Provision for the Seekers: A Brief Study of Selected Ahadith (10)

Abu Dharr said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: 'Have Taqwa of Allah wherever you are, and follow an evil deed with a good one to wipe it out, and treat the people with good behavior." (Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1987)

• Taqwa is having fear of Allah with an undertone of love. It is a fear of disappointing who you love. 

• We should always be mindful of Allah’s rights over us, everything we have is a loan from Him to us. He should be forefront in our intentions to do good.

• In this hadith we learn that when we commit a bad deed, a black dot forms on our heart, and that dot only goes away when you follow up the bad deed with a good deed.

• A bad deed is a bad deed regardless of whether it is big or small, intended or not. We should be in a constant state of repentance

• Seeking forgiveness is a trait, and Allah loves those who seek forgiveness

• Scholars say that when you do good, Allah gives you the tawfeeq to continue on that good path. Same case about sin, that Allah opens ways for you to sin more, so much so that you become one of the liars

• When we don’t repent from our sins, the black dots upon our heart become an impermeable layer

• If you sin against yourself—like by missing Fajr—repent in your heart and by your tongue. And follow up the sin with a good deed that you keep between you and Allah

• Have a good character entails being willing to make exceptions for other’s behaviors. There will be times where others will hurt you, but you must be focused on pleasing Allah first and foremost. You must fulfill the rights of others, if others don’t fulfill your rights, you will be compensated for them in the akhirah

Sufyan ibn Abdullah reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me of a word in Islam I will not need to ask of anyone after you.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Say, ‘I have faith in Allah,’ and then remain steadfast.” (Muslim 38)

• Staying firm/steadfast upon the deen refers to fulfilling the obligations and staying away from the prohibitions. 

• We don’t get to excuse ourselves from aspects of the deen by claiming that we have it in our hearts—action must follow belief. 

• We should not concern ourselves with what we don’t have control over; our rizq for example, Allah controls that. 

• If we want something specifically, or want things to be a particular way, we should make du’a for it. Vain hopes and desires are useless unless coupled with du’a

• The only thing in our control is our actions, our ability to remain steadfast

• Don’t commit a sin thinking I will repent from it later, because that is major disrespect: knowing that Allah is a witness over you, knowing the deed you are doing is wrong, and still doing do

• Reflect over how you disregard Allah over your desires, while He puts your needs first, if He wills, He could take away your next breath from you

Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allāh," and then remained on a right course - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. (46:13)