did you do about them?” He will say, “I studied (religious) knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Qur’ān for Your sake.” He will say:
“You have lied – you did but study (religious) knowledge that it might be said (of you): He is learned. And you recited the Qur’ān that it might be said (of you): He is a reciter. And so it was said.”
Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
(Another) will be a man whom Allah f had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah f will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. (The Almighty) will say:
“And what did you do about them?” He will say, “I left no path (untrodden) in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake.” He will say
“You have lied – you did but do so that it might be said (of you): He is open-handed. And so it was said.” Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire.” [1]
The Messenger of Allah g said:
« إِنَّـمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّـيَّـةِ ، وَإِنَّـمَا لاِمْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى »
(The value of) an action depends on the intention behind it.
A man will be rewarded only for what he intended. [2]
Those who perform deeds to please Allah f will be the successful ones on the day it matters most.
The following two incidents shows how the Ṣaḥābah j did not do deeds to benefit them in this world, but primarily in the Hereafter.
‘ABBĀD B. BISHR ASHHALĪ KHAZRAJĪ h
‘Abbād b. Bishr Ashhalī Khazrajī h was one of the Anṣār of Madīnah, and of the Noble Prophet’s Companions.
Jābir b. ‘Abd Allah Ansārī h says,
“When we arrived at a place called Nakhl, we made it our camping station for the war against the disbelievers of ‘Dhāt al Raqā’. There, a Muslim man captured an infidel woman. When that woman’s husband returned and found his wife missing, he started searching for her. On learning that she had been captured, he swore that he would not return to his house until he had killed one of the Muslims or the Prophet’s g close Ṣaḥābah j. With this decision in mind, he set out and lay in ambush for the Muslim army.”
The Noble Prophet g came to one of the camping houses and said,
“Who will be our guard tonight?”
‘Ammār b. Yāsir h from the Emigrants and ‘Abbād b. Bishr h from the Helpers volunteered to take up this responsibility.
Then they went to the opening or mouth of the valley and took their guarding positions. ‘Abbād b. Bishr h decided to guard the place till midnight, after which ‘Ammār b. Yāsir h would take over till dawn. For this reason, ‘Ammār b. Yāsir h was the first to sleep and ‘Abbād b. Bishr h started offering his night prayers in order to spend the hours of the night in worship, not idle speculation.
It was at this very moment that the disbeliever arrived and looked closely at ‘Abbād b. Bishr h.
When he was sure that the man who was praying (‘Abbād h) was one of the Muslims, he shot an arrow at him. This arrow inflicted a deep wound on him, but he removed it and continued to recite his prayers. The man shot another arrow at ‘Abbād h which inflicted another wound, and then shot yet another while ‘Abbād h was performing the Rukū‘ (the bowing down position in Ṣalāh).
He finally managed to finish his prayers, woke ‘Ammār b. Yāsir h up and said,
“Wake up! I do not have any more strength to stand on my feet.”
‘Ammār h woke up and the disbeliever, realizing that the guards were two, not one, ran away and escaped. When ‘Ammār hsaw ‘Abbād h bleeding profusely, he exclaimed,
“Glory be to Allah f! Why did you not wake me up when the first arrow hit you?”
‘Abbād h answered, “I was reciting a chapter of the Glorious Qur’ān and found it unbefitting to cut it short. My heart could not let me stop reciting the chapter. But when I realized that the arrows were coming continuously one after another, I woke you up. I swear by Allah f that if I did not fear that I would be neglecting my duties, I would not have woken you up, but would have continued to recite the blessed chapter to my very last breath.” [3]
‘ABD ALLAH B. ‘AMR B. AL-‘ĀṢ k
We learn about the prominent Companion ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr b. Al-‘Āṣ k, who got married at a young age, that he would prefer worshipping to fulfilling his wife’s rights and he would fast daily and complete the recitation of the entire Qur’ān everyday as exemplified in the following Ḥadīth:
‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr b. al ‘Āṣ h states:
“My father got me married to a lady of a noble family, and often used to ask my wife about me, and she used to reply,
“What a wonderful man he is! He never comes to my bed, nor has he approached me since he married me.”
When this state continued for a long period, my father told the story to the Prophet g who said to my father, “Let me meet him.”
Then I met him, and he asked me, “How do you fast?”
I replied, “I fast daily,” He asked,
“How long does it take you to finish the recitation of the whole Qur’ān?” I replied,
“I finish it every night.” On that he said,
“Fast for three days every month and recite the Qur’ān (and finish it) in one month.”
I said, “But I have power to do more than that.” He said,
“Then fast for three days per week.” I said,
“I have the power to do more than that.” He said,
“Therefore, fast the most superior type of fasting, and that is the fasting of Dāwūd n who used to fast every alternate day; and finish the recitation of the whole Qur’ān in seven days…” [4]
These incidents highlight the dedication, love and passion these individuals had for Allah f. The Companions of the Prophet g desired nothing more than to please Allah f; they were sincere and performed their deeds for the eternal gain of the Hereafter, rather than for worldly gain.
May Allah f enable us to follow suit and become from the righteous. Āmīn.
[1] Muslim, 4923; Tirmidhī, 2540; Nasa’ī, 3137.
[2] Muslim, 4927.
[3] Sunan Abū Dāwūd, 198; Dāraquṭnī, 869.
[4] Bukhāri, 5052.
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
