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Of
the most important things that Muslims are to be concerned with
after offering any act of obedience is whether it has been
accepted or not. A person's being enabled to offer an act of
obedience is principally a great blessing in itself, but in order
for this blessing to be complete it is to be coupled with a far
greater blessing, that is, acceptance on part of Almighty Allah.
This is clearly apparent in the case of performing Hajj. Pilgrims
exert exhausting efforts while offering the rituals of Hajj; what
a loss would it be if their pilgrimage was not accepted!
When
people’s supposed-to-be good deeds are not accepted, their loss
in this world and the Hereafter is manifest! Being aware that
there are many reasons for acts of obedience being rendered
unacceptable, people become increasingly concerned with knowing
the means by which they can get their acts of obedience accepted.
Those who find themselves able to attain these means are to praise
Almighty Allah for this, and earnestly seek to remain steadfast in
fulfilling them. On the other hand, those who have failed to have
their deeds accepted are to give priority from now on to sincerely
doing their best to attain the means to do so.
The
following are among the means that may render your acts of
obedience acceptable:
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Belittle
the deeds that you offer and do not take pride in being able
to do them. However many acts of obedience you may be able to
offer, view them always as unequal to the ample blessings that
Almighty Allah bestows on you. You will never be able to
express the gratitude that befits the blessings and bounties
Almighty Allah confers on people, nor will you be able to
observe all the duties that you owe to Almighty Allah. That is
why it is a characteristic of pious worshipers to always
belittle their acts of obedience and regard them as nothing,
lest they may admire what they do and take pride in it and
thus have their deeds rendered unacceptable.
In
order to develop this characteristic in yourself, seek to deeply
know Almighty Allah, praise Him Most High for the abundant
blessings that He bestows on you, and always remember the sins
that you commit and the shortcomings of your acts.
Contemplate
the words that Almighty Allah directs to His Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him): [O thou enveloped in thy cloak, arise
and warn! Thy Lord magnify, thy raiment purify, and all
abomination shun! Nor expect, in giving, any increase (for
thyself)!] (Al-Mudathir 74:1-6). Explaining the last verse,
Al-Hassan Al-Basri, an eminent scholar, said that it warns the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) against regarding what
he offered of acts to Almighty Allah as great and ample.
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Always
be concerned about whether the acts that you offer will be
accepted or not. Righteous predecessors, knowing that they
would return to their Lord, used to be very afraid that the
good deeds they offered in this world might not be accepted.
Allah
Almighty says: [And those who give that which they give with
hearts afraid because they are about to return unto their Lord,
these race for the good things, and they shall win them in the
race] (Al-Mu'minun 23:60–61).
The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that the reference
in this verse is to those pious persons who pray, fast, and give
charity, and yet are extremely afraid that these acts may not be
accepted from them.
`Ali
(may Allah be pleased with him) was reported to have said “Be
concerned about the acceptance of a deed more than you are
concerned about the deed itself. Do you not meditate upon Allah's
words: [Allah accepteth only from those who are righteous]
(Al-Ma'idah 5:27)?”
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Simultaneously,
hope that Almighty Allah accepts your deeds. You should
combine in yout heart both fear and hope. Experiencing only
fear in this respect may lead you to despair of Allah's mercy;
while anticipating that Almighty Allah will accept your deeds
without experiencing any fear of the contrary, may lead you to
be overconfident that you can escape Allah's punishment. These
are negative and undesirable qualities for a true believer to
have.
In
fact, combining both fear and hope makes the believers modest and
increases their faith and submission to Almighty Allah. The
believers' hope here is represented in their humbly beseeching
Almighty Allah to accept their deeds, for it is He alone Who can
render their deeds acceptable. Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet
Isma`il (peace and blessings be upon both of them) would pray
Almighty Allah to accept their deeds. This is referred to in
Almighty Allah's words: [And when Abraham and Ishmael were
raising the foundations of the House, (Abraham prayed): Our Lord!
Accept from us (this duty). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer,
the Knower] (Al-Baqarah 2:127).
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Ask
Allah for forgiveness every now and then. However earnest you
may be in doing your best in offering acts of obedience, there
will always be something missing, for no one is perfect.
Hence, Almighty Allah directs His worshipers to compensate for
this inevitable shortcoming by always beseeching Him to
forgive them after offering acts of worship. That is why He
Most High says after mentioning the rituals of Hajj [Then
pass on at a quick pace from the place whence it is usual for
the multitude so to do, and ask for Allah's forgiveness. For
Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful] (Al-Baqarah 2:199).
Almighty
Allah also ordered Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) to conclude his life—which was full of acts of worship and
striving in His cause—with asking Him Most High for forgiveness.
This is referred to in the following verse: [When comes the
Help of Allah, and Victory, and thou dost see the People enter
Allah's Religion in crowds, celebrate the Praises of thy Lord, and
pray for His Forgiveness: for He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and
Mercy)] (An-Nasr 110:1–3).
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Seek
to offer as many good deeds as you can. Good deeds are like a
tree that needs watering and care so that it bears fruits. It
is a sign of your good deed being accepted that you offer
extra good deeds. In fact, it is a great bounty from Almighty
Allah that He enables a person to offer further good deeds.
This is Allah's way of drawing a person closer to Him Most
High.
It
benefits the believers to know some examples set by the Prophet's
Companions in this regard, and to know also the significance and
merit of regular observance of good deeds, as well as the benefits
and rewards they may get in this connection.
Examples
of the Companions
It
was reported that `A’ishah, Mother of the Believers (may Allah
be pleased with her), would offer eight rak`ahs of Duha
Prayer. She (may Allah be pleased with her) would say, “(even)
if I had been threatened to be killed unless I gave up offering
Duha Prayer, I would never have abandoned it” (Malik; regarded
as authentic by Sheikh Al-Albani).
Abu
Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that at the time
of the Fajr Prayer the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
asked Bilal, “Tell me of the best deed you did for which you
hope to receive good reward after embracing Islam, for I heard the
sound of your footsteps in front of me in Paradise."
Bilal replied, "I did not do anything worth mentioning except
that whenever I performed ablution during the day or night, I
would pray after that ablution as much as was decreed for me (to
pray)" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
It
was also reported that `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said
that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to his
house when he and his wife Fatimah had gone to bed. `Ali said: The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) put his feet between me
and her till I felt the coldness of his feet on my abdomen. He
(peace and blessings be upon him) then taught us what to say on
going to bed: “Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) thirty-three
times, Al-hamdu lillah (Praise be to Allah) thirty-three times,
and Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) thirty-four times.”
`Ali added, “I have never failed to say so ever since."
Somebody asked him, "Even on the night of the battle of
Siffin?" `Ali answered, “No, even on the night of the
Battle of Siffin" (Al-Hakim). Mind that `Ali did not give up
saying this dhikr even in the midst of battles, let alone
peace time.
The
Significance and Merit of Regular Voluntary Acts of Worship
It
is of a paramount importance for worshipers to keep observing good
deeds regularly for several reasons:
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It
is a sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
also to offer voluntary acts of obedience regularly. `A'ishah
(may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) would offer an act of
obedience, he would keep doing it regularly (Muslim).
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Regular
acts of obedience are the most beloved acts to Almighty Allah
and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The
most beloved deed to Almighty Allah is the most constant even
though it were little."
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It
is desirable for those who have missed a voluntary act of
worship that they offer regularly to make it up. This
asserts the significance of the regular observance of acts
of obedience.
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