The Good Deeds of Muslim
The Good Deeds of Muslim
Praise be to Allaah.
The Sunnah indicates that people’s good deeds are taken up to be shown to Allaah without any delay, twice each day: once at night and once during the day.
In Saheeh Muslim (179) it is narrated that Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up before us and told us five things. He said: “Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, does not sleep and it is not befitting that He should sleep. He lowers the Balance and raises it; the deeds of the night are taken up to Him before the deeds of the day, and the deeds of the day before the deeds of the night…” Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The recording angels go up with the deeds of the night after it ends, at the beginning of the day, and they go up with the deeds of the day after it ends, at the beginning of the night.
Al-Bukhaari (555) and Muslim (632) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The angels of the night and the day come to you in succession, and they meet at Fajr prayer and at ‘Asr prayer, then those who stayed among you ascend and their Lord asks them, although He knows best about them, ‘How did you leave My slaves?’ and they say, ‘We left them when they were praying and we came to them when they were praying.’”
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: This indicates that deeds are taken up at the end of the day. Whoever is in a state of obedience at that time will be blessed in his provision and his work, and Allaah knows best. Hence we can see the wisdom behind the command to perform these prayers (Fajr and ‘Asr) regularly and pay attention to them. End quote.
The Sunnah indicates that deeds are also shown to Allaah (may He be glorified and exalted) twice each week.
Muslim (2565) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “People’s deeds are shown [to Allaah] twice each week, on Monday and Thursday, and every believing slave is forgiven except a person between whom and his brother there is a dispute, and it is said, ‘Leave these two until they reconcile.’”
The Sunnah also indicates that the good deeds of each year are taken up to Allaah all at once in the month of Sha’baan.
Al-Nasaa’i (1257) narrated that Usaamah ibn Zayd (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I said: O Messenger of Allaah, I do not see you fasting as much in any month as you fast in Sha’baan. He said: “That is a month concerning which the people are heedless, between Rajab and Ramadaan, but it is a month in which good deeds are taken up to the Lord of the Worlds, and I would like my deeds to be taken up when I am fasting.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’.
These texts may be summed up by noting that people’s deeds are shown to Allaah in three ways:
· Daily, which happens twice a day
· Weekly, which also happens twice, on Mondays and Thursdays
· Annually, which happens once, during the month of Sha’baan
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The deeds of the year are taken up in Sha’baan, as the truthful one (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) has told us. The deeds of the week are shown on Monday and Thursday, the deeds of the day are taken up at the end of the day before night comes, and the deeds of the night are taken up at the end of the night, before day comes. When a person’s life comes to an end, all his life’s deeds are taken up and the record of his deeds is closed. End quote from Haashiyat Sunan Abi Dawood.
The ahaadeeth which indicate that deeds are shown to Allaah indicate that it is encouraged to do more deeds of obedience at the times when the deeds are being shown to Him, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said concerning fasting in Sha’baan: “I would like my deeds to be taken up when I am fasting.”
In Sunan al-Tirmidhi (747) it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Deeds are shown (to Allaah) on Mondays and Thursdays, and I would like my deeds to be shown when I am fasting.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel (949)
One of the Taabi’een used to weep in front of his wife on Thursdays and she would weep in front of him, and he would say: Today our deeds are being shown to Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted. (This was mentioned by Ibn Rajab in Lataa’if al-Ma’aazif)
And Allaah knows best.
The Bad Muslim – A Short Story
The Bad Muslim – A Short Story
“I can’t believe you let Maryam have internet in her room,” Joanne said. She gripped the steering wheel of her car with her left hand as she lifted a can of diet cola from the cup holder and took a sip. She shook her head as she held the can inches from her mouth. “I swear that’s the one thing that makes me really uncomfortable when Samira comes over.”
In her peripheral vision, Joanne could see Basma turn to look at her, Basma’s narrowed eyes visible through the slit in the black face veil, but Joanne kept her eyes on the road. She already knew what her friend was thinking. It was what most Muslims thought when they heard her views on teens and internet usage. It was the same frustration she’d faced in Saudi Arabia. If you didn’t wear a face veil and you listened to music, you forfeited all rights to being taken seriously for any moral boundaries you set for yourself and your family. And fact that Joanne was an American convert to Islam made her case even worse.
“Really, Joanne,” Basma said, shaking her head, “I’m surprised you feel that way.”
“Why? Because I’m a bad Muslim and should just go all the way?” Joanne chuckled and shook her head before taking another sip of cola.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Joanne returned the can to its place and smiled at Basma.
“Don’t worry,” Joanne said. “I don’t blame you for it. I’m used to people thinking I’m a hypocrite.”
“Oh, Joanne, for God’s sake. Can we talk about something else?”
“I didn’t bring this up to bicker, Basma. I’m really worried about my daughter.”
“And you don’t think I’d treat her like my own?”
Joanne slowed the car to a stop behind a line of vehicles at a red light. “Honestly, Basma,” she said quietly. “That’s what I don’t want you to do.”
Joanne frowned apologetically as she met Basma’s shocked gaze. “I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m being judgmental, but—”
“If anyone should be worried,” Basma said, “it should be me.”
Joanne’s eyes widened as she chuckled. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re not the only one worried about her daughter.”
“So you believe Samira will corrupt your innocent little girl?” Joanne rolled her eyes and smirked. “I should’ve known this is what you’d think after I asked if our daughters could be friends. To you, this whole thing is a one-sided charity case.”
“Well, Faris and I are sacrificing a lot to help you.”
Joanne drew her eyebrows together. “You and Faris? What does your husband have to do with anything?”
“Oh my God. You can’t be serious, Joanne. Did you think I’d just invite some girl over to spend hours alone with our daughter and not ask his permission?”
“His permission?” Joanne looked at her friend, hands gripping the steering wheel. “You mean letting my daughter come over requires some major family deliberation?”
“Well, actually, it does.”
Speechless, Joanne stared at Basma. It was only the sound of a beeping horn that prompted Joanne to blink and shake her head. She lifted her foot from the brake and rested it on the gas pedal, guiding the car past the green light.
“In an Islamic household,” Basma said, her voice authoritative despite the soft tone. “that’s how it should be.”
“In an Islamic household?” Joanne contorted her face. “So what does that make my household?”
“Joanne, don’t be unreasonable. I just want you to know it’s not personal.”
“But it is personal, Basma. It’s very personal.”
Joanne squinted her eyes as she glanced at her friend. “Think about it. Do you have to get permission every time Maryam’s cousins want to drop by?”
“They’re family, Joanne. That’s different. We have to keep ti—”
“In Islam,” Joanne said, her emphasis on the word intentionally sarcastic, “cousins aren’t family. Otherwise, how did you and Faris get married?”
“Wh…” Basma’s eyes widened, but Joanne could tell Basma didn’t know what to say.
“And isn’t it true,” Joanne said, “your husband can forbid family from visiting if he thinks they’ll cause harm?”
“Well…yes…but—”
“But nothing, Basma. So it’s personal. Period. There’s no need to lie about it.” Joanne’s nose flared. She shook her head. “And Islam forbids lying last time I checked.”
Basma sighed, and Joanne sensed her friend wasn’t in the mood to argue.
Joanne felt a tinge of guilt pinching her, but she found it difficult to let go of her offense. How could Basma think she was corrupt?
Joanne huffed. Was this what her life would forever be as a Muslim? Other Muslims holding her at arm’s length? Admiring because she’s American, but distrusting for the same reason?
Shaking her head, Joanne propped her left elbow on the seal of the window next to her as her right hand steered the car. Oh how she’d believed all that universal brotherhood rhetoric when she first accepted Islam. But now…what was left for her? Not even the marriage she’d thrown her heart into sustaining. She now lived an ocean apart from her youngest children. The two boys she loved more than life itself were with their father in Saudi Arabia.
Joanne was tired of hearing how Islam is perfect and Muslims are imperfect or how she shouldn’t judge Islam by the actions of Muslims.
“Oh please,” an American convert had said once, rolling her eyes. “That’s just what they say so they can keep living culture and ignoring Islam.”
At the time, Joanne had been infuriated. She was personally offended because she was married into one of the very cultures the woman was criticizing. “I swear to God these Black people are impossible,” Joanne had said to Riaz later that day. “People bend over backwards to treat them equal, but it’s never enough.” Riaz had laughed in agreement as she continued venting. “They’re a bunch of ungrateful leeches if you ask me. Always got their hands out, but then they complain that even the people who help them are racist!”
These were the words that hung in Joanne’s mind as she pulled the car to a stop in front of the Muslim high school where the girls were finishing a placement exam.
Joanne felt the beginning of a headache. She was beginning to see the world with the very eyes she’d scorned for so long.
“Oh, sweetheart, don’t blame yourself,” Riaz had said when he’d sat her down to explain his reasons for divorce. “It’s not your fault. It’s just that this has been really hard for my family.”
What the—? Joanne had thought at the time. Was he kidding? You’re just going to throw away a marriage of fifteen years because your wife doesn’t “fit in” the family? You knew I couldn’t speak Urdu or cook biryani when you married me!
“Joanne,” Basma’s soft voice drifted to Joanne as if from a distance, “are you okay?”
Joanne’s heart beat had slowed to a normal rate, but the tightening in her chest had not loosened.
It’s not personal, Joanne.
Such simple, sincere words Basma had spoken. Yet they were eerily similar to the ones Riaz had used to break apart an entire family.
Yes, I know it’s not personal, Basma, Joanne thought as she turned the keys to shut off the engine. My problem is one I can’t control.
The keys jingled as she pulled them out the ignition.
I exist.
Adapted from A Friendship Promise by Ruby Moore
Umm Zakiyyah is the internationally acclaimed author of the If I Should Speak trilogy and the novels Realities of Submission and Hearts We Lost. She is now writing juvenile fiction stories under the name Ruby Moore. To learn more about the author, visit themuslimauthor.com or join her Facebook page.
Copyright © 2013 by Al-Walaa Publications. All Rights Reserved.
WRITTEN FOR MUSLIMMATTERS.ORG
We can disagree and still be brothers!
We can disagree and still be brothers!
It is mentioned that ash-Shafi’i – may Allaah have mercy on him – debated a scholar over a complex legal issue. They differed and argued for a long time, during which they raised their voices and failed to convince each other. The other scholar’s complexion changed and he became angry and felt hurt. When the meeting ended and they decided to leave, al-Shafi’i turned to the scholar, took hold of his hand and said, “Why can’t we differ and still be brothers?”
Some scholars of Hadith once sat in the presence of a Caliph. One of the scholars in the gathering narrated a Hadith, and thereupon, another scholar became very surprised and said, “This is not a Hadith! From where did you get it? Are you lying upon the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?”
The scholar replied, “To the contrary, this is a well established Hadith!”
The other scholar said, “No! We have never heard this Hadith nor memorised it!”
In the gathering there was an intelligent vizier. He turned to the scholar and said very gently, “O Shaykh, have you memorized all of the Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?”
“No”, the scholar replied.
The vizier asked, “So did you memorise half of them?”
“Perhaps”, the scholar replied.
The vizier replied, “Then consider this Hadith to be from the half you have not memorised!” and that was the end of the problem.
Al-Fudhayl bin ‘Ayadh and ‘Abdullah bin al-Mubarak were two close friends who would never leave each other. They were both modest scholars.
‘Abdullah bin al-Mubarak decided to go for Jihad and join the garrison troops for guard duty at the frontiers, while al-Fudhayl bin ‘Ayadh decided to stay in the Haram to pray and worship Allaah.
One day, his heart melted and he began to weep. Al-Fudhayl was sitting in the Haram and worshipping Allaah. He longed for his friend, Ibn al-Mubarak, and recalled their gatherings in which they would remember Allaah. Thus, al-Fudhayl wrote to Ibn al-Mubarak asking him to come to the Haram for worship, remembrance of Allaah and recitation of the Qur’an.
When Ibn al-Mubarak read al-Fudhayl’s letter, he took a piece of paper and wrote to al-Fudhayl:
“O you who worships in the vicinity of the Two Holy Mosques! If you but see us, you will realize that you are only jesting in worship.
He who brings wetness to his cheek with his tears should know.
Our necks become wet with our blood.
He who tires his horses without purpose, now that our horses are getting tired in battle.
The scent of perfume is yours, while ours is
The glimmer of spears and the stench of dust [in battle].
We were narrated about in the speech of our Prophet,
An authentic statement that never lies
That the dust that erupts by Allaah’s horses and which fills the nostrils of a man, Shall never be combined with the smoke of a raging Fire.
This, the Book of Allaah speaks to us. Is that the martyr is not dead, and this cannot be denied.
He then said,
“From Allaah’s slaves are those whom Allaah has blessed with fasting. They fast like no other people. From them are those blessed with recitation of the Qur’an. From them are those blessed with seeking knowledge. From them are those blessed with Jihad, and from them are those blessed with praying at night. What you are engrossed in is not better than what I am engrossed in. Both of us are involved in something good.”
This is how gently the dispute ended between the two of them, by simply saying, “both of us are doing good,” and as Allaah says, “Your Lord creates what He wills and chooses.”
This was the way of the Companions.
A group of disbelievers got together and rallied to fight the Muslims in Madinah. They came with an army the like of which was never witnessed amongst the Arabs, in terms of numbers and weapons.
In response, the Muslims dug up trenches which were not able to be crossed in order to enter Madinah. Hence, the disbelieving army was kept behind the trenches. In Madinah, there was a tribe called Banu Quraydhah. They were Jews, lying in wait for the believers. They turned to the disbelievers to help them and began to cause mischief and disorder in Madinah, whilst the Muslims were busy guarding the city at the trenches.
The days passed with great difficulty until Allaah sent wind and His hidden army against the disbelievers that tore their army apart. They turned back in failure, dragging their belongings back with them in the darkness of the night.
When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) woke up the next morning, he departed from the trenches for Madinah. The Muslims put their weapons down and returned home. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered his home, put his weapons down and took a bath.When the time for Dhuhr prayer entered, Jibril came and called the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) from outside his house. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) instantly stood up in fear. Jibril (peace be upon him) said to him,
“Have you put down your weapons, O Messenger of Allaah?”
“Yes”, the Prophet replied.
Jibril said, “The angels have not yet put down their weapons. I have just come back, having chased them away. We chased them until we reached Hamra al-Asad”, meaning, they chased the Quraysh away when they left Madinah for Makkah. The angels were following them and chasing them away from Madinah. Jibreel then said, “Allaah has ordered you to head for Banu Quraydhah, for I am heading towards them to shake the earth beneath them.”
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) then ordered a man to make an announcement, “Whosoever hears and obeys, let him not pray the ‘Asr prayer except in Banu Quraydhah.” The men dashed to grab their weapons, they heard and obeyed and went to the dwellings of Banu Quraydhah, but as they were on their way, the time for ‘Asr prayer entered upon them. Some of them said, “We will not pray ‘Asr except in Banu Quraydhah’s dwellings.” Others argued, “Rather, we will pray now, for this wasn’t what the Prophet meant. He only wanted us to hurry.”
They prayed ‘Asr and continued with their journey, while others delayed the prayer until they reached Banu Quraydhah.
When this was mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) he did not chastise any of the two groups. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) then besieged Banu Quraydhah until Allaah gave him victory over them.
Consider how they used to differ amongst each other as brothers, such that their differences would not lead to discord, argumentation and people turning against each other.
Believe me, if you deal with the people with ease and gentleness, and with an open mind, they will love you and you would thereby enter into their hearts. And before all of this, Allaah would
Love you, for discord is something always negative.
A point of view…
The objective is not that we should agree. Rather, the objective is not to conflict.
