Ramadan Articles - Keeping Up The Good Work

InRamadan, people pray,fast, perform'Umrah)the minor pilgrimage(,
spendin charity, supplicate and recite the Quran, yet the question
remains: have any of these good deeds been accepted? Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}…Indeed Allaah only accepts from the
righteous ]who fear Him[.{]Quran 3: 27[ Fudhaalah Ibn 'Ubaydwould
say,"If I knew thatAllaah had accepted fromme )something( as minor as
a seed's weight of good deeds, then that would be more beloved to me
than possessing this world and all that it contains, because Allaah
Says: ]the above-mentioned verse[."Our
righteousSalaf)predecessors(would exert extra efforts in worship and
then rebukethemselves and doubt that their deeds were even accepted by
Allaah The Almighty. They were described by Allaah The Almighty as
)what means(:}And they who give what they give while their hearts are
fearful{]Quran23: 60[ They would be far more concerned about the
acceptance of the deeds than the amount of gooddeeds they performed.
What good is left for those who miss out on the virtue ofRamadan? What
greater disaster is there for them, than being deprived of the mercy
and forgiveness ofAllaah The Almighty in this month? Moreover, the
pious people from whom Allaah The Almighty accepts righteous deeds
have one distinctive trait, which is refraining from sinning after the
end ofRamadan.
Many people think that since they have performed scores of good deeds
they can rely on these deeds, believingthat they have enough good
deeds in their record. However, the genuine pious people are those who
continue to be devout worshippers even after the conclusion of the
month. When Allaah The Almighty describes the devout believers and
worshippers, He does notrestrict their devotion and obedience to a
limited period; rather, Hedescribes them to be this way always, not
only duringRamadan.
He Says )what means(:}Certainly will the believers have succeeded:
They who areduring their prayer humbly submissive. And they who turn
away fromill speech. And they who are observant of Zakaah. And they
who guard their private parts.{]Quran 23: 1-5[
Muslims are commanded to be devout worshippers until death. Allaah The
Almighty Says)what means(:}And worship your Lord until there comes to
you the certainty ]i.e., death[.{]Quran 15: 99[ One must persevere in
worshipping Allaah The Almighty and being obedient to Him. This may be
the reason why itwas legislated for us to fast six optional days in
the month ofShawwaal)which directly follows the month ofRamadan( and
this was made equivalent in reward to fasting for the whole year,
because the rewardis multiplied tenfold. Therefore, the thirty
daysinRamadanare equal to three hundred days, while the six that
follow inShawwaalare equal to sixty more days – which constitutes a
full year, in terms of reward.
Many people are deceived by the acts of worship they perform
duringRamadan. They exert great efforts in completing the whole Quran
once inRamadan– with some even completing it several times – and
praying theTaraaweeh)voluntary night prayers(. Others might wait in
theMasjidafter the end of one prayer till the time of the next one,
and be engaged in mentioning Allaah The Almighty from theFajr)morning(
prayer until sunrise )the reward for which is like that of performing
aHajjand an'Umrah(. However, although they perform all these deeds,
they are not inwardly sincere and their intentions may become
corrupted and impure.Shaytaan)Satan( may whisper to them, making them
feel that, having performed all these good deeds, they have
accumulated mountains of rewards, and that their balance is therefore
very high. This makes them become arrogant and they may start
slackening in their worship.
However, if one recalls a single verse from the Quran,such thoughts
and feelings would immediately cease. It is the Saying of Allaah The
Almighty )which means(:}And do not confer favor to acquire
more.{]Quran 74: 6[
How can anyone possiblyconfer favors upon AllaahThe Almighty? How can
one dare feel this way, simply because they performed a good number of
deeds – as if they have bestowed a favor on Allaah The Almighty by
doing them? With this verse, Allaah The Almighty addressed the
Prophet,, warninghim from being deceivedwith the worship he was
performing, so that he would not become arrogant. If one should ever
feel that they have performed plentiful acts of worship, then they
should compare their deeds with those of the Prophet,. In order to
clarify the matter in people's minds, the Prophet,, said:"If a man was
to be dragged on his face from the day he was born until he died, for
the sake of pleasing Allaah, he wouldbelittle his deeds on the Day of
Resurrection."Thismeans that one would find all he did insignificant
and worthless in comparison to a single favor bestowed upon him
fromhis Lord, like, for example, the favor of eyesight.
Therefore, we should realize that people are not granted Paradise
dueto their own good deeds,but because of the mercyof Allaah The
Almighty. People's deeds are not the price for Paradise; they are a
means to gain the mercy of Allaah The Almighty, by which one
isadmitted into Paradise. To conclude this point, we remind the
Muslims that despite the obligation of continuing upon obedience and
the performance of good deeds afterRamadan,one should not overburden
himself by attempting to do more good deeds than he can bear.
There are great benefits for those constantly striving in obedience
andworship. One cannot necessarily be as keen in doing acts of worship
afterRamadanas they were during it, because,Ramadanis a magnificentand
unique period, and there is none other like it. However, one should
have acquired sufficient training duringRamadanto carry on the good
work.