Good Deeds to Increase Our Hasanat

Good Deeds to Increase Our Hasanat

Please enlighten me on some examples of Good Deeds that we can do every day to increase our Hasanāt.

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-‘ālamīn. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His Messenger.

If Allah helps him to do righteous deeds, the Muslim can earn a great deal of reward. There are many different kinds of righteous deeds that can be done by rich and poor, old and young, male and female, depending on each person’s circumstances, ambition and energy, after the help of Allah.

Allah says:

“Whoever works righteousness — whether male or female — while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)” [Al-Nahl 16:97]

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah (radiyallāhu`anhu) that the Messenger of Allah  (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Hasten to do good deeds before there come tribulations like pieces of a dark night, when a man will be a believer in the morning and a kafir by evening, or he will be a believer in the evening and a kafir by morning, selling his religious commitment for worldly gain.” [Narrated by Muslim, 118.]

The kinds of good deeds that a person can do every day include the following:

1 – Praying In Congregation In The Mosque.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah  (radiyallāhu`anhu) that the Prophet  (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever goes to the mosque in the morning and evening, Allah will prepare for him an honourable place in Paradise every time he goes and comes.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 631; Muslim, 669]

2. Performing Optional Prayers.

Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu’anhu) narrated that the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:

"The first thing a person will be held accountable for on the Day of Judgment is his Solat. If they are complete, it will be written for him that they are complete, but if there is a deficiency in them, Allah would say: "See if My Slave has any supererogatory prayers." Allah would also say: "Make up the deficiency in My Slave's obligatory prayers from the supererogatory prayers;" and then other actions will be accounted for accordingly."

 (This is recorded by An-Nasa’ie and others)

So, these supererogatory prayers will be an endorsement for any deficiency in the obligatory prayers.

The mother of the faithful Umm Habibah Ramlah binti Abu Sufyan  (radiyallāhu`anha)narrated that she heard the Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa Salam saying: “A house will be built in paradise for every Muslim who offers twelve Raka’ah of optional salah other than the obligatory salah in day and night, to seek pleasure of Allah.” [Muslim]

Note : these extra 12 raka’ats of optional prayers, according to Imam Nasa’i and Tirmidzi are : 2 raka’ats before the obligatory prayer of Early morning (fajar), and 4 raka’ats before (Zuhur) and 2 raka’ats after it ,and 2 raka’ats after the obligatory of early evening prayer (maghrib) and 2 raka’ats after the obligatory prayer of night (Isha) prayer.

Many Ahadith Mentioned the Virtues Of Nawafil Solāh 

The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

• “Prostrate as much as you can, because whenever you prostrate, Allāh elevates your rank by a degree and wipes out a sin from your record” (Muslim)
• “Whenever a servant prostrates to Allāh, Allāh writes a reward for him, wipes out one of his sins and elevates his rank by one degree; so prostrate as much as you can” (Ibn Mājah)
• “Solāh is the best thing that one can do, so perform as many as you possibly can” (At-Tabarāni)
• “Two light raka‘at which you may think as insignificant to add to you deeds, it is better for you than possessing the whole world” (Ibn Al-Mubārak)

3– Attending Funerals And Offering The Funeral Prayer.

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah  (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: The Messenger of Allah  (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever attends a funeral until he offers the (funeral) prayer will have one qiraat (of reward) and whoever attends until the burial is done will have two qiraat.” It was said: “What are the two qiraats?” He said: “Like two great mountains.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari, 1261; Muslim, 945]

4 – Recite a lot of the Supplication of Tahlilah: “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer (There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner or associate; His is the Dominion, to Him be all praise, and He is able to do all things)” one hundred times each day. It is the best supplication to remember Allah.

It is described to us in the Hadith of the Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam), he said: "...and the best (supplication) I and the other prophets who were sent who were sent before me proclaimed was: “La ilaha ill Allah, Wahdahu Lasyarikalah, Lahul mulku walLahul hamdu yuhyi wa yumit, Wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay'in qadeer." -- "There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, He is Alone and has no partner. To Him belongs the Ownership (of everything), and to Him belongs all Praise, and He has total power over all things." [At-Tirmidzi]

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah  (radiyallāhu`anhu) that the Messenger of Allah  (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever says ‘Laa ilaaha ill-Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer’ one hundred times in a day, it will be as if he freed ten slaves, and one hundred hasanaat (good deeds) will be recorded for him, and one hundred sayi’at (bad deeds) will be erased from him, and it will be a protection for him against the Shaytān all that day until evening comes. No one can do anything better than that except one who does more.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 3119; Muslim, 2691]

5 – Upholding the Ties Of Kinship

It was narrated that Anas (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) say: “Whoever would like his provision to be increased and his lifespan extended, let him uphold his ties of kinship.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 5639; Muslim, 2557.]

6 – Observing Voluntary Fasts, Visiting The Sick And Giving Charity.

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Who among you is fasting today?” Abu Bakar (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: “I am.” He said: “Who among you has attended a funeral today?” Abu Bakar (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: “I have.” He said: “Who among you has fed a poor person today?’ Abu Bakar (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: “I have.” He said: “Who among you has visited a sick person today?” Abu Bakar (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: “I have.” The Messenger of Allah (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “These (traits) are not combined in a person but he will enter Paradise.” [Narrated by Muslim, 1028.]

6 – Glorifying Allah SWT.

Recite “Subhan-Allāhi wa bihamdihi, Subhān-Allāhil-Azim”(Glory is to Allāh and to Him is the praise, Glory is to Allāh, the Greatest devoid of imperfection)  one hundred times.

It was narrated thaAbu Hurairah (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) reported: The Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallām)  said, "He who recites in the morning and in the evening the statement: “Subhan-Allāhi wa bihamdihi, Subhān-Allāhil-Azim”(Glory is to Allāh and to Him is the praise, Glory is to Allāh, the Greatest devoid of imperfection) one hundred times, morning and evening, his sins will be erased even if they are like the foam of the sea.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari, 6042; Muslim, 2691.]

7 – Recite The Tasbih, Tahmid And Takbeer, And Enjoining What Is Good And Forbidding What Is Evil, And Praying Duha.

It was narrated from Abu Dharr (radiyallāhu`anhu) that the Prophet (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “For every bone of the son of Adam a charity must be given each day. Every tasbeehah [saying Subhaan Allah (Glory be to Allah)] is a charity, every tahmeedah [saying al-hamdu Lillaah (praise be to Allah)] is a charity, every tahleelah [saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (There is no god but Allah)] is a charity, every takbeerah [saying Allahu akbar [Allah is Most Great]) is a charity, enjoining what is good is a charity, forbidding what is evil is a charity, and two raka’ahs offered in the mid-morning (Duha) is most rewarding.” [Narrated by Muslim, 720.]

8 – Reciting Qur’an.

‘Abdallah ibn Mas’ud (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever reads a letter of the Book of Allah will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a tenfold reward. I do not say that Alif-Laam-Meem is a letter, rather Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter and Meem is a letter.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidzi, 2910; he said it is hasan sahih. Also classified as sahih by Al-Albani in Sahih Al-Tirmidzi]

9 - Performing Qiyamulail.

Qiyamulail or Tahajjud Prayer will draw us closer to Allah SWT. Among the hadiths that describe the virtues of this act of worship is the hadith of Abu Hurairah (radiyallāhu`anhu), in which the Prophet (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “The best of prayers after the prescribed prayers is prayer in the depths of the night, and the best of fasting after the month of Ramadhan is fasting the month of Allah, Muharram.” [Muslim].

‘Abdallah Ibn ‘Amr (radiyallāhu`anhu) reported that the Prophet (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “The most beloved of prayer to Allah is the prayer of Dawud, and the most beloved of fasts to Allah is the fast of Dawud. He used to sleep for half of the night, then get up and pray for a third of the night, then sleep for a sixth of the night, and he used to fast every other day.” [Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others].

And there are many other good deeds. The Muslim should seek the help of his Lord to do good deeds, and do his best to do them. He should persist in doing these good deeds even if they are little, for that is better than doing a lot of good deeds then stopping.

It was narrated that ‘Aishah (radiyallāhu`anha) said: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “O people, you should do whatever good deeds you can, for Allah does not get tired (of giving reward) until you get tired. And the most beloved of good deeds to Allah is that in which a person persists, even if it is little. If the family of Muhammad (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam) started to do something, they would persist in it.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 43; Muslim, 782.]

And Allah Almighty knows best.

[Via Islam Q&A]