Ramadan Reflection Day 21 Deeds

Day Twenty-one of Ramadan. A reading from the book "The Call of Allah" by Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi. Today we talk about Deeds. Today we learn that our deeds show where our heart is directed. Are we doing good deeds for Allah or for ourselves?

Transcript

Assalamu alaikum,

Peace be with you and Ramadan Mubarak.

Welcome to the University of Sufism's reading of Rosina Fawzia Al-Rawi's book,

The Call of Allah,

A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.

Today I'm sharing day number 21 about deeds.

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.

In the name of the one,

The most merciful,

The compassionate.

Aisha,

Mother of the believers,

Reported that the messenger of Allah,

Peace and blessings be upon him,

Said,

Try to do good deeds properly,

Sincerely and moderately,

And know that none of you will enter paradise through your deeds,

And that the most beloved deeds in Allah's eyes are those performed regularly,

Even if they are small.

In the Quran,

Allah explains to us time and time again how much our faith is connected with our deeds,

And how our faith in him manifests in them.

Islam attaches great value to social ethics,

And generally speaking,

To acting for the good of all.

Indeed,

We can speak of a symbiosis between faith and behavior.

Faith and the performance of good deeds,

Iman wa amal salat,

Are mentioned together over 70 times in the Quran.

Anyone,

Be it man or woman,

Who does whatever he can of good deeds and is a believer with all,

Shall enter paradise.

Quran 4 ayat 124.

The association between our deeds and our faith is of paramount importance in Islam,

Because they always help us build a bridge in this world with the hereafter,

Al-akhirah.

Allah has made our faith in him,

And our good deeds,

Our crossing into paradise,

Inshallah.

On that day,

Every human being will be rewarded for what he has earned.

On that day,

Every human being be requited for what he has earned.

No wrong will be done on that day.

Verily,

Swift in reckoning is Allah.

Quran 40 ayat 17.

Allah always calls upon us to make our daily life,

Our work,

And our deeds,

Our religion,

Our deen.

This advises us to live and act very consciously,

And to do so for his sake.

When I open my heart to experience Allah's love,

Care,

And mercy,

My love for him begins to blossom.

Then I can feel his loving,

Protective closeness all the time.

When I finally experience that everything comes from him,

And that he is the rich,

Al-ghani,

And that I am moved through him,

I begin to understand the true meaning of the words.

It was not thou who cast when thou didst cast,

But it was Allah.

Quran 8 ayat 17.

For he is the one who gives us everything,

Who moves our tongues to give comfort,

Who enables us to show mercy and kindness,

And inspires us to do good.

He is the one who drives us into gratefulness,

And moves us to practice generosity.

Our actions then become a conscious,

Intimate expression of our love for Allah.

We start to perform good deeds and conceal them from the sight of others,

Because they are an intimate act of love for Allah,

The Beloved.

I am not,

Only you are.

We all know how fast our eye,

Our nafs,

Would like to pull good deeds to itself,

How much we enjoy receiving recognition from the people.

The inclination to perform good deeds for the sake of recognition persists in the heart,

And it is not easy to find the right balance between open and hidden good deeds.

Allah appeals to us saying,

O you who have attained to faith,

Do not deprive your charitable deeds of all worth by stressing your own benevolence,

And hurting the feelings of the needy.

As does he who spends his wealth only to be seen and praised by men.

Quran 2 ayat 264.

Yet life is a process,

And what is required of us is that we resolve to be sincere,

Ikhlas,

And to tackle our deeds with a clear intention,

Niyah.

When we can transform our life from a mundane into a spiritual one,

Then we can give sincerely,

And this helps us loosen up our bond with the material world.

The month of Ramadan,

When we fast for several days,

Thus learning to let go of so many habits,

Also helps us on this level.

If we have learned on this earth how to bring joy and happiness to self and others,

We will be surrounded by joy and happiness in the next world.

If we have sown poisonous deeds on this earth,

We will reap their fruit in the next world,

For the nature of the hereafter is justice.

Life is actually a journey which brings us from God to earth,

And takes us from earth to God.

The Prophet,

Peace and blessings upon him,

Said,

Whoever has wronged his fellow human being must ask him to free him from it,

Or pardon him,

Before the day comes when nothing can be bought for money,

But only for the reward of earlier good deeds.

This reward will be taken from the wrongdoer and given to the wronged one.

If the reward has all been spent without the wronged one having been paid back,

Some of the requital earned by the wronged one for his previous bad deeds will be loaded on the wrongdoer.

To be on the path to Allah means to let go inside,

And to unite on the outside,

Because our deeds are the companions that will stay with us.

The day when the bird of your soul leaves the cage of your body,

You will be alone with your deeds,

Which were the children of your intention.

So let the encounter between you and them be momentous,

And full of light,

Not trivial,

And full of darkness.

Whoever does what is just and right does so for his own good,

And whoever does evil does so for his own hurt,

And never does God do the least wrong to his creatures.

Quran 41 ayat 46.

A man asked the prophet peace and blessings be upon him about faith,

And he peace and blessings be upon him replied,

When your good deed pleases you,

And your evil deeds grieves you,

You are a believer.

Allah explains to us in the Quran how we should go through life,

And neither allow thy hand to remain shackled to thy neck,

Nor stretch it forth to the utmost limit of thy capacity,

Lest thou find thyself blamed by the dependents,

Or even destitute.

Quran 17 ayat 29.

Do not be mean,

Stingy,

Or reluctant to help others,

But pay attention to maintaining a balance.

Imam Ali said,

Food nourishes the body,

Feeding others nourishes the soul,

And a conscience in our heart.

Whenever we act unjustly,

Our conscience sends us a warning signal.

Once we have re-established the balance by apologizing,

Or making amends,

Our heart calms down and expands in gratefulness.

When we focus on good,

We experience peace and harmony in our lives.

Fasting cleanses the heart.

When we fast,

Our soul becomes more receptive to divine spirituality.

Fasting helps the believers form their body and their spirit anew,

Thereby reviving their conduct.

The discipline and limitations imposed on us during the holy month of Ramadan teach us that they are not meant to restrict our freedom,

But to truly liberate us from our attachment to some parts of our character which hold us prisoners.

Thus it is part of the fast to use our time to depart lastingly from reprehensible deeds like lies,

Malicious gossip,

Swear words,

Miserliness,

Envy,

And such like.

The prophet peace and blessings be upon him said,

Avoid envy for envy devours good deeds just as fire devours wood.

Fasting helps us establish a balance in our whole being so that we may become more and more the instruments of God's will on earth.

The prophet peace be upon him explained to us,

Whoever does not desist from lies and evil deeds,

A lie is in no need of his abstaining from food and drink.

A wise man was once asked,

What should I do?

My tongue makes difficulties for me and I cannot hold it when I am with people.

I keep judging what they do and contradicting them.

So what should I do?

The wise man answered,

If you cannot control yourself then avoid the people and live alone.

Those who wish to live with others should not be square but round so that they can turn to everyone and everything.

Allah showed us his love and his leniency.

He showed us how he knows our weaknesses and acknowledges our efforts through his beloved prophet peace and blessings be upon him.

When he said,

Allah says,

If my slave intends to do a bad deed then oh angels do not write it unless he does it.

If he does it then write it as it is but if he refrains from doing it for my sake then write it as a good deed in his account.

On the other hand,

If he intends to do a good deed but does not do it then write a good deed in his account and if he does it then write it for him in his account as 10 good deeds up to 700 times.

The messenger of Allah peace be upon him said,

When carried to his grave the dead person is followed by three things,

Two of which come back and one stays with him,

His relatives,

His possessions,

And his deeds.

His relatives and his possessions come back,

His deeds remain with him.

Practice suggested for today.

Repeat time and time again.

Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.

Quran 24 ayah 35.

Always notice the first impulse which arises in your heart before the mind starts interfering.

It is written in the Quran,

Man is prone to be hasty in his judgments.

Quran 17 ayat 11.

Take your time and observe the inspiration in your heart because it comes from your loving soul which Allah has bestowed upon you.

Thank you so much for joining us in this reading of the call of Allah,

A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.

With the permission of Rosina Fawzia Alrawi.

Ramadan Mubarak.