Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

15 Ways of Earning Rewards from Allaah

Source: The Path To Paradise, Volume 1 Collected and edited by: M. Tahlawi Translated by: Jamal Al-Deen Zarabozo Part - 1 The ways to earn rewards and obtain the pleasure of Allaah are numerous; in fact, only Allaah knows all of them. Here, Allaah willing, we shall mention some of the more famous deeds that are pleasing to Allaah. 1. Avoiding those things that Allaah has forbidden including the great sins as well as refraining from continually performing the lesser sins: This also includes performing those deeds that Allaah has ordered us to perform. It is part of His blessings to us that He has ordered us to do some deeds and prohibited us from others. In addition, He rewards us for the obligatory deeds we perform and for abstaining from the prohibited deeds. The prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, . , . , ; , . : ; ,

Allaah has recorded the good deeds and the evil deeds. Then He made them clear: He who has intended a good deed and does not do it, Allaah writes it down with Him as a performed good deed; but if He intends it and does perform it, Allaah records for him from ten good deeds to seven hundred times that or more than that. If he intends to do an evil deed and does not do it, then Allaah writes it down as a good deed; but if he intends an evil deed and performs it, Allaah records it as one evil deed. (Sahih al-Jami #792)

Part - 2 2. Reciting the Qur aan and pondering over its meanings: The prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, ( )

Whoever recites one word from the Book of Allaah will be rewarded for a good deed and ten more like it; and I do not say that Alif Lam Mim is a word but Alif is a word, Lam is a word and Mim is a word. (Sahih al-Jami #6345) Another Hadeeth states, When the reciter of the Qur aan enters Paradise he will be told, Recite and he will be raised a degree for every verse he reads until he reaches the end of what he has with him[of the Qur aan] (Sahih al-Jami #7977) Another Hadeeth states, The Qur aan is an intercessor. Whoever puts it in front of him (i.e. follows it) will be led by it to Paradise. Whoever puts it behind him (i.e. ignores it) will be thrown by it into the hellfire. (Sahih al-Jami #4319) Part - 3 3. Guiding people to righteous deeds: The prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, will get the same reward as the person who performs the deed. (Sahih al-Jami #6116) 4. Enjoining good and eradicating evil: Allaah revealed in the Qur aan, Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of Dawud and `Isa, son of Maryam. That was because they rebelled and used to transgress. They restrained not one another from the wickedness they did. Verily, evil was what they used to do. [Soorah Ma idah, chapter 5, verse no. 78, 79] This is one of the obligatory duties that many people fail to perform today. Due to this reason, sins are committed openly and without shame and no one is saying anything about them. We should mind the prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam s words, If people see an evil deed and they do not change it, Allaah may inflict them all with a punishment. Whoever guides one to a good thing

(Sahih al-Jami #1970) Dear brothers and sisters, you should be among those Muslilms who enjoin good and eradicate evil. You should advise your brothers and sisters to leave any sins and to follow the straight path. You should, of course, advise them in a proper manner. For example, you should not scold them in public when you have the ability to talk to them on a personal basis. You should also speak to them in a kind manner and say, for example, It is obligatory for me to advise you concerning this matter which is forbidden... This is in order to fulfill the obligation of ordering the right and forbidding the evil. Allaah willing, there is a great reward from Allaah for such a deed as the prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, There are people from my nation who will receive a similar to that of the first of my nation; and they are the ones who eradicate evil. (Sahih al-Jami #2220) Allaah says in the Qur aan, The believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong... [Soorah Taubah, chapter 9, verse no. 71] Al-Qurtubi wrote, Allaah has made the enjoining of right and forbidding of evil as an act that distinguishes the believers from the hypocrites. This means that one of the particular characteristics of the believers is the enjoining of good and eradicating of evil; and the most important of this category is calling to Islam. (Tafsir al-Qurtubi, vol.4, p.47) Part - 4 5. Du aa (supplications to Allaah):Supplication is the best act of worship as the prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, The most virtuous act of worship is supplication. (Sahih al-Jami #1133) Supplication is one of the most important acts of worship as the person meets with his Lord and faces Him humbly, submissively, and with respect to His honor and greatness. It is sometimes preferred for the person to raise his hands while supplicating and strongly implore Allaah and to be certain that Allaah will answer his supplication, without any doubt. Concerning this matter, the prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said,

There is no Muslim on the earth who supplicates to Allaah except that Allaah will give him what he asked or He will remove some evil from him [due to the supplication] as long as he does not supplicate for something evil or as long as he does not supplicate for cutting off the ties of kinship, and as long as he does not become impatient and say, I supplicated and supplicated and I was not responded to. (Sahih al-Jami #5513) The Muslim must be certain that Allaah will not leave him empty handed; either he will be granted what he wants in this world or Allaah will reward him with something in the Hereafter. The Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said,

Verily, Allaah is the Living and the Generous. He is shy, when someone raises his hands to Him, to leave him empty handed. (Sahih al-Jami #1753) He also said, Whoever is happy to have Allaah answer his supplication duirng times of hardship and trouble should supplicate Allaah often during his times of prosperity. (Sahih al-Jami #6166) Part - 5 5. Marrying religious women who will be able to assist in doing good deeds and help in bringing up children properly and keep them away from committing sins [and women marrying religious men...]: The Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, A woman is married for her religion, wealth or beauty; marry the religious women and you will prosper. (Sahih al-Jami #1937) He also said, A thankful heart, a tongue that remembers [Allaah often] and a pious wife that helps you in your worldly and religious matters is better than what the people are amassing. (Sahih al-Jami #4285) Part - 6 7. Bringing up pious children, training them to have good Islamic character and teaching them to constantly observe Islamic obligations, the most important being the performance of prayer: The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, A man will be raised some degrees in paradise and he will say, for what reason am I receiving this? He will be told, Because of your son asking forgiveness for you. (Sahih al-Jami #1613)Dear Muslims, you should be aware that Allah has placed this heavy responsibility upon you and you will be asked about it. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, concerning that matter, said, Allah will ask everybody about what he is responsible for, Did he fulfill the responsibility or not? Even the man will be asked about his family. (Sahih al-Jami #1770)You will be questioned about every deed that the members of your family, whom you have authority over, perform. Be careful, that the heedless people of your family do not lead to your destruction by doing your best to keep them along the straight path.

Part - 7 8. Having good manners and character: The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,

The most beloved of you to me and the closest of you to me in the Hereafter are those of you who have the best manners; the most hated of you to me and farthest from me in the Hereafter are those of you who have the worst manners, those who speak and do not even care about what they are saying. (Sahih al-Jami #1531)In another hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, A person says something and he thinks there is nothing wrong with that statement yet he is thrown seventy years into the hellfire because of that statement. (Sahih al-Jami #1614)The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam also stated,

The person of good manners will get the same reward as the person who prays during the night and fasts during the day. (Sahih al-Jami #1616)He also said, You should be of good manners and you should be silent a lot for, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, there is no deed that you can perform similar to them. (Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha #1938) It is part of being good character that one does not speak about others in a manner that they do not approve of; this is, in fact, backbiting as the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, Backbiting is to mention something about a person that he does not like to have mentioned. (Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha #1992)

Part - 8 9. Performing many voluntary prayers: This is particularly beneficial during the last third of the night in which the gates of the heavens are opened and the supplications are responded to. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,

Allah waits until one half or two-thirds of the night has passed and He says, My servants shall ask from no one except Me, I shall respond to him. Whoever asks Me for something, I will give it to him. Whoever asks for My forgiveness, I shall forgive him. This continues until dawn. (Sahih al-Jami #1913)Another hadeeth states, The believer s honour is his nightly prayer; and his dignity is in abstaining from what the people possess. (Sahih al-Jami #3604)Similarly, performing the sunnah prayers, which are before and after the obligatory prayers, is also a way of gaining Allah s pleasure and reward. These sunnah prayers are two rakats before the dawn obligatory prayer, four before the noon obligatory prayer and four* after it, two after the maghrib prayer and two after the night prayer and the Witr prayer. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, Whoever observes four rakats before the noon prayer and four after it will be forbidden from the hell-fire. (Sahih al-Jami #6071)The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam also said, Whoever prays twelve voluntary rakats during the night and day will have Allah build a house for him in Paradise. (Sahih al-Jami #6236)Beware dear brothers of what Satan plots; he makes some brothers more concerned with the voluntary prayers rather than the obligatory prayers. Although the voluntary prayers are important, they are not as important as the obligatory prayers. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, Whoever prays forty days in congregation, without missing the opening takbir, Allah will record him as being saved from two things: saved from the hell-fire and saved from hypocrisy. (Sahih al-Jami #6241)* Rawatib or the 12 rakats of sunnah prayers include only 2 rakats after the noon obligatory prayer, not 4. If someone wants to earn this particular reward he or she can pray 4 rakats after noon prayer.

Part - 10 12. Remembering Allah at all times: The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam stated that Allah said, I am as My slave thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to myself; and if he males mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. (Recorded by Bukhari) That is, if the slave hopes and thinks of Allah as the Beneficent and Merciful , He will be beneficent and merciful to him. The best way of remembering Allah is to recite supplications that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam used to make, such as the following: Upon entering his house, the person should say,

O Allah, I ask You for good both when entering and when going out. In the name of Allah have we entered and in Allah, our Lord, do we put our trust. Then he should greet the inhabitants of the house [by saying salam]. (Sahih al-Jami# 852) And upon leaving ones house, the Muslim should say,

O Allah, I seek refuge with You lest I should stray or be led stray, or slip or be tripped, or oppress or be oppressed, or behave foolishly or be treated foolishly. (recorded by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi and Al-Nasai with a sahih chain.)

Upon riding an animal or anything else, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam would say,

In the name of Allah. All praise be to Allah. Glory be to Him who has made this subservient for us, for we had not the strength, and to our Lord do we return. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,

If someone sits in a gathering that has a great deal of useless talk in it and says before leaving the gathering, O Allah You are far removed from every imperfection and all praise is Yours. I bear witness that there is no true God except You. I seek your forgiveness and repent unto You, then Allah will forgive him for what had taken place in that meeting. (Recorded by At-Tirmidhi who called it hasan sahih) 13. Speaking the truth and not fearing the punishment of anyone: The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,

The leader of the martyrs is Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib and a person who faces an unjust ruler and advises him to do good then he gets killed because of his speech. (Sahih al-Jami# 3569)

Part 13 15b. Learning the beneficial knowledge: The beneficial knowledge is that which has to do with the Hereafter (as the Hereafter is everlasting and this world will perish- but this does not mean that there is no worth in learning about worldly sciences, it is simply stating that knowledge related to the Hereafter is more virtuous). These are the sciences related to shariah with all its different branches, such as the sciences of the Quraan, sciences of hadeeth, fiqh and so on. We do not have the space here to discuss each one of them but we would like to encourage our brothers to do their best not to ignore these sciences rather being concerned only with the matters of this world. We also advice them not to be like those people who look to fiqh simply to find excuses or loopholes. But we should ask in order to find the Islamic ruling on each question. We should seek evidence in the Quran and sunnah for every opinion. We should not say, So and so said that is forbidden or permissible but say, Allah says this.. or, The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said this.... And do not be one of those who blindly stick to their school of thought such as the four imams, Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi and Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them and reward them), told their followers that if any other scholar came with an evidence from the Quran or sunnah for his different position, then their opinions should be ignored and the other scholars opinion should be followed.That way, you will follow the word of Allah and His prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Here we shall mention just a few of their statements as a warning or admonition to those who blindly follow them as if they were perfect and never mistaken. These four imams have their position in history and knowledge but at the same time they were simply humans and not perfect. It is obligatory for us to follow the words of Allah and His prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Abu Hanifah said, It is not allowed for anyone to follow our opinions if he does not know on what [evidence from the Quraan and sunnah] we based them on. (This was recorded by ibn Abdul Barr in al-Intiqa fi Fadhail al-Aimat al-Thalatha, p. 145, by ibn al-Qayyim in Ilam al-Muwaqiyeen, vol. 2, p. 309, and by ibn Abideen in Hashiyat ala al-Bahr al-Raiq, vol. 6, p. 293) Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, Do not follow me, nor follow Malik or al-Shafi or al-Auzai or alThauri but take from where they have taken. (Recorded by al-Fulani, p. 113, and by ibn al-Qayyim in Ilam, vol. 2, p. 302.) Similar statements were made by imams al-Shafi and Malik. All of them were humans who made mistakes- even though they were great scholars whose mistakes were small in number compared to the number of times they were correct. They were mistaken sometimes, because they were not aware of a specific hadeeth or because they forgot something- and everyone forgets except Allah. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,

I advise you to be aware of Allah. And listen and obey [to the ruler] even if the ruler over you is a slave. Those of you who will live will see lots of differences so you should, therefore, follow my sunnah and the way of the rightly-guided caliphs. Stick to them completely. Be aware of innovated matters as every innovation is misguidance. (Sahih al-Targheeb #34)

You should follow, dear brothers, those who have some evidence from the Quraan and sunnah. You should try to read the Quraan and the authentic hadeeth of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. If you devoted half an hour daily, before or after one of the prayers, to read the Quraan and twenty hadeeth of the prophet, then you would be able to read in one year over six thousand hadeeth. A half-hour a day is not much compared to how much time is spent in doing things that are not nearly as important as learning the hadeeth of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,

[On the day of resurrection], The feet of the slave (of Allah) will not move until he is questioned about four things: about his life, how he passed it; about his knowledge, how he acted upon it; about his wealth, how did he earn it and where did he spend it; about his body, how did he use it. (Sahih al-Jami# 7177) Dear brothers and sisters, be warned not to be like those who damage their bodies and eyes by watching films and movies on television instead of using them to read the Quraan and the hadeeth of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.