The month of Ramadan was a chance to taste the sweetness of worship and drawing nearer to Allah. It also broke the psychological barrier between us and many acts of worship that seem difficult in regular days. Ramadan proved that fasting is not that difficult thing even in the scorching heat of the summer. Standing in prayers for long periods at night is not as difficult as we imagine; many of us did it for 30 nights. Despite our busy schedules, we managed to afford enough time to recite the whole Qur’an during the blessed month once or even more.
So, Ramadan proves for us that we have great potentials; that we are able to do much of worship and continue elevating and purifying our souls after Ramadan.
True, we might miss the great and unique reward of Ramadan. But Allah’s generosity is limitless. His special offers are not restricted to Ramadan. We are provided so many chances to increase our account of good deeds in the rest of the year. Unfortunately, we are often too careless to seize these opportunities. Below is a collection of hadiths that show the great reward promised by Allah for small good deeds:
Moneyless charities: |
1. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A charity is due for every joint in each person on everyday the sun comes up: to act justly between two people is a charity; to help a man with his mount, lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings onto it, is a charity; a good word is a charity; and removing a harmful thing from the road is a charity.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
2. Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“There is no person who does not have the obligation of (doing) charity every day that the sun rises.”
Whereupon he was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, from where would we get something to give in charity (so often)?” To which he (peace and blessings be upon him) replied,
“Indeed the gates to goodness are many:
glorifying God, praising Him, magnifying Him, saying ‘There is no god but Allah,’ enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong, removing (any source of) harm from the road, making the deaf hear (and understand), guiding the blind, showing the seeker his need, striving as far as your two legs could carry you and with deep concern to give succor to him who asks, carrying with the strength of your arms (the burdens of) the weak.
All these are (acts of) charity.”
And he added, “And your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, your removing of stones, thorns, and bones from people’s paths is charity, and your guiding a man gone astray in the world is charity for you.”
Keeping the spirit of Ramadan |
3. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Every slave of Allah who observes fasting for one day for the sake of Allah, Allah will draw his face farther from Hell-fire a distance that is covered in seventy years.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
4. Abu Sa`id and Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When a man awakens his wife during the night and they both perform two-Rak`ah prayer together, they are recorded among the men and women who celebrate remembrance of Allah.” (Abu Dawud)
5. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Any group of people that assemble in one of the Houses of Allah to study the Qur’an, tranquility will descend upon them, mercy will engulf them, angels will surround them and Allah will make mention of them to those (the angels) in His proximity.” (Muslim)
Little words go a long way |
6. Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah will be pleased with His servant who praises Him (i.e., says Al-hamdu lillah) when he eats and praises Him when he drinks“. (Muslim)
7. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported about Surat Al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112):
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, it is equivalent to one-third of the Qur’an.”
According to another version, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions, “Is anyone of you incapable of reciting one-third of the Qur’an in one night?” They considered it burdensome and said: “O Messenger of Allah, which of us can afford to do that?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Surat Al-Ikhlas is equivalent to one-third of the Qur’an.” (Al-Bukhari)
Get rid of your sins |
8. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“He who recites after every prayer:
Subhan Allah (Allah is free from imperfection) thirty-three times;
Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) thirty-three times;
Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest) thirty-three times;
and completes the hundred with: La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa `ala kulli shai’in qadir(there is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner. His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent), will have all his sins pardoned even if they may be as large as the foam on the surface of the sea.” (Muslim)
9. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who says Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi (Allah is free from imperfection and His is the praise) one hundred times a day, his sins will be obliterated even if they are equal to the extent of the foam of the sea. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
10. `Uthman ibn `Affan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who performs the ablution (Wudu’) perfectly, his sins will depart from his body, even from under his nails.” (Muslim)