After doing all acts of obedience and worships, whether it be the umrah, hajj, fasting, sadaqah, or any good deeds, we repeat the whisper of Ali (RA) when he said: “If I knew, that my deeds belong to those that are accepted, then I say congratulations to them, or those that are rejected, then I say condolences to them.”
After performing every act of obedience we also repeat the words of Ibnu Mas’ud (RA): “O accepted ones, congratulations to you, O rejected ones may Allah change your misfortune.”
Indeed, Ali (RA) had said: “Don't you mind about the little deeds, but mind about whether the deeds are accepted”, haven't we heard the verses of Allah Azza wa Jalla which says:
“Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].” [Al-Maidah : 27].
Do not be like some Muslims who do not care whether their acts of obedience would be accepted or not, because indeed the conferment of tawfeeq and convenience to do righteous deeds is a great gift, but it will not be actualized except with an even greater gift, namely the gift of the acceptance of the deeds.
If a slave knows that most of the deeds could be rejected from the doers due to many reasons, then the important thing is to know the reasons for the acceptance of the deeds, if he finds it in himself then let him praise Allah Ta’ala, and keep upon it by doing good deeds firmly and consistently, but if he does not find it then let the first thing he pays attention to from now on is : to practice them wholeheartedly, and for Allah alone.
So what are the reasons and signs for the acceptance of the deeds?
1- Not returning to sin after doing acts of obedience:
Because, the return to sin is a sign of destruction and loss,
Yahya bin Muadz said: “Whoever did istighfar (seeking the forgiveness of Allah) with his words, while his heart was determined to engage in immoral acts, and his intention was to return to vice after a month and he returned, then his fasting is rejected from him, and the door to the acceptance of the deeds is shut before him.”
Most people repent while he always say: “indeed I know that I'll return…” do not say like that…but say: “Insha'Allah, I will not return.” And plead for help from Allah and intend never to return.
2- Fearing if their righteous deeds are not accepted:
Allah (SWT), The Most Rich, free from (in need of) our acts of obedience and ibaadah, Allah Azza wa Jalla says:
“Whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies [His favor] - then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.” [Luqman :12].
And Allah Ta’ala says:
“If you disbelieve - indeed, Allah is Free from need of you. And He does not approve for His servants disbelief. And if you are grateful, He approves it for you.” [Az-Zumar : 7].
And for a Mu'min (the believer/faithful), although he wholeheartedly performs acts of obedience, and draws himself closer to Allah with various taqarrub (the acts to bring one near to God - ed.), he feels very sorry for himself, he is afraid if his righteous deeds will not be accepted, from Aishah (RA) she says: “I asked Rasulullah (SAW) about the verse:
“And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful.” [Al-Mu'minūn : 60].
“Are they those who drink khamr or steal?” He said: “No, O binti As-Sidiq! But they are those who are fasting, praying and giving sadaqah, while they are afraid that those deeds will not be accepted, they are the people who hasten in doing good deeds.”
Even though they are really wholehearted in performing the noble deeds, but they do not rely on their efforts or show them to their Lord , but they underestimate their righteous deeds, and make visible their perfect indigence for the forgiveness of Allah and His mercy, and their hearts are full of fear if their their deeds would be rejected, Waliyadhu billah, they plead to Him so that their deeds would be accepted.
3- Being given tawfiq to carry out good deeds thereafter :
Indeed, a sign of the acceptance of a slave's acts of obedience is that he is given tawfiq (God-granted ability - ed.) for the following acts of obedience, and among the signs of the acceptance of goodness is : he is doing more goodness thereafter, because those goodness are saying : “more goodness…more goodness.” And this is among the graces of Allah Ta’ala and His gift, that He honours His servant with, if he has been doing good deeds and did them sincerely for Allah, then Allah opens for him the doors to other goodness, so that he becomes closer to Him.
So the righteous deeds are like a good tree, it needs to be watered and taken care of, so that they will grow and become strong, and provide fruits, and the most important thing we need is to always take care of the good deeds which we have done, and maintain them, and add to them little by little, this is the true meaning of istiqomah.
4- Underestimating their righteous deeds, not ujub (having self-conceit) and be deceived by them:
Indeed, for a believing slave, no matter how much he has been doing righteous deeds, his entire deeds do not make him grateful for such gift, like how grateful he is for the gifts of the hearings, seeings or speeches and others, and he does not feel like he had fulfilled the rights of Allah Ta’ala, because the rights of Allah are beyond our mental imagery, due to that, among the characteristics of sincere people is that they underestimate their deeds, so they are not amazed with it, and not affected by the disease of ghurur (fascinated or amazed by own selves to the extent of contempt for and looking down anything that is from others – ed.) which will wipe out the rewards and makes him feel in sufficiency and lazy to do righteous deeds again.
Among the things that can help us think small of our deeds are : knowing Allah Ta’ala, observing His gifts, and remembering our sins and nonperformance.
Let us reflect on how Allah Ta’ala advised His Prophet with it, after commanding him with great things:
“O you who covers himself [with a garment]. Arise and warn! And glorify your Lord. And purify your clothing. And avoid uncleanliness. And do not confer favor with the intention of acquiring more.” [Al-Muddaththir : 1-6].
Among the meanings of this verse is as explained by Hassan Al-Basri: “don't you bring up the deeds in front of your Lord to obtain more rewards.”
Imam Ibnu Qayyim: “Each of you is witnessing the Haqiqa of Rububiyah (having the conviction that Allah have the attributes of being the One, the Creator, Sustainer and Master of all the worlds – ed.) and the Haqiqa of Ubudiyah (making Allah SWT alone as God to be obeyed – ed.), and knowing Allah, and knowing your own selves, and it becomes clear to you that the merchandise that you carry is not worthy for the King who is Haq, even if you come with the deeds of the entire jinns and mankind, you fear the consequences, and He only accepts them due to His Magnificence, Generosity and Grace, as well giving rewards for them due to His Magnificence, Generosity and Grace.” Madarijul Salikin (2/439)
5- Loving the acts of Obedience and Hating the acts of Disobedience
Among the signs of the acceptance of the deeds is that Allah gives in our hearts the love for the acts of obedience, so we love it, become calm and peaceful with it. Allah Ta’ala says:
“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.” [Ar-Ra’d: 28].
And among the signs of the acceptance of the deeds is that we hate the acts of disobedience and to be near them and we pray to Allah so that He distances us from them.
6- Being Hopeful and Supplicating a lot:
Indeed, just by fearing Allah is not enough, because it has to be with its pair, i.e. being hopeful, as fearing without being hopeful leads to the despair for the mercy of Allah, whereas being hopeful only without the feeling of fear causes a sense of security from the punishment of Allah and all the disgraceful things that corrupt one's aqeedah and ibaadah.
And hoping for his deeds to be accepted, accompanied by the feeling of fear if his deeds would be rejected, makes him a human who is tawadhu' (in humility) and khushoo' (having the softness of the heart) towards Allah Ta’ala, so that his iman increases.
And when a sense of hope has been realized and then the man raises his hands towards the heaven asking Allah so that his deeds would be accepted, because only Him has the Power to do it, and this was what had been done by our father Ibrahim, the beloved of Allah and his son, Ishmael (AS) as told by Allah Ta’ala when they built the Ka'bah, as He says:
“And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], "Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.” [Al-Baqarah: 127].
7- Being given the ease to do acts of obedience and stay away from immoralities:
SubhanAllah, if Allah accepts our acts of obedience, He will make it easy for us to do other deeds which previously was not in our estimation, in fact He distances us from sins even though we are close to them. Allah Ta’ala says:
“As for he who gives and fears Allah, and believes in the best [reward], We will ease him toward ease. But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need, and denies the best [reward], We will ease him toward difficulty.” [Al-Layl : 5-10].
8- Loving the righteous people and hating the committers of sins:
Among the signs of the acceptance of the acts of obedience is that, Allah gives our hearts the feeling of love for the righteous people and gives our hearts the hatred for the perpetrators of corruptions and vices.
Imam Ahmad narrated from Barra bin ‘Azib (RA) that Rasulullah (SAW) said: “Indeed, the most powerful tied knot of iman is that you love for Allah and hate for Allah.”
9- Doing a lot of Istighfar:
If we contemplate on most ibaadah and acts of obedience, then we should close it with istighfar, because no matter how much the humans are perfecting their righteous deeds, surely there would be deficiencies and errors, just like when we perform the rituals of Hajj, Allah says:
“Then depart from the place from where [all] the people depart and ask forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [QS Al-Baqarah : 199].
And after solat the Prophet (SAW) taught us to do istighfar three times. And the people who perform qiyamulail (Night prayers) end it with istighfar at the time of sahur (dawn). Allah Ta’ala says:
“And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness.” [Adz-Dzariyat: 18].
And Allah Ta’ala advised His Prophet (SAW) in His verse:
“So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women.” [Muhammad: 19].
And Allah also commanded His Prophet to end his life with ibaadah to Allah, jihad in His cause with istighfar, as He says:
“When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest, and you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes, then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.” [An-Nasr].
And he used to say in his ruku' and sujud.
“Glory be to You O Allah, our Lord and by praising You, O Allah forgive me.” [Imam Bukhari.]
10- Consistent in doing Good Deeds:
Among the instructions of the Prophet (SAW) is to be consistent in doing good deeds, like in the hadith:
And Aishah (RA) said: “Rasulullah (SAW), when performing a certain deed, he made it consistent.” [Imam Muslim.]
And the most beloved deed by Allah and His Rasul is the consistent one, even if only a little.
Rasulullah (SAW) said: “The most beloved of deeds to Allah are the most consistent of them, even if they are few.” [Muttafaqun ‘alaihi]
May Allah Ta’ala accept all our deeds, especially the sawm (fasting), qiyamul lail, tilawah (reading of Qur'an), sadaqah (charity) in the month of Ramadhan.
[Abstracted from the papers of Sheikh Amir bin Muhammad Al-Mudri, imam and khatib of Masjid Al-Iman in Yeman]
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thanks
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