PLANTING TREES AND CULTIVATING LAND:
Anas (RadiyAllahu Anhu) reported Allah’s Messenger (SalAllahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) as saying:
“Never does a Muslim plant trees or cultivate land and birds or a man or a beast eat out of them but that is a charity on his behalf.”
[Muslim, Book #010, Hadith #3769]
GOOD DEEDS THAT CONTINUE TO PROVIDE BLESSINGS:
There are some deeds which we can do that will continue to reward us, after we have passed away. The Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) told us:
“When the son of Adam dies, all his good deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity, knowledge from which others may benefit after he is gone, and a righteous son who will pray for him.:
[Muslim]
Uthman (RadiyAllahu Anhu) reported that the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“Whoever builds a mosque, Allah will build for him something like it in Paradise.”
[Bukhari, Muslim]
CONVERTING TO ISLAM
When someone converts to Islam, Allah forgives all of his previous sins and deeds. A man named Amr came to the Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) and said:
‘Give me your right hand so that I may give you my pledge of loyalty.’
The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) stretched out his right hand. Amr withdrew his hand. The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“What has happened to you, O Amr?”
He replied:
‘I intend to lay down a condition.’
The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) asked:
“What condition do you intend to put forward?”
Amr said:
‘That Allah forgive my sins.’
The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said: ”Didn’t you know that converting to Islam erases all previous sins?”
[Muslim, Ahmad]
EASY GOOD DEEDS
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr (RadiyAllahu Anhu): A man asked the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam):
‘What sort of deeds or (what qualities of) Islam are good?’
The Prophet (SAWS) replied:
“To feed (the poor) and greet those whom you know and those whom you do not know.”
[Bukhari, Book #2, Hadith #11]
Narrated Abu Masud Al-Badri (RadiyAllahu Anhu): The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“A man’s spending on his family is a deed of charity.”
[Bukhari Book #59, Hadith #343]
The following deeds are from the book ‘Easy Good Deeds’ by Mufti Taqi Usmani.
1. Good Intention (Having the right intention i.e intending to please Allah) 2. Supplicating (making Du’a) 3. Prayers according to Sunnah. 4. Seeking Pardon (asking Allah for forgiveness). 5. Dhikr of Allah (Rememberance). 6. Darud. 7. Thanks giving (thanking Allah). 8. Patience (during difficult times). 9. Beginning all important work with “Bismillah”. 10. To precede in greeting (being the first to say Asalaamu Alaykum). 11. Visiting the sick. 12. Participation in Burial Service (Namaz-e-Janazah) and Burial. 13. Condolence and consoling. 14. To love for the sake of Allah. 15. Helping a Muslim “One who helps someone in his need, Allah helps him in his work, and one who removes any worry or trouble of any Muslim. Allah, in return, removes any one of his worries on the Day of Judgment”. [Abu Dawud].16. Justified Recommendation. 17. Concealing others shortcomings. 18. Preaching good – Giving order to do good is a form of Sadaqah (charity) and stopping (someone) from doing evil is also a form of Sadaqah [Sahih Muslim].19. Sadaqah and Charity (giving money or items to needy). 20. Forgiveness (forgiving others). 21. Tenderness / Kindness. 22. Peace Making (Peacemaking between two Muslims who differ among themselves). 23. Helping the Orphans and Widows. 24. Spending on Family. 25: Good Treatment of Parents. 26. Courtesy and Kindness to Parents, Relatives and Friends. – Abdullah ibn Omar (RadiyAllahu Anhu) relates that our exalted and eternally blessed Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) has said that:
“One good deed among others is to maintain cordial relations with the relatives of one’s father” [Sahih Muslim] 27. Good Marital Relationship. 28. Good Treatment of Relatives. 29. Doing Good to the Neighbour. 30. Cordiality and Courtesy. Abu Hurairah has quoted the following words of our blessed Holy Prophet (SAWS):
“Of all the men of faith, those are best who have best manners towards others.”
[Tirmidhi]
31. Good behaviour to Co-travellers. 32. Meeting for Allah. 33. Respect to Guests. 34. Removing harmful things from the way. 35 Avoidance of Quarrel. 36. To learn Matters of Faith. 37. Teaching Religion. 38. Respect of Elders. 39. Respect for Islamic way and Customs. 40. Kindness to children. 41. Adhan: Calling to Prayer. 42. Responding to Adhan. 43. Reading the Qur’an. 44. Reading and recital of Surah Fateha and Surah Ikhlas. 45. Careful Ablution (Wudhu). 46. Miswak. 47. Dhikr after Ablution (Wudhu). 48. Tahiyyat-al-Wadhu. 49. Tahiyyat-al-Masjid. 50. Intent of I’tekaf. 51. Praying in First Row. 52. Filling the gap in Prayer row. 53. Ishraq Prayer. 54. Bathing and use of perfume on Friday. 55. Eating Sehri in Fast. 56. To hurry in Iftar. 57. Giving Iftar to a Fasting Man. 58. Looking after the household of a Haji or Mujahid. 59. Praying for Martyrdom. 60. Starting work early in the morning. 61. Dhikr of Allah. during Business. 62. Taking back sold goods. 63. Giving loan to the Needy. 64. Giving grace period to poor debtor. 65. Telling the Truth in Trade. 66. Planting Trees. 67. Good Treatment of Animals. 68. Killing Harmful Animals. 69. Controlling the Tongue. 70. Avoiding useless talk and activities 71 -77 Six Good Deeds – Prophet (SAWS) has pointed out six deeds for which he himself has guaranteed paradise. Ibadah ibn Sabit relates the following Prophetic saying:- “You give me guarantee of six deeds and I shall guarantee you Paradise. (firstly) redeem the trust placed in you; (secondly) carry out your contracts; (thirdly) speak the truth (always); (fourthly) save your (sexual) organs from (unlawful) acts; (fifthly) keep your eyes down; and (sixthly) keep your hands (from harming others and sinning). (Shah-al-Imam li a1 Baihaqi, p.320, 321, vo2. 4, hadith 5256) 78. Beginning from the right. 79. Cleaning and eating a dropped morsel. 80. Praising Allah upon Sneezing and its Response. 81. Fear of Allah 82. Optimism and Hope from Allah.
GOOD DEEDS WIPE OUT BAD ONES:
By performing good deeds, we may erase some of the minor bad ones we have done. The Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“Fear Allah wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good one and it will wipe it out, and behave well towards people.”
[Tirmidhi]
In another narration, Abu Dharr (RadiyAllahu Anhu) asked the Prophet: ‘Give me advice,’ the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“If you do a bad deed, then follow it with a good one that will wipe it out.”
Abu Dharr (RA) said: ‘Oh Messenger of Allah, is “La Ilaha Illa Lah (there is no god, but Allah)” from the good deeds’
The Prophet (pbuh) replied: “It is the best deed.”
HURRY TO DO GOOD DEEDS:
The Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good.”
[Bukhari]
“Hasten to do good deeds before there come tribulations like pieces of a dark night, when a man will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever by evening, or he will be a believer in the evening and a disbeliever by morning, selling his religious commitment for worldly gain.”
[Muslim]
ACTIONS ARE JUDGED BY INTENTION:
As Muslims we have to keep our intentions pure. Our good deeds are done for the sake of Allah, they should not be done to gain some worldly benefit from them, such as impressing others. Allah (s.w.t.) says in the Qur’an:
“The hypocrites try to deceive Allah, but it is He who causes them to be deceived. When they stand up to pray, they do so sluggishly, showing off in front of people, and remember Allah only a little.”
(Qur’an 4:142)
Umar ibn al-Khattaab (RadiyAllahu Anhu) relates that: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), saying:
“Verily actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended. So the one whose hijrah (emigration) was to Allah and His Messenger, then his hijrah was to Allah and His Messenger. And the one whose hijrah was for the world to gain from it, or a woman to marry her, then his hijrah was to what he made hijrah for.”
[Bukari. Muslim]
The same applies to actions that we do unintentionally, Allah is the Most Merciful, He says in the Qur’an:
“Allah will not call you to account for thoughtlessness in your oaths, but for the intention in your hearts; and He is Oft-Forgiving Most Forbearing.”
(2:225)
THE REWARD FOR GOOD DEEDS:
Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) says that He will reward the believers in the hereafter for the good deeds they have done . Allah says in the Qur’an:
“(Prophet (SAWS)) give those who believe and do good, the news that they will have Gardens graced with flowing streams…..They will have pure spouses and there they will stay.”
(Qur’an 2:21)
Allah also says in surah Ta Ha, what can be translated as,
“But those who return to their Lord as believers with righteous deeds will be rewarded with the highest of ranks, Gardens of lasting bliss graced with flowing streams, and there they will stay. Such is the reward of those who purify themselves.”
(Qur’an 20:76)
However, we don’t say that our deeds will ‘earn us a place’ in Paradise. Nobody can perform enough good deeds to deserve to go there. It is Allah’s love and Mercy that will cause people to enter. Allah will reward us in Paradise though for the deeds we have done and Paradise has many levels. The higher levels are even more beautiful than the lower ones, and the more righteous a person has been in this life, the higher Paradise they will be in.
Allah’s Apostle (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even though it were little.”
[Bukhari]