Class 10 – Easy deeds that are heavy on the Balance on the Day of Judgement

Class 10

‘Easy deeds that are heavy on the Balance on the Day of Judgement’

It is very important to know that every righteous deed that a person does may be part of that with which Allah will cause the balance of his good deeds to weigh heavily on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

• “Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom’s weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward” [an-Nisa’ 4:40]
• “So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” [az-Zalzalah 99:7-8].

EASY DEEDS THAT WEIGH HEAVY ON THE BALANCE

But there are texts which speak of specific deeds which will weigh particularly heavy in the doer’s balance on the Day of Resurrection. These include the following:

Tahleel, or saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allah (None has the right to be Worshipped but Allah). This is the deed that will weigh most heavily in the balance.

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Allah will bring forth a man belonging to my ummah before all creatures and will spread ninety-nine scrolls [containing the record of his bad deeds] for him, each scroll extending as far as the eye can see. Then He will say, ‘Do you object to anything in this? Have my scribes who keep note wronged you?’ He will say, ‘No, my Lord.’ He will ask him, ‘Do you have any excuse?’ He will say, ‘No my Lord.’ Allah will say, ‘On the contrary, you have with Us a good deed, and you will not be wronged this Day.’ A slip of paper will then be brought out, on which are the words ‘Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger).’ Allah will say, ‘Bring your balance.’ The man will say, ‘O Lord, what is this slip of paper in comparison to these scrolls?’ And He will reply, ‘You will not be wronged.’ The scrolls will then be put in one side of the Balance and the slip of paper in the other, and the scrolls will become light and the slip of paper heavy, for nothing could compare in weight to the name of Allah.” Narrated by Ahmad (6699) and at-Tirmidhi (2639); classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him).

Remembrance of Allah, may He be exalted: tasbeeh, tahmeed, tahleel and takbeer

· It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Two words which are light on the tongue but will weigh heavily in the Balance and are beloved to the Most Merciful: Subhaan Allah il-‘Azeem, Subhaan Allahi wa bi Hamdihi (Glory be to Allah the Almighty, Glory and praise be to Allah.” (Al-Bukhaari and Muslim 2694).

· It was narrated from Juwayriyyah that the Prophet ﷺ left her house one morning when he prayed Fajr, and she was in her prayer-place, then he came back after the forenoon had come, and she was still sitting there. He said: “Are you still as you were when I left you?” She said: Yes. The Prophet ﷺ said: “After I left you I said four words three times, which if they were weighed against what you have said today, they would outweigh it: Subhaan Allah wa bi hamdih, ‘adada khalqihi, wa ridaa nafsihi, wazinata ‘arshihi, wa midaada kalimaatihi (Glory and praise be to Allah, as much as the number of His creation, as much as pleases Him, as much as the weight of His Throne and as much as the ink of His words).” Narrated by Muslim, 2726.

Regularly reciting adhkaar after the obligatory prayers

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet ﷺ said: “There are two deeds that a Muslim does not do regularly but he will enter Paradise. They are easy but those who do them are few; saying Subhaan-Allah ten times after every prayer, and saying al-hamdu Lillaah ten times, and saying Allahu akbar ten times. That makes one hundred and fifty on the tongue and one thousand and five hundred in the Balance. And saying Allahu akbar thirty-four times when going to bed, and saying al-hamdu Lillaah thirty-three times, and subhaan-Allah thirty-three times. That is one hundred on the tongue and one thousand in the Balance.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasaa’i and Ibn Maajah).

The Dhikr upon entering the Markets

The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said; “Whoever enters a market place and says (the below Dua) Allaah will write for him thousand thousand reward and erase from him thousand thousand sin and raise him thousand levels” (Sunan al-Nasa’ee and at-Tirmidhi; classed as Hasan by Albani)

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَهُوَ حَىٌّ لاَ يَمُوتُ بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ  “Laa ilaaha illallaahu wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu yuhyee wa yumeetu wahuwa hayyun laa yamootu, biyadihi alkhayru wahuwa ala kulli shayyin qadeer “
(There is none worthy of worship in truth except Allah alone, He has no partners, He has the dominion and for him is all the praise, He gives life and he takes life and he is the ever living and does not die, in his hand is goodness and he is capable of all things)

Going to Markets is something that we do perhaps on a daily basis. Prophet ﷺ clearly told us these places do not bring much good and are actually a source of distraction from the remembrance of Allaah.

That is why this beautiful hadeeth contains Dhikr that should be said upon entering such a place and Yaa Subhaan Allaah, just by saying this one dhikr upon entering such a place you gain so much reward and get rid of so much sin! How merciful is Allaah!

Good attitude

It was narrated from Abu’d-Darda’ that the Prophet ﷺ said: “There is nothing that weighs more heavily in the Balance than a good attitude (with people).” (Narrated by Abu Dawood (4799); classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani).

It was narrated from Umm ad-Darda’, from Abu’d-Darda’ who said: I heard the Prophet ﷺ say: “There is nothing that is placed in the balance that will weigh more heavily than a good attitude (with people); the one who has a good attitude will attain thereby the status of one who fasts and prays.” (Narrated by at-Tirmidhi; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani)

Unfortunately we see that a lot of our brothers and sisters becomes harsh when they start practicing Islam, it should bring about a humbleness not arrogance, it should bring about calmness & patience not impatience, it should bring about more practice less talk.

Attending a funeral until the burial is completed

It was narrated from Ubayy that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever attends a funeral until the prayer has been offered for the deceased and the (burial) is completed will have two qiraats (of reward), and whoever attends until the prayer has been offered will have one qiraat. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, it will weigh more heavily in his balance than Uhud.” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani)

Most of us offer the funeral prayers if we are in the masjid but very few follow it to the graveyard and wait till the burial is completed, we should be mindful of this and know that this act can bring in great rewards and can just help tilt the scale in the right direction on that day when the most valuable thing we will have will be our good deeds.

Reciting Quran

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will receive one good deed as ten good deeds like it. I do not say that Alif Lam Meem is one letter, but rather Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Meem is a letter”. (Sunan At-Tirmidhi)

Even if reciting the Quran is very difficult for those of us who do not know Arabic, we should remember that the reward will be doubled.

Aisha R.A. reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The example of one who recites the Quran and he is committed to it and it is very difficult for him is that of one who receives a double reward. (Sahih Bukhari)

Fasting in Winter

Fasting has great rewards, in a couple of ahaadeeth we will list the virtues of fasting enumerated by the Prophet ﷺ, He said:

• “Every deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied between ten and seven hundred times. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, said: Except fasting. It is for Me and I shall reward for it. He gives up his desires and his food for My sake.” (Narrated by Muslim)
• There is no servant who fasts a day in the way of Allah except that Allah will distance his face from the Hellfire by a length of seventy years of travel. (Sahih Muslim)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said, “Fasting and the Qur’an will intercede for the slave on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: ‘O My Rabb! I prevented him from food and desires, so accept my intercession for him.’ And the Qur’an will say: ‘I prevented him from sleep during the night, so accept my intercession for him.’ He ﷺ said: ‘And they will (be allowed to) intercede.’” (Ahmad, at-Tabarani, Al-Hakim, Sahih)

This is the time of the year when we should try and observe as much fast as possible because the days are short and also cold so one doesn’t feel too thirsty. So another easy deed that weighs so so heavily on the scale.

Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Shall I tell you about easy spoils?

They said, “O Abu Huraira, what are they?” Abu Huraira said: Fasting in the winter.

And may Allah bless Al-Hassan Al-Basri who said: “How good winter is for the believer! Its night is long, so he prays in it; and its day is short, so he observes fasting in it.” (Common my brothers & sisters, let us make the most of this blessing).

Helping Others, Hiding others faults, Seek Knowledge

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter. Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter. Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise.”[Muslim]

Patience and seeking reward with Allah

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Excellent, excellent, for there are five things, how heavy they are in the balance: Laa ilaaha ill-Allah, Allahu akbar, Subhaan-Allah and al-hamdu Lillah, and the death of a righteous child whose parents seek reward (for their loss, with Allah). Excellent, excellent, for there are five things, whoever meets Allah believing with certainty in them, will enter Paradise: belief in Allah, the Last Day, Paradise and Hell, the resurrection after death, and the reckoning.” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani)

This is something which we will not be able to consider as easy, but added it here firstly because if somebody had gone through this test then this can be a consolation for them InShaAllah and also considering the terrors of the day of Judgement, this test (for those whom Allah wills) will be minor and if they pass will have great rewards on the day of Judgement.

THE BEST DEEDS

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, which deed is best?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Prayer in its proper time.” I asked, “What is next?” The Prophet said, “Good treatment of your parents.” I said, “What is next?” The Prophet said, “ (Striving) in the way of Allah.” I became silent and if I had asked him more, he would have told me. (Bukhārī & Muslim)

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.”(Sunan Ibn Mājah, classed as Sahih)

This is talking about deeds that are not an obligation, because we do not have an option to take or leave deeds that are an obligation on us.

The Best righteous deeds after obligatory duties

The best deed after the obligatory duties, varies from one person to another, depending on what they are able to do and what is best at any given time. So it is not possible to give a comprehensive, detailed answer that suits everyone. But what those who have knowledge of Allaah and His commands are agreed upon is that constantly remembering Allaah (dhikr) is the best thing with which a person may occupy himself in general. Therefore the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah narrated by Muslim says: “ ‘The mufridoon have gone ahead.’ They said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, who are the mufridoon?’ He said, ‘Those men and women who remember Allaah much.’”

And Abu Dawood narrated from Abu’l-Dardaa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Shall I not tell you of the best of your deeds and that which is most pure in the sight of your Lord, that which raises you more in status and is better for you than giving gold and silver (in charity), and better than your meeting your enemy and striking their necks and they strike your necks?’ They said, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allaah.’ He said, ‘Remembering Allaah (dhikr).’”

Moreover, one should realize that everything that the tongue utters or the heart imagines that may bring one closer to Allaah, such as seeking knowledge or teaching, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, is a kind of dhikr or remembering Allaah. Hence the one who occupies himself in the pursuit of beneficial knowledge after performing the obligatory duties, or who joins a gathering in order to learn or teach, which Allaah and His Messenger have called fiqh or understanding, is also doing something which is one of the best forms of remembering Allaah (dhikr).

Alhamdulillah with this we conclude this course, please note that we did not necessarily arrange the classes and topics in order of their occurrence on the Day of Judgement, there are difference of opinions amongst scholars about the sequence, for us what matters is that these will happen and we are to prepare.

I ask Allah, to grant me, along with my Muslim brothers & sisters, sincerity and accepting our deeds and I ask Him to facilitate to us what He loves and what He is satisfied with; indeed He is All-Hearer and Responsive. And Allah Almighty knows best. And prayers and peace of Allah be upon our beloved Messenger ﷺ.

May Allah make us amongst those who do righteous deeds that are accepted by Allah, those who hasten to do them, those who repent and perform deeds to please Him. May Allah make us all amongst the pious for whom The Day of Reckoning will be easy and those are honoured by getting their books in their right hands. May Allah save us from hurting others and increase our good deeds so we are able to pass the horrific Siraat (bridge over hell) in a blink of an eye. May Allah keep us away from Bidah and give us the Hidayah to stick to the Sunnah so we are given the blessed water from Haudh Al Kawthar by the Blessed hands of the our Beloved Prophet ﷺ.

Please remember us and the whole Ummah in your Prayers!