On maintaining one’s record of good deeds
First Sermon
All praise is due to Allah Who has enumerated all things in number. He entrusted His Servants to noble angels. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his pure blessed family and companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
As to what follows,
I urge you, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted, for His obedience is a means of getting one’s misdeeds forgiven and seeing their status raised in degrees. Allah the Almighty says, “O you who have believed, if you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion and will remove from you your misdeeds and forgive you. And Allah is the possessor of great bounty.” (Al-Anfal: 29).
O Worshipers,
Having a good character and performing good deeds is so important in Islam. All our deeds are going to come before us on the Day of Judgement. This is evidenced in the following Hadith in which the Prophet pbuh said that Allah the Almighty would say, “O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you, and then recompense you for. So he who finds good (i.e. in the Hereafter), let him praise Allah, and he who finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself.” So, the Most Exalted has made for each person a scroll in which all his deeds are recorded, no matter how major or minor these were. Such record is entrusted by Allah to noble angels who register each one’s deeds. The Most Exalted says, “and indeed, [appointed] over you are keepers, noble and recording. They know whatever you do.” (Al-Infitar: 10-12).
This means for each person there are noble angels who are entrusted with the mission of guarding them, recording their deeds and words and counting for them. So, every word that one utters will be seen in their balance on the Day of Judgment. Allah, the Most Exalted says, “Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].” (Qaf: 18). In like manner, each deed that one does in this world will also be recorded in their record of deeds in the Hereafter. Allah the Almighty says, “and they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does injustice to no one.” (Al-Kahf: 49).
As part of their mission, the noble angels would be wasting no time, writing each person’s words and deeds. They do not delay, nor do they forget. In evidence of this, it was narrated that Rifa’a bin Rafie, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “One day we were praying behind the Prophet pbuh. When he raised his head from bowing, he said, ‘Samia l-lahu liman hamidah (Allah hears the one who praises Him).’ A man behind him said, ‘Rabbana wa laka l-hamdu, hamdan kathiran taiyiban mubarakan fihi’ (O our Lord! All the praises are for You, many good and blessed praises). When the Prophet pbuh completed the prayer, he asked, ‘Who has said these words?’ The man replied, ‘I did.’ The Prophet pbuh said, ‘I saw over thirty angels competing to write it first’.”
That is: each one of the angels races to write down those words before the others do. Thus, they never overlook anything, be it small or great. The Most Exalted and Sublime says, “so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant.” (Al-Anbiyaa: 47).
The Messenger of Allah pbuh educated his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, on the fact that each and every deed of theirs would be recorded; including even the number of steps they take to reach to the mosque to establish prayers. So, when the people of Bani Salima decided to move to a land nearer to the mosque, the Prophet pbuh said, “O Banu Salima! Stay in your houses, because your footprints (when you come to the mosque) will be recorded.” He said this twice. This is because the more steps one makes to reach to the mosque, the more good deeds will be recorded for him in his record. The Most Merciful says, “so whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer - no denial will there be for his effort, and indeed We, of it, are recorders.” (Al-Anbiyaa: 94).
O Servants of Allah,
The kinds of righteous deeds that can be done to increase one’s record of good deeds are many. One of such deeds is to remember Allah often by reciting Dhikr that is concise but carrying plenty of goodness. Our Master Muhammad pbuh has taught us this kind of Dhikr. On this account, it was narrated that Abu Umama, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Prophet pbuh saw me moving my lips and he said to me, ‘What are you saying, O Abu Umama?’ I said, ‘I am remembering Allah.’
Thereupon, He pbuh said, “shall I tell you of something better or greater than your Dhikr of night and day?’ You should say,(All praise is due to Allah as many times as the number of what He has created. All praise is due to Allah filling what He has created. All praise is due to Allah as many times as the number of what is in the heavens and earth. All praise is due to Allah as many times as the number of what is written in His book. All praise is due to Allah filling the number of what is written in His book. All praise is due to Allah as many times as the number of all things. All praise is due to Allah filling all things.) And say Tasbeeh (Exalted is Allah) likewise.’ Then he pbuh said, ‘Teach them to your offspring’.”
So, the Prophet pbuh advised Abu Umama to teach this Dhikr to his offspring to recite it regularly because of its great status and abundant benefits. It fills the believer’s record with good deeds that are equal to its number and as heavy in the scale as its weight. Truly, in the scale of good deeds, the remembrance of Allah the Almighty is heavier than all others.
This was illustrated by the Messenger of Allah pbuh as he said, “Indeed Allah will distinguish a man from my Ummah (followers) before all of creation on the Day of Judgement. Ninety-nine scrolls will be laid out for him, each scroll is as far as the eye can see, then He will say, ‘Do you deny any of this? Have those who recorded this wronged you?’ He will say, ‘No, O Lord!’ Allah will say, ‘Do you have an excuse?’ The man will say, ‘No, O Lord!’ So Allah will say, ‘Rather you have a good deed with us, so you shall not be wronged today.’ Then He will bring out a card; on it will be written: ‘I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger.’ Allah will say, ‘Bring your scales.’ The man will say, ‘O Lord! What good is this card next to these scrolls?’ Allah will say, ‘You shall not be wronged.’ He said, ‘The scrolls will be put on a pan (of the scale), and the card on (the other) pan: the scrolls will be light, and the card will be heavy. Indeed, nothing is heavier than the Name of Allah.”
One other righteous deed that is gracious in recompense is asking Allah for forgiveness often, for it is a cause for wiping all the believer’s misdeeds, leaving his/her record full of only good deeds. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, “Glad tidings to those who find a lot of seeking forgiveness in the record of their deeds.”
Furthermore, performing acts of kindness, observing acts of worship and obedience to Allah the Almighty as well as establishing prayer regularly at its prescribed time are amongst the other righteous acts that are conducive to increasing the believer’s good deeds and removing their bad ones. On this account, Allah the Almighty says, “and establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.” (Hood: 114).
On another level, one of the greatest good deeds in respect of its positive impact is that which continues to benefit its doer after his/her death. For instance, whoever leaves behind knowledge that may benefit people, or establishes a Waqf for the sake of Allah, then their rewards will not cease after their death. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “When a person dies, all his good deeds come to an end except for three: Continuing charity, knowledge that others benefit from, and a righteous son who supplicates for him.”
Bearing this in mind, let us pray to Allah the Almighty to multiply the rewards of our good deeds, forgive us our misdeeds and make us amongst those who will be given their record (of deeds) in their right hand. O Allah, we implore to You to make Paradise our perpetual abode.
May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad, the most honest amongst people, and obey those He have commanded us to obey in line with His orders: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” (An-Nisaa: 59).
May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh.
I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Sermon
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most Exalted and Sublime.
O Worshipers,
Allah, the Exalted is He, is Subtle with His servants and engulfs them with Hi mercy. He enumerates their deeds and words of mouth and rewards them accordingly. Yet, the Almighty has informed His servants of the Day of Judgment when everyone will be accountable for their deeds. The purpose is to encourage them to strive in performing the best of deeds and speaking the best of words. The Most Exalted may, however, grant forgiveness to whoever He wills, for indeed He is the Most Merciful and Forgiving.
On this account, the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “On the Day of Resurrection, the believer will be brought to his Lord, the Exalted and Glorious, until He would place upon him His veil (of concealment and mercy) and make him confess his faults and say, ‘Do you recognise (your faults)?’ He would say, ‘My Lord, I do recognise (them).’ He (the Lord) would say, ‘I concealed them for you in the world. And today, I forgive them.’ And he would then be given the Book containing (the account of his) good deeds.”
In this Hadith, we can see the favour that Allah, the Most Beneficent, endows upon the believers by concealing their misdeeds in this life and forgiving them in the next. Nonetheless, what is meant here with “misdeeds” is those which happen unopenly, between the believer and His Lord and do not involve any harm or injustice to others. The latter are misdeeds that would not be forgiven unless the doer has returned the rights to their owners or upon attaining pardoning and forgiveness from the wronged people.
Thus, only with such forgiveness from the Most Beneficent will a believer receive their record of good deeds with their right hands, attaining thereby a great attainment. Allah the Almighty says, “so as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will say, ‘Here, read my record! Indeed, I was certain that I would be meeting my account.’ So he will be in a pleasant life - in an elevated garden, its [fruit] to be picked hanging near. [They will be told], ‘Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you put forth in the days past’.” (Al-Haqqa: 19-24).
That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, says, “indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (Al-Ahzab: 56).
On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, “For everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah.”
O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.
May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.
May Allah have mercy on the honourable martyrs of our nation and gather them with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets. May Allah make the dwelling of the martyrs, their families, parents and relatives Indeed, You answer to the supplications.
O Allah, please grant the best reward for the families of the martyrs and offer them patience and solace. May Allah grant victory to the soldiers of the Arab Coalition who gathered to restore the rights to their owners. O Lord, please be by their side and guide the Yemeni people to everything that is good. O Allah, make them rally for the word of truth and legitimacy, and bless them with welfare and stability, O the Most Generous.
O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability and peace.
O Allah, we seek Your grace to increase the UAE in delight and beauty and give the best of rewards and recompense to whoever sowed the seeds of goodness and welfare in it. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.
May Allah grant success and continued health and care to the UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. May Allah also ensure success to his Vice-President, trustworthy Crown Prince and his brothers, Their Highnesses the Rulers of the Emirates.