“(And) lo! those who believe and do good works are the best of created beings.”
(Holy Qur’an 98:7)
“And be steadfast in prayer and regular in charity: And whatever good you send forth for your souls before you, you shall find it with Allah. for Allah sees well all that you do.”
(Holy Qur’an 2:110)
THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DEEDS:
Having a good character and performing good deeds is so important in Islam. Here is a hadith Qudsi (hadith Qudsi are from Allah, revealed in a dream or through revelation and expressed in Prophet Muhammad’s (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) own words):
“Allah will say on the Day of Judgment, ‘O son of Adam, I was sick and you did not visit Me.’ He will say, ‘O my Lord, how could I visit You, when you are the Lord of the Worlds.’ Allah will say, ‘Did you not know that My servant so-and-so was sick and you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me there?’
Allah will say, ‘O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not.’ He shall say, ‘O my Lord, how could I feed you and you are the Lord of the Worlds?’ and Allah will say, ‘Did you not know that My servant so-and-so was in need of food and you did not feed him? Did you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found that to have been for Me?’
‘O son of Adam, I asked you for water and you did not give Me to drink.’ The man shall say, ‘O my Lord, how could I give You water, when You are the Lord of the Worlds?’ Allah will say, ‘My servant so-and-so asked you for water and you did not give him to drink water. Did you not know that if you had given him to drink, you would have found that to have been for Me?’
[Muslim]
So we must remember the importance of helping those in need for the sake of Allah. We must bear in mind that all our deeds are going to come before us on Judgement Day. We will see all of the deeds we have ever done, which are being recorded and will be shown to us in a book. This is described in the Holy Qur’an:
“This Our Record speaks about you with truth. Verily, We were recording what you used to do (i.e. Our angels used to record your deeds)”
(Qur’an 45:29)
“Read your book. You yourself are sufficient as a reckoner against you this Day”
(Qur’an 17:14)
Our deeds are going to be weighed, good against bad.
“And We shall set up Balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And Sufficient are We to take account”
(Qur’an 21:47)
No Matter How Small….
Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) taught us to carry out good deeds, no matter how small they are. In Islam, even a smile to a neighbour or removing a harmful object from the road, is classed as an act of charity. Abu Huraira (Radiyallahu Anhu) reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“A man passed by a fallen branch in the middle of the road and said, ‘By Allah, I will remove this from the path of the Muslims so that it does not inconvenience them’ and he was admitted into the Garden (Paradise).”
[recorded in Muslim]
The Prophet’s wife Aishah (RadiyAllahu Anha) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“O people, you should do whatever good deeds you can, for Allah does not get tired (of giving reward) until you get tired. And the most beloved of good deeds to Allah is that in which a person persists, even if it is little. If the family of Muhammad (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) started to do something, they would persist in it.”
[Bukhari, Muslim]
Narrated Abu Dharr (RadiyAllahu Anhu): The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“Do not disdain any good deed, even your meeting with your brother with a cheerful face.”
[Muslim]