Class 10
BEST OF YOU
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
One of the most common mistakes that occurs in a pop-cultured understanding of Islam is that we tend to focus entirely on numbers. How many views? How many likes/comments? How many people are attending? How large was the event? What did the stage look like? However, this is a massive mistake that has major consequences for people’s spiritual development and growth. When we look at the life of the Prophet ﷺ we see a commitment to quality over quantity. The quantity did not really come until the end of his life and was actually a sign that his death was near. The quality is what he focused on for the many years of his life that were spent in developing the model Muslim community.
The call to Islam went through several stages; its earliest is often referred to as ‘private da`wah’ stage. During this time only a small handful of people accepted the message and grew under the Prophet’s care. These were the closest to him and they included Khadijah (radi Allahu `anha, may God be pleased with her), Abu Bakr (radi Allahu `anhu, may God be pleased with him), Ali (ra), and Zayd ibn Harithah (ra). The call was extended to relatives and clansmen and then after that it became public. Even after becoming public however the message was embraced by only a small number of people. It is said that when Umar (ra) embraced Islam (six years into the message) the Muslims did not exceed over forty in number. Their quality, however, was top notch.
Even after nearly 15 years of da`wah and a migration to Medina how many warriors fought in the Battle of Badr? Most estimates put the figure at 313. The opposing army consisted of just over a thousand fighters, a nearly 3:1 ratio. However, again, the lesson is quality over quantity and those 313 were able to defeat the thousand fighters in one of the most important victories in the history of Islam. When the quality is high, the aid of Allah (subhanahu wa ta`ala, exalted is He) is near and that is more important than anything else.
This is a lesson that is repeated in the life of the Prophet ﷺ over and over again. It is a lesson that we must remind ourselves of constantly. This message is not about numbers, it is about having the blessing of being a cause for drawing someone closer to God. That closeness has to be real, intimate, and lived. It is not about hype, it is not about numbers. In all of the organizing and planning the actual people must never be forgotten. It is their development that is the actual work and if there are only a handful but that handful are of the highest quality then they can change the world. Conversely, if there are large numbers but those large numbers have no substance, no confidence, no history, no self-esteem, no dignity, then we have nothing.
So always, always, quality over quantity.
Deeds that are accepted
Allah says: “Indeed Allah only accepts from the righteous (who fear Him)”. (5:27)
It is from the wisdom of Allah that although He has legislated obedience of His slaves to Him by doing acts of righteous deeds and by abstaining from His prohibitions, He has chosen to keep the knowledge of the acceptance of the righteous deeds with Himself. Therefore, we, as Muslims, are expected to keep obeying Him throughout our lives while simultaneously being concerned about the acceptance of good deeds. Scholars of Islam stipulate the following conditions for the acceptance of the deeds:
Deeds are done solely for the sake of Allah.
Deeds did in accordance with the teachings of our Prophet ﷺ.
Any righteous deed which does not fulfill the above two conditions will be devoid of its rewards in the Hereafter. Allah’s protection is sought! Therefore, a Muslim should strive to do his deeds in accordance with the above conditions and be equally concerned about the acceptance of the deeds by Allah.
This is evident from the way two of our great Prophets, Ibrahim and Ismail (alaihimssalam) were supplicating while fulfilling the command of Allah to raise the foundations of Ka’ba, the first house of worship of Allah on the face of earth, thus: “Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.” (Al-Baqarah: 127).
Although these two Prophets had completed the most virtuous deed ordered by Allah at that point in time, they were not contented with their accomplishments, and they invoked Allah to accept it from them. This incident clearly portrays the humility personification of these two great prophets after the completion of a great virtuous deed. From this, it becomes clear about the need to be concerned about the acceptance of the deed at the end of the performance of any righteous deed.
In the commentary of the above verse, Imam Ibn Katheer mentions thus: The Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail were performing a good deed, yet they asked Allah to accept this good deed from them.
Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that: Wuhayb bin Al-Ward recited the above ayah and cried and (addressing Ibrahim alaihissalam) said: “O Khalil of Ar-Rahman! You raise the foundations of the House of Rahman, yet you are afraid that He will not accept it from you. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer). He then prayed to Allah: “O Merciful! Your friend is building Your house fearing that the deed will not be accepted (whereas we think that our small efforts are accepted”.) (Tafseer Anwarul Bayan).
Our Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate: “My Lord accept my repentance, wash away my sins, answer my supplication, clearly establish my evidence, guide my heart, make true my tongue, and draw out malice in my breast.” (Sunan Abi Dawood; sahih by Albani).
He ﷺ also used to recite (the below dua) every morning:-
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْماً نافِعاً وَرِزْقاً طَيِّباً وَعَمَلاً مُتَقَبَّلاً
Allāhumma innī as'aluka `ilman nāfi`an, wa rizqan ṭayyiban, wa `amalam-mutaqabbala.
"O Allah, I ask You for knowledge which is beneficial, and sustenance which is good, and deeds which are acceptable."
If our Prophet ﷺ whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah, had to ask for the acceptance of his repentance, then to what extent we should all be concerned about the acceptance of our deeds?
We find similar attitudes in the lives of the companions of our Prophet ﷺ also.
Ibn Umar (radiyallahuanhu) said to him, “If I knew that Allah had accepted from me one prostration or charity of a single dirham, it would be more beloved to me than anything, but do you know from whom He accepts? ‘Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him]’.” (Al-Maida: 27).
Abu Ad-Darda (radiyallahuanhu) said: “If I become certain that Allah has accepted even one prayer from me, it will be better for me than this life and all that is in it.” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer).
Similarly, Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (radiyallahuanhu) also said: “Indeed it brings me greater joy to know that Allah has accepted one good action of mine, than owning the entire world full of gold.”
This is the behaviour of sincere believers, who, after carrying out deeds of righteousness, do not indulge in self-glory, but rather are afraid that the good deeds might not be accepted by them.
From this verse, it becomes clear that those from whom Allah will accept the best of what they did and overlook their evil deeds will be the people of Paradise. These are those who repent to Allah, turn back to Him, and rectify their shortcomings through repentance and seeking forgiveness. Many of their errors will be forgiven, and Allah will accept a modest amount of deeds from them. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer).
It is this virtue that most of us lack. Once we perform the deed, we take it for granted that it would be automatically accepted by Allah, despite the lack of sincerity of our actions for the sake of Allah and the non-conformity to the teachings of our Prophet ﷺ. This is why our pious predecessors used to be concerned about the acceptance of their Ramadhan fastings for about six months after Ramadhan, and even when they greeted each other during the festival of Eid, they used to say : “Taqabbalallahu minna wa minkum” (May Allah accept from you and us).
Whatever be the magnitude and nature of the righteous deed, it will benefit the individual in the Hereafter only if it results in the acceptance of the deed by Allah. Hence, it is only befitting that one supplements all their good deeds with the supplication towards that effect. We ask Allah to forgive our shortcomings and accept our efforts to obey Him.
“Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.”
Hasten to do good deeds
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Whoever works righteousness — whether male or female — while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)”. [al-Nahl 16:97]
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"There are two blessings that many people are deceived into losing: health and free time." (Bukhari & others)
“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 kafir by evening, or he will be a believer in the evening and a kafir by morning, selling his religious commitment for worldly gain.” (Narrated by Muslim, 118)
“Hasten to do good deeds before you are overtaken by one of the seven afflictions." Then (giving a warning) he ﷺ said, "Are you waiting for such poverty which will make you unmindful of devotion; or prosperity which will make you corrupt, or disease as will disable you, or such senility as will make you mentally unstable, or sudden death, or Ad-Dajjal who is the worst expected absent, or the Hour, and the Hour will be most grievous and most bitter" (Timrdhi; Hasan)
So my brothers & sisters in Islam, do not procrastinate any more, whatever good intentions you have, start with the smallest one possible and build your way up. Be consistent at it and keep working hard for His sake.
The best deed to perform
The greatest type of worship is to perform that which Allah makes obligatory on His servants and to refrain from all that He forbids. Abu Hurayrah narrated that Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah says: ‘The most beloved deeds with which my slave comes nearer to me are what I have enjoined on him.’” (Al-Bukhari).
Also in another hadeeth Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, which deed is best?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Prayer in its proper time….” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2630, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 85)
Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
“Since the righteous predecessors lived their whole life in worship, it is then necessary for us to know with which type of worship they started, and which one have they given priority.” He then answered: "The best acts of worship are the most pleasing to Allah in that particular time. The best act of worship during the presence of a guest is to take care of him and not to be distracted from that by other recommended acts of worship. This is also in performing one’s duties towards one’s wife and family. The best act of worship in the night is to be occupied with prayer, reciting the Quran, supplication and Thikr. The best thing during the time of the Athaan (i.e. the call for prayer) is to leave whatever worship one is doing and answer the Mu`aththin (i.e. the one calling the Athaan) by repeating what he says. The best thing during the time of the five obligatory prayers is to exert one's efforts in their prompt performance. The best thing when the poor is in dire need of assistance is to assist him and give that preference over supererogatory Thikr. The best thing to do when your brother is sick or dead is to visit him, attend his funeral, and give that priority over your supererogatory Thikr. And the best thing to do when you are afflicted and suffer people’s harm is to be patient and not to run away from them." [End of quote]
SubhaanAllah a beautiful advice by the sheikh, this is something we generally miss out on, as one of the tricks of Shaitaan to steal from one who is busy with Ibaadah is to get us busy in something is least beneficial.
Please join our free online certificate course “SIMPLE DEEDS… GREAT DEEDS”, to learn more about some simple deeds from the Sunnah the Prophet ﷺ had mentioned great rewards for. https://learn-islam.org/simple-deeds-with-great-rewards (available online now, register and learn).
Note these are not part of the ongoing course, it is an independent course that can be done at your own pace and at your own convenience.
May Allah make us all amongst the righteous people who are busy with the worship of Allah and whose deeds are accepted by Him.
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If you benefit from courses by LEARN ISLAM and want to support us, please do so by buying the book FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS written by Abu Sahl Al Ansari (the founder and admin of LEARN ISLAM).
FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS : https://learn-islam.org/forgotten-sunnahs-book
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Try memorizing the Dua.
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
Implement any 3 of the deeds covered from week 2. 5 Marks
Talk about any 3 topics covered in this week’s classes with atleast 3 people. 5 Marks.
Inform a minimum of 15 friends/family about LEARN ISLAM (we have around 30 courses for adults and along with courses for children, all for free and certificates are also given) 3 Marks.
Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. Pray for this applying any three Sunnahs from class 4. - 2 Marks
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Happy Learning... JazakAllah Khair...
As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaahi Wa Barakaatuh :)
SUPPORT LEARN ISLAM
If you benefit from courses by LEARN ISLAM and want to support us, please do so by buying the book FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS written by Abu Sahl Al Ansari (the founder and admin of LEARN ISLAM).
FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS : https://learn-islam.org/forgotten-sunnahs-book