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SMALL GOOD DEEDS Prepared by Dr Umer Farooq

Abstract: Prophet (PBUH) said: "Have taqwa (fear) of Allah wherever you may be, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people."

This means we can save ourselves from the fire of hell by doing many small good deeds. Prophet (PBUH) also said: "Every day when the sun rises, the sadaqa is due on every person's joints or small bones (i.e. fingers and toes). Doing justice between two people is sadaqah; assisting a man to mount his animal, or lifting up his belongings onto it is sadaqah; a good word is sadaqah; every step you take towards prayer is sadaqah; and removing harmful things from pathways is sadaqah." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Some of the small good deeds are listed as under

1. Visiting a sick person 2. Loving and visiting others 3. Forgiving the faults of people 4. Avoiding quarrels with people 5. Hiding the faults of others 6. Offer condolences on somebody's death or to provide comfort to anyone who

is in pain, trouble or sorrow by your word and deeds 7. Helping the people 8. Spreading greeting 9. Giving charity 10. Softness and kindness in behaviors 11. Behave decently 12. Controlling the tongue from backbiting, abuses and cheating 13. Meet your brother with a happy face 14. When entering our house greet with salaam even when entering empty house 15. Having good relations with wife 16. Being kind to Parents 17. Good behavior towards the relatives and friends of parents 18. Remembering of Allah 19. Recite Durood 20. Going to the Masjid in order to learn or teach Quran

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Verily, Allah undertakes to accept the repentance of only those who do evil

ignorantly and then repent soon after. These are they to whom Allah turns with

mercy; and Allah is All-Knowing, Wise.

There is no acceptance of repentance for those who continue to do evil until, when

death faces one of them, he says, ‘I do repent now;’ nor for those who die

disbelievers. It is these for whom We have prepared a painful punishment.

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Dear brothers and sisters, Tauba and repentance from our sins are such a great

blessing that it can bring countless bounties, successes, peace and harmony in our

lives.

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) also said, Every son of Adam commit sins and do

mistakes but the best sinner or wrongdoer are those who go for Taubah and ask

forgiveness from Allah.

Once a person came to Hazrat Ali (as) and asked him for the solution of repaying

the debts, Hazrat Ali (as) was told to do Tawbah and seek repentance from Allah

(SWT). The other person came asking for the remedy of a sickness, Ali (as) was

prescribed the same Tawbah and seek repentance from Allah (SWT). Yet another

person came asking for the bestowing of child from Allah (SWT) and Hazrat Ali

(as) was also told to do Istighfar as much as possible.

ALLAH says in Surra – Nuh, Verse 11-13

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"And Nuh said, ‘Seek forgiveness of your Lord; for He (Allah) is the Great

Forgiver. He (Allah) will send down rain for you in abundance. And He will

strengthen you with wealth and with children, and He will give you gardens and He

will give you rivers"

Abdullah Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, “Whoever makes

Istighfar, Allah (SWT) shall remove all his sorrows and troubles and shall provide

him Rizq and sustenance from the sources he never thought of.”

Allah says in Surra Al-Tahrim, verse 8

O who believe! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance with sincere "Taubah". It

may be that your Lord will remove the evil consequences of your deeds and

make you enter Gardens through which rivers flow

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Allah also says in Surra Hud, verse 90

And seek forgiveness of your Lord; then turn to Him wholeheartedly. Verily,

my Lord is Merciful, Most Loving.

Allah also says in Surra Al-Nahal, verse 119

Dear brothers and sisters, the word Taubah which is rendered as repentance in

English, is not a simple term as most people believe. It is very rich in meaning and

implications, and is not simply a word given from mouth after which the sinner

continues in his sins.

My dear brothers and sisters, do you know the meaning of Taubah Nasuha or

sincere repentance.

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Ubayy Ibn Kaab ® asked the same question to Prophet (SAW). He replied that

sincere repentance should have following ingredients:

• Feel guilty about the sin

• Ask Allah’s forgiveness

• Have strong will not to repeat the sin.

Once a Bedouin was saying words of Taubah and istighfar in a hurry. Ali ® told

him this is a Taubah of liars. He then explained that the Taubah must have

following 6 components;

1- Feeling of regret and sadness about your sins

2- Takes up the duties which are ignored and fulfils them

3- Pay rights to those who have been treated wronged or badly.

4-Seek forgiveness who is hurt

5- Show determination not to repeat that sin again.

6- Struggle to make one obedient to Allah (SWT)

7- Making good deeds

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And those who repent and do good deeds indeed turn to Allah with true repentance;

Dear brothers and sisters The Prophet (P.B.U.H) emphasizes to us that good deed

wipe out bad ones. The prophet (P.B.U.H) said "...And follow the bad deed with a

good one that will wipe out the bad one…." In another narration, sahabi asked the

prophet (S.A.W.): "Give me advice", the prophet (S.A.W.) said: "If you do a bad

deed, then follow it with a good one that will wipe it out."

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Dear brothers and sisters, the third most common element in the universe is carbon

which has an atomic weight of 12.01 grams so one atom of carbon equals 1.994 x

10-23 grams. What does this have to do with good deeds? Allah tells us in the

Quran.

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it and whoever does an atom’s

weight of evil will see it.”

Hazrat Abu Bakr was having a meal with the Prophet (PBUH) when this verse

was revealed. Abu Bakr withdrew his hand from his food and said, “O Messenger

of Allah, shall I see the result of every little thing that I have happened to

commit?” The Prophet (pbuh) said, “O Abu Bakr, whatever unpleasant and

troublesome things you experience in the world will compensate for the little evil

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things that you happened to commit and Allah is reserving every little good that

you do for your Hereafter.” (Tabarani)

Allah says in Surra Al-Nisa verse 40

“”Indeed, Allah does not do injustice [even] as much as an atom’s weight;

while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great

reward.” (Qur’an 4:40)

The Prophet (pbuh) also said, “Save you from the fire of Hell even if it be by

giving away a bit of a date or by uttering a good word.” (Bukhari)

Dear brothers and sisters, this means we can save ourselves from the fire of hell by

doing many small good deeds. I want to discuss some of good deeds that do not

involve any significant effort or difficulty but earn much reward and merits in eyes

of Allah Rabbul-Alamin

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Prophet (PBUH) also said: "On every person's joints or small bones (i.e. fingers

and toes), there is sadaqah (charity) every day the sun rises. Doing justice between

two people is sadaqah; assisting a man to mount his animal, or lifting up his

belongings onto it is sadaqah; a good word is sadaqah; every step you take towards

prayer is sadaqah; and removing harmful things from pathways is sadaqah." (Al-

Bukhari and Muslim)

Prophet (PBUH) said: "Have taqwa (fear) of Allah wherever you may be, and

follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well

towards the people." (At-Tirmidhi)

Visiting a sick brother is among the best of the righteous deeds. Hazrat Ali said

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: "When a Muslim visits a sick Muslim in the

morning, 70 thousand angels send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if

he visits him in the evening, 70 thousand angels send blessings upon him until

morning comes, and he will have a garden in paradise." [Tirmidhi]

Once the Prophet (PBUH) asked to Sahaba: "Who have fasting today?" Abu

Bakr said: "I have fasting". The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Who participated in a

funeral today?" Abu Bakr said: "I did." The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Who fed a

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needy person today?" Abu Bakr said: "I did." The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Who

visited a sick person today?" Abu Bakr said: "I did." Then, the Prophet (PBUH)

said: "if all these things are found in a person then he will enter into the paradise."

Loving and Visiting the others have also great reward, Imam Malik narrated

that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "Allah said: My love is due to those who

meet for My sake, visit one another and make any effort for My pleasure."

Forgiving the faults of others has also high merits. Prophet (PBUH) also said, ''If

a person is given physical pain and he forgives it, Allah the Highest elevates his

rank and pardons his sins"

Dear brothers and sisters, avoiding quarrels with others even if you are rights

have also great reward. Prophet (PBUH) said," I guarantee a house in Jannah for

one who gives up arguing, even if he is in the right; and I guarantee a house in the

highest part of Jannah for one who has good manners. [Abu Dawood]

Hiding the faults of others has also great reward. Unfortunately now days if we

know the faults/shortcomings or weakness of our brother we used to spread his

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fault and tell to others as maximum as we can but Prophet (PBUH) said, "Allah

shall hide on the Day of judgment the faults of the one who hides the faults of

others [Muslim].

It is an act of great merit to offer condolences on somebody's death or to provide

comfort with anyone who is in pain, trouble or sorrow by word and deed. Prophet

(PBUH) said “One who condoles with or consoles a troubled man get as much

merit as the troubled man gets for his grief”.

Helping others in some work and to remove his troubles and worries is an act

which has great reward. Once Prophet (PBUH) said, "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 anyone of his worries on the Day of

Judgment". Prophet (PBUH) also said that the best people are those who are useful

to others.

Dear brothers and sisters, we have a normal habit that if some of our friend/brother

is being insulted by others and if someone put wrong allegations on our friend and

we also know that these all allegations are false. But normally we remained silent

only because of fear from others or because of getting some benefits from others

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Prophet (PBUH) said: "If a Muslim is being insulted and degraded and other

Muslim leaves him helpless, Allah would leave the latter helpless on occasions

when he would need help. And if any Muslim helps him in when he is insulted and

degraded, Allah shall help him when he would need help"

Helping a Muslim includes appropriate negation of any wrong charges against

another Muslim. Prophet has said:"One who defends the honer of his brother, Allah

keeps the fire of hell away from his face on the Day of Judgment

Spreading greeting among the Muslims have also great reward, Abdullah bin

Salam said that the first thing which I heard from Prophet is that O people spread

Assalam among the people, then to feed the people and join the relations and

observe Qiam-ul-Lail when the people are sleeping. If you observe these things you

will enter into paradise with peace.

It is reported about Abdullah bin Omar that sometimes he went out of the house

only to greet any Muslims he met and thus to increase his merit.

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Giving charity: In Hadith reported by Imam At-Tirmithi that the prophet (S.A.W.)

said: "The charity puts out the bad deed like the water puts out the fire."

Softness and kindness towards others is very pleasing to Allah and is highly

recommended in our religion. Softness and kindness means that one must avoid

using harsh words or harsh attitude in anger, and behave and speak with softness. If

a difference in opinion is to expressed, one should not be rough or harsh, but speak

softly and kindly. Prophet said "Softness beautifies everything and would make if

ugly" (Sahih Muslim).

Prophet (PBUH) said "Allah is kind to him who is kind and forgiving in selling as

well as buying and even when asking others for his due". (Sahih Bukhari).

Behaving decently with people and help the others is also a kind of charity. Abu

Hurairah narrated that Allah's Messenger said, " He who believes in Allah and the

Last Day must not harm his neighbour, and he who believes in Allah and the Last

Day must show hospitality to his guest, and he who believes in Allah and the Last

Day should speak good or remain silent.”

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Controlling the tongue, Dear brothers and sisters tongue is a great gift of Allah.

By the use of our tongue we can accumulate countless merit for our Akhara and by

the use of tongue we can also destroy our Akhara. We experienced that most of

troubles/hardships/ that comes to our life is created by the unnecessary use of our

tongue. Once Abdullah bin Masood asked the Prophet (PBUH) "Which is the best

deed" The Holy Prophet said Praying on time". Then he asked The Holy Prophet

said:"That people be safe from your tongue". In other words prevent your tongue

from causing pain to others, from backbiting and cheating.

Meet others with a happy face is also a kind of sadaqa. Abu Dharr said, "The

Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told me, 'Do not consider

anything correct insignificant, even meeting your brother with a happy

face." (Muslim)

Even Moving obstacles from peoples paths is a great reward, Abu Hurairra

reported that the Prophet (PBUH) 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

Jannah." (Muslim)

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When entering our house greet with salaam even when entering empty house

Prophet (PBUH) instructed Hazrat Anas as follows, “Oh son! When you enter

(your) house, greet your family members; this act shall be of benefit for both you

and your family members." (Tirmidhi) Even when entering an empty house one

should greet with the intent that angels are being greeted.

Dear brothers and sisters, having good relations with wives is also part of our

faith. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Among the Muslims the most perfect, as regards

his faith, is the one whose character is excellent, and the best among you are those

who treat their wives well".

Being kind to Parents is the best deed after Salat

Abdullah bin Umar asked the Prophet "Which deed is the dearest to Allah?" He

replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times." I asked, "What is the

next (in goodness)?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents."

Dear brothers and sisters, having good behavior towards the relatives and

friends of parents is also an act of great merit. Abu Usaid has related that "One

day we were with Prophet (PBUH) when a person from (the tribe of) Bana Salmah

came and asked him, '0 Messenger of Allah! Is there any way 1 can treat my

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parents well after death"' the Holy Prophet replied: “Yes. Pray for them, pray for

their forgiveness, fulfil their promises after them, be courteous and kind to their

relatives and respect their friends”

Remembring of Allah. Imams Bukhari and Muslim reported that the prophet

(S.A.W.) said, "And he who says: 'Subhan-allahi wa bihamdihi (Glory be to Allah

and his is the praise)' one hundred times a day, Allah will be given all his sins even

if they were as much as the foams of the sea.

Dear brothers and sisters, from the haadith we learn that Jannah is a barren land and

any glorifying words plant a tree for its reader in Jannah. We made homes and

gardens for this temporary world. Collecting money and increasing bank balances

by working day and night. But if we recite these small words, we can also make our

own Jannah.

Recite durood, the shortest version is ‘Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam’. In the hadith it

is stated that for every durood a person sends upon the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi

wasallam, Allah forgives 10 sins, grants 10 rewards and elevates the person 10

stages.

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Dear brothers and sisters, we have normal habit to be silent or think about

something during walking, driving or travelling. If we try to wet out tongue with

these small sentences, then may be Allah show mercy on us and erase our sins.

Going to the Masjid in order to learn or teach Quran and Islam have also

great rewards. Prophet (PBUH) said "Whoever goes to the Masjid not desiring

anything except to learn or teach what is good has the reward of a pilgrim who

completed his Hajj" (Tabarrani)

Teach others beneficial Islamic things and have mercy of Allah and all

creatures

Prophet (PBUH) said “Allah, His Angels and all creatures of the Heavens and earth

even the ants inside their ant-holes shower mercy one those who teach things of

benefit to others.” (Jame-Tirmidhi)

Dear brothers and sisters, we can save ourselves from the fire of hell by doing these

small good deeds. That fire of hell about which the Prophet (PBUH) said that the

fire of the hell is so intense and its temperature is so high that if the man is taking

away from the fire of hell and throw him in the fire of this world then he will feel

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so comfortable so relaxing that he would sleep. This means he will feel this fire like

a coolant.

Dear brothers and sisters, I was talking about small good deeds which are actually

high in ajer and reward. These good deeds in-fact beautify our personality and

make the Islamic society an exemplary society for the whole world. A society

where everyone loves with each other, everyone cares about each other, rich people

take care of poor, elders love youngers, youngers respect elders, stronger help the

oppressed ones. In Islamic society justice is everywhere, the faces of people

glowing with smile. People either saying the name of Allah and his messenger from

their tongues or saying the words of love and affections for other people. An

Islamic society is a place where people do not compete for the bank balances, cars,

houses and kroners but they compete with each other to help other people, where

they compete with each other to help the widows, orphans and needy people.

But unfortunately we who have forgotten everything, we have horrified our own

face. We have ruined and destroyed our own societies. Now the first Islamic state

of Medina is not exemplary for us but these materialistic societies of Europe have

become our role model who learnt civilization, science and education from

Muslims. Our ancestors showed them light of knowledge and wisdom but

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unfortunately we have lost ourselves in darkness, sectarianism, ignorance,

intolerance and narrowness. I wish May our hearts be again lightened up with the

name of Allah and his messenger and we learn the real lesson from the life of

Prophet (PBUH) and his sahaba.

Prophet (PBUH) once asked him companions - “Should I guide you to the qualities,

because of which, Allah raises people’s ranks?” The sahaba said yes. Then the

Prophet (PBUH) said, “Be patience (forbearing) with him who treats you

ignorantly; forgive him who is unfair to you; give him who deprives you; and,

fulfill social obligations to the relative who are doing wrong with you.

Prophet (PBUH) also said, “My Allah has commanded me nine qualities (to follow)

(i) Fearing Allah both secretly and openly; (ii) Saying only the words of justice

both when angry and when happy; (iii) Maintaining moderation both during

poverty and prosperity; (iv) Making up (relationships) with a relative who breaks

away from me; (v) Giving even to the person who deprives me; (vi) Forgiving him

who is unjust to me; (vii) Thinking or Reflecting when I am quiet; remembering

Allah when I speak; and, learning lessons from what I see; (viii) Directing good;

and, (ix) Forbidding evil.”