"Indeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good
(Surah an-Nahl, verse 128)
“Allah with those…” What does this statement imply?
When Allah is with you, He guides you in taking proper decisions, He protects you from calamities and losses. He increases your honour and status in the sight of people. In the above Qur’anic statement there are two types of qualification mentioned, those who fear Allah and those who do good things. The Arabic Terms are, Muttaqi and Mohsin.
Both terms are highly motivational for a person who believes in Allah. They indicate that a person should work very hard in order to achieve good things that benefits him in this world and the hereafter. Any act that is honourable in the sight of Allah, any act that leads to the pleasure of Allah is highly recommended for every Muslim.
Always keep high spirits during your struggle, survive and lead ahead
Tabarani, has quoted Hussain bin Ali (Allah be pleased with them): Allah loves those deeds performed by his worshippers which leads to an honour and a good status in His sight. He dislikes those deeds which are cheap and leads to sins.
After mentioning 18 Prophets with honour in Surah al An’am, Allah reminds us, Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so from their guidance take an example. (Surah al-An’am, verse 90)
The Prophets of Allah are the best examples to be followed in all situations. It is because each one of them underwent a different set of issues and crisis and came out successfully. Their problems were harder than ours. In spite of that, they always hurried and never delayed anything that lead to goodness and brought goodness. There can never be any better ideal than these people because they are endorsed by none other than Allah Himself.
Who are our Ideals now a days?
The fashions and the lifestyle of the Prophets can never be outdated. But alas! The Muslims of today have taken up the musicians, singer, actors and others as their ideals, in order to achieve fame and status in the society. From a barber’s shop to a tailor’s boutique, wherever you go, you will only find superstars of our times being projected on posters and bill boards for promotional bids. Those who discard the manners, the humbleness and the modesty of the prophets and pursue the materialistic way to satisfy their desires will never be successful in achieving it because honour comes from Allah while fame is pursued.
The Prophets never delayed good deeds
There is an entire surah named after all the prophets, Surah al-Ambiya ( The Prophets), which elaborates the lifestyle of the prophets and gives illustrious examples of how they faced and overpowered their crisis. Allah concludes about them, “They are those who did not delay in goodness, rather they were always ahead of others in it (Surah a-Anbiya). The Muslims are encouraged in Surah al-Hadid to excel in good deeds, “So be ahead of others in good deeds.”
It is painful to note that today’s Muslims do not delay evil, rather many of us are ahead in evil. We want to march ahead towards prosperity, but we do not pick up the right directions to move.
How to follow the examples of the Prophets
Consider these verses: So be patient just as the prophets before you were patient (Surah al-Ahqaf, verse 35) and Allah reminds us to observe patience in order to be qualified to achieve His help, “O You who believed, Seek Allah’s help with patience and salah.” ( Surah al Baqarah verse 153)
There are two deeds mentioned in the above verses, patience and prayers. But if we notice, many of us have already discarded our five time prayers and Sabr is our first casualty during a crisis. Discarding these two qualities has been one of the major reasons for the downfall of the Muslim. The two directions where they were supposed to proceed and march ahead are replaced by other worldly priorities. The more we distance ourselves from patience and prayers the more humiliation we are facing on the way down.
Virtues of not delaying Good Deeds
The Qur’an states that when the people will be out of their graves on the day of Qiyamah, they will be categorised in three groups. One the good ones who will get their scrolls in the right hand. The second will be those whose scrolls will be handed over in their left hands and they will be the wretched ones. After mentioning these two groups, Allah says, “There will be those who are sabiqoonal sabiqoon, those who were leading ahead in good deeds. They will be very close to Allah.
What is sabqat? Let me explain you with an example. We are encouraged to attend the Jumuah prayers and report to the masjid as soon as possible. If you come first you are offered a reward of sacrificing a camel in the way of Allah. If you come second, you is offered a reward of sacrificing a lamb in the way of Allah, If you come today you are offered a reward of sacrificing a hen, and and if you come forth you are awarded for donating an egg. The moment the Imam of the Masjid stands up after the adhan, the scrolls are closed and the angels too sit and listen to the sermon. Let us all take an introspection of how eager were we to achieve this goodness on the day of Jumuah. It is a lack of Sabaqat.
Adbullah bin Amr bin al A’as (Allah be pleased with him) was a scholar of the books of Ahlul Kitab. He narrates that once he had read in of those books that one day the angels said to Allah, “You have created man, they will eat, drink and marry, they are enjoying their life. But we are just appointed to fulfill our duties and nothing else. What are we getting?” Then they proposed, “You gave the worldly life to the son of Adam, now give us Akhera.” Allah replied, “How can I give a superiority to the creation which I have created just with my word over my creation whom I created with my own hands?”
If there is a desire in hoping good, it should reflect in doing good without delay
We must be enthusiastic even when we supplicate for Paradise. it is highly recommended that we should not be satisfied in our supplications by asking a small grade of Paradise but we should insist for Jannatul Firdaus, the highest standard of Paradise.
Once the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was leading prayers and he said, “Follow me properly because then coming generations will follow you.” He was referring to prefer in standing the front rows during prayers.
To delay in Performing good deeds is a trait of a weak person
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “A strong believer is more dear to Allah as compared to the weak one though there is good in both. Therefore be foremost in doing those good deeds that benefits you.” Here the strength that is mentioned is not about physical strength that we display in our gymnasium like many of us who do workouts to appear physically strong but sleep when the adhan of Fajr is called. What is the use of such strength that does not cause you to stand up and rush to Masjid for prayer? There are others who are weak, old and sick but their enthusiasm is very high in performing good deeds and they are never late in reaching the masjid. They will be struggling to reach the masjid but will be found in the front rows. This is a strong believer.
Therefore whatever good intentions you harbour about doing good deeds or projects you have, do not delay them but proceed with it and make dua to Allah that you achieve in accomplishing them.