Class 10 – Deeds that can lead us to Jannah

Class 10 
Deeds that can lead us to Jannah

KEY TO PARADISE

The Key to Paradise is our Shahadah, the Kalimah – Laa Ilaaha Ill Allah Muhammadur Rasool Allah (None Has the right to be worshiped but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger).

Every Muslim has been taught that the key to “Jannah” (Paradise) is the statement in Arabic: “Laa illaha illa allah.” (There is none worthy of worship except Allah.) Yet too many Muslims simply rely upon this statement and believe that as long as they have made this statement, nothing will harm them. They think they will be granted Paradise because of this mere verbal statement of the Shahadah. There is no question that the mere saying of the shahadah: “I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger” is not sufficient for salvation. In fact, the munafiqeen (hypocrites) used to make this statement quite often yet Allah describes them as liars and says that they shall abide in the lowest abyss of the Hell-fire.

Our scholars of Islam are quick to tell us that this testimony of faith is our “Muftah ul Jennah” (Key to Paradise). But there are conditions, Wahb ibn Munabbih R.A. was asked, ‘Is not the testification that “none has the right to be worshipped save Allah” the key to Paradise?’ He replied, ‘Of course, but every key has its teeth: if you bring a key that has teeth, the door shall open; but if not, it will not.’ (Bukhari)

It was said to al-Hasan, “People say that whoever says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped……,’ shall enter Paradise. He replied, ‘Whoever says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped…..,’ and fulfils its obligations and meets its requirements shall enter Paradise.’”

That is, the statement must meet certain conditions. These conditions are what will differentiate the person who will benefit from his making of that statement from the one who will not benefit from that statement, no matter how many times a day he may have made that statement.

There are 7 conditions enlisted by the Scholars as the ridges of this key, the conditions of La ilaha illallah, and they are: –

1. Al-`Ilm (Knowledge of the meaning of the shahadah, its negation and affirmation)
2. Al-Yaqeen (Certainty – perfect knowledge of it that counter-acts suspicion and doubt)
3. Al-Qubool (Acceptance that contradicts rejection).
4. Al-Inqiad (Submission to its rightful requirements, which are the duties that must be performed with sincerity to Allah (alone) seeking His pleasure)
5. Al-Sidq (Truthfulness that permits neither falsehood nor hypocrisy)
6. Al-Ikhlaas (Sincerity which negates shirk)
7. Al-Mahabbah (Love of the shahadah and its meaning, and being happy with it)

Along with Tawheed one must also come with good deeds — the performance of Acts of obedience and the avoidance of forbidden acts.

Minimum Deeds for Paradise

A man questioned the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ and said : Do you think that if I perform the obligatory Prayers, fast in Ramadaan, treat as lawful that which is Halaal, and treat as forbidden that which is Haraam, and do not increase upon that [in voluntary good deeds], then shall I enter Paradise? He ﷺ replied : Yes.

The Prophet ﷺ said:“What a loss is for him! What a loss is for him! What a loss is for him!” Someone asked: “Who, O Allah’s Messenger?” He replied: “He whose parents reach old age, either one or both of them, and he does not use their presence (by being good to them, etc.) to cause him to enter Paradise.” (Muslim)

Duas for a Better Hereafter

“اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ”

ALLAHUMMA ‘INNEE ‘AS’ALUKAL-JANNATA WA’A’OTHU BIKA MINAN-NAAR.

O Allah , I ask You for Paradise and seek Your protection from the Fire.

(Abu Dawud. See also Al-Albani, Sahih Ibn Majah 2/328)

“اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِأَنَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدَ لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ وَحْدَكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ، الْمَنَّانُ، يَا بَدِيعَ السَّماوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يَا ذَا الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ، يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ”.
ALLAAHUMMA ‘INNEE ‘AS’ALUKA BI’ANNA LAKAL-HAMDA LAA ‘ILAAHA ‘ILLAA ‘ANTA WAHDAKA LAA SHAREEKA LAKA,AL-MANNAANU, YAA BADEE’AS-SAMAAWAATI WAL’ARDHI YAA THAL-JALAALI WAL-‘IKRAM, YAA HAYYU YAA QAYYOOMU ‘INNEE QAYYOOMU ‘INNEE ‘AS’ALUKAL-JANNATA WA ‘A’OOTHU BIKA MINAN-NAAR. O Allah, I ask You, as You are the Owner of praise , there is none worthy of worship but You alone , You have no partner . You are the Giver of all good. O Creator of the heavens and the earth, Owner of majesty and honor. O Living and Everlasting One , I ask you for Paradise and I seek refuge in You from the fire.

Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, At-Tirmithi. See also Al-Albani, Sahih Ibn Majah 2/329.

Note: – · These Duas were recited by the Prophet ﷺ in prayers after Second Tashahud (Durood Ibrahim).
Another Dua: –رَبَّنا ءاتِنا فِى الدُّنيا حَسَنَةً وَفِى الءاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنا عَذابَ النّارِRABBANA AATINA FIDDUNYA HASANATAN WA FIL AAKHRATI HASANATAN WAQINA AZAAABANNAAR ‘Our Lord ! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire”

• Please read the Duas from Hisnul Muslim (Fortress of Muslim) for proper Pronunciations.

Deeds that will weigh Heavily on the Scale on the Day of Judgement

The Prophet ﷺ said:

1. Good Manners; “The heaviest thing that will be placed in a person’s Balance on the Day of Resurrection is good manner” (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood)
2. Subhaan Allah wa bi hamdih, Subbaan Allahii- ‘Azeem “Two words which are light on the tongue but will weigh heavily in the Balance, and they are beloved to the Most Merciful: Subhaan Allah wa bi hamdih, Subbaan Allahii- ‘Azeem (Glory and praise be to Allah, Glory be to Allah the Almighty). (Bukhari & Muslim)
3. Dhikr; Purity is half of faith, and (saying) ‘Al-hamdu Lillaah (Praise be to Allah)’ fills the scale, and saying ‘Subbaan Allah wa ‘l-hamdu Lillaah (Glory be to Allah and praise be to Allah)’ fills what is between heaven and earth.

Build a Palace in Jannah

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

1. Build a Masjid; “Whoever builds a Masjid seeking by it the Pleasure of Allah, Allah will build for him a similar place in Jannah“. (Bukhari)
2. Perform 12 Sunnah Rakahs; “Whoever prays twelve extra [supererogatory] rak’ahs every day, Allaah (swt) will build for him a house in Paradise.” (Muslim)
3. Do not Argue; “He who gave up disputing while he is right, a palace of high rank in Paradise will be built for him“. (At Tirmidhi) The Prophet ( ﷺ) also said, “Myself, and the person who sponsors an orphan will be in Jannah like this (and he pointed to his index and middle fingers).” (Bukhari & Muslim).

Simple Deeds Leading to Jannah: –

Prophet ﷺ said: –

1. Do not perform Shirk; “Whoever meets Allah without ascribing anything to Him will enter Jannah.” (Bukhari)
2. Help a Widow & the Destitute; “The one who helps widows and the destitute is like one who fights in jihaad for the sake of Allaah (swt).” [Saheeh Muslim,]
3. Performing Wudpoo when it is difficult; “Shall I not tell you of something by means of which Allaah erases sins and raises you in status?” They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allaah.” He said: “Doing wudoo’ well even when it is difficult, taking many steps to the mosques and waiting for prayer after prayer. That is (equivalent) to guarding the frontier.” (Narrated by Muslim, 251)
4. Recite Quran; “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan: ‘Recite and rise in status as you used to recite in the world, and your position will be at the last verse you recite.’” (Abu Dawood, 1646; al-Tirmidhi, 2914)
5. Be Easy with others;“Allah, the Almighty let a man enter Jannah because that man was easy when buying, easy when selling to others, easy when he passed a judgement and easy when he sought a judgement.” (Bukhari)
6. Save yourself; “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Jannah for him.” (Bukhari)
7. Seek Knowledge; “Whoever treads a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him the path to Jannah.” (Muslim)
8. Memorize 99 names of Allah; “Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Jannah.” (Bukhari)

Paradise is Not the Equivalent of Deeds

Paradise is something of immense value; a person cannot earn it by virtue of his deeds alone – Muslim reported from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the Prophet ﷺ said, “No one of you will enter Paradise by his deeds alone.” They asked, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “Not even me, unless Allaah covers me with His Grace and Mercy” [Saheeh Muslim, 4/2170, no. 2816]

This does not mean we leave doing good deeds as it is not going to get us anywhere, what this means is that Paradise is so great that the deeds alone cannot warrant us to get it. As discussed earlier the last to enter paradise will have 10 times of the earth so how can our deeds give us the right to enter this great Paradise our Lord has made. SO we should do as much good deeds as possible and then hope & pray of the Mercy of Allah to accept them and enter us in Jannah!

The Way to Paradise is Very Hard

Paradise is very high, and ascending lofty places takes a great deal of effort. The way to Paradise is filled with things that go against human wishes and inclinations. This needs strong determination and willpower. In a hadith narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim from Abu Hurayrah (RA) the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said, “Hell has been veiled with desires, and Paradise has been veiled with [surrounded by] hardships.”

an-Nasaa’ee, at-Tirmidhi, and Abu Dawud report from Abu Hurayrah (R.A.) that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said, “When Allaah created Paradise, He told Jibreel, “Go look at it”. So he went and looked at it, then he came back and said, “By Your Glory, no-one will hear of it but he will enter it”. So He surrounded it with hardships and said, “Go and look at it”. So he went and looked at it, then came back and said, “By Your Glory, I fear that no-one will enter it“”. [Jaami al-Usool, 10/520, 8068]

an-Nawawi commented on the first hadith: “This is an example of the beautiful, eloquent and concise speech which the Prophet ﷺ was capable, in which he gives a beautiful analogy. It means that nothing will help you to reach Paradise except going through hardships, and nothing will lead you to Hell, but whims and desires. Both are veiled as described, and whoever tears down the veil will reach what was hidden behind it. The veil of Paradise is torn down by going through hardships and the veil of Hell is torn down by giving in to whims and desires. Hardship including striving consistently and patiently in worship, restraining one’s anger, forgiving, being patient, giving in charity, being kind to those who mistreat you, resisting physical desires, etc” [Sharh an-Nawawi ‘ala Muslim, 17/165]

The Weak and Destitute Will Form the Majority in Paradise

Most of those who will enter Paradise will be the weak and destitute, whom people tend to ignore and care little about, but in the sight of Allaah (swt) they are important, becuse they fear Him and worship Him faithfully and with humility. al-Bukhaari and Muslim report from Hareethah ibn Wahb that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: “Shall I not tell you about the people of Paradise? They said, “Of course“. He said, “Every weak and oppressed person; if he were to implore Allaah for anything, He would grant it to him.” [Jaami’ al-Usool, 10/535]

An-Nawawi said, commenting on this hadith: “It refers to those who others despise, scorn and oppress because of their weak position in this world. What is meant is that most of the people of Paradise will be of this type, but it does not meant that all of them will be”. [Sharh an-Nawawi alaa Muslim, 17/187]

al-Bukhaari, Ahmad and Muslim reported from Usaamah ibn Zayd that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: “I stood at the gate of Paradise and saw that most of those who entered were the poor and destitute. The people of means were held back, whilst the people of Hell had been ordered into the Fire…..”. [Mishkaat al-Masaabih, 2/663 no 5233]

Reward of being Patient

Jabir narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: “On the Day of Judgement, when the people who were tried (in this world) are given their rewards, the people who were pardoned (in life), will wish that their skins had been cut off with scissors while they were in the world.” (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 2402, Classed as Hasan)

Think of the trials the Prophet ﷺ went through (lost all his sons while they were still very young, his beloved wife passed away, etc) but He ﷺ always thanked Allah, think of all the sacrifices the Sahaba made, it is their hard work and determination to take the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ ahead which is the reason we are able to read and benefit from it. Remember Islam is easy but Paradise is not, we need to work for it and then pray for His Mercy.

Those of us who Allah has blessed with wealth & health, May He also give us the Hidayah to put them to good use, to use them in His way. May Allah make us amongst the people of Paradise.