Great reward for simple actions (1)
Selections from authentic Hadiths along with their explanation
By
Muhammad Khayr Ramadan Yusuf
All copyrights reserved for the author
The third edition Expanded edition 1433 AH.
Introduction
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people]. Peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.
The title of this book is inspired from the Prophet’s saying: “This person has worked little but was rewarded much.” He said that when a man from the Ansar (Helpers) came to him, uttered the testimony of the faith (La Ilaha Illa Allah i.e., No god but Allah), then advanced to the battle to fight until he was killed as reported by Imam Muslim in the chapter on confirming the entrance of a martyr to Paradise.
These are selections from authentic Hadiths with short commentaries which I extracted from the books of Hadith explanations. The methodology of selection is the Hadiths which contain great reward for little and easy work, unlike the Hadiths of expiating sins and faults that were written in other books.
A reader shall wonder at the mentioned Hadiths because of their great reward for little actions or Adhkar (invocations and Remembrances said at certain times on a regular basis) which a person does or says. However, Allah’s Mercy is broad, for He is the Most Generous, the Most Merciful who grants favors more than His Servants think. He (Glory be to Him) exhorts us to Paradise and guides us to the shortest way to it.
In an authentic Hadith that was reported by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever recites “Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad i.e., [Say: He is Allah, the One]” until its end ten times, Allah shall build for him a palace in Paradise. Thereupon, `Umar ibn Al Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah, I shall recite it repeatedly. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) remarked: Allah is more plentiful (in responding) and the best.” In another good and authentic Hadith reported by At-Tirmidhy on the authority of `Ubadah ibn As-Samit that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “There is no Muslim on the face of the earth who invokes Allah, but Allah grants him exactly what he wants, or removes from him a like amount of evil, provided he does not invoke Allah for a sin or severing ties of relationship. Thereupon, a man said: Then we will make much supplication. He (the Prophet) said: Allah is more plentiful (in responding).” You should not forget that the commodity of Allah is so dear, so it needs more good deeds so that you can win it and these good deeds are multiplied by Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted); and His Messenger (peace be upon him) explained for you how to obtain or collect them.
In the first Hadith you shall see how did one of the Prophet’s Companions passed by a session where the name of Allah was mentioning or one of knowledge sessions during which the Prophet (peace be upon him) told them a Hadith in which he mentioned an easy work for a huge reward. Thereupon, that Companions said: “What a fine thing is this!” `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard that statement and knew that the man did not attend the beginning of the session. Therefore, he mentioned to him a bigger reward for an easier action which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) mentioned before that point. Moreover, `Abdullah ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), who narrated many Hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), was mentioned to him that Abu Hurayrah used to narrate a Hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him) stating a great reward for a simple work. Ibn `Umar wondered and said: Abu Hurayrah might have mixed narrations. Then he sent to our mother `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) to ask her about that, and she confirmed the words of Abu Hurayrah.
Then, Ibn `Umar returned and regretted the great goodness he missed [by not believing the words of Abu Hurayrah]. It is the wide mercy of Allah to His Servants that He shows them the way to Paradise and the provision they need to win it, such as: Determination and patience, and shows that these actions are easy and few.
Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) explained that a person may gain the ranks of the Mujahidin while he is sitting in his homeland either by sincere intention or its equivalent righteous deeds.
Dear Muslim brother, during these selected Hadiths you shall know that the shortest way to Paradise is martyrdom.
So, congratulation to those who die as martyrs and congratulation to those who wish it sincerely and invoke Allah to be one of the martyrs; I invoke Allah (may He be Exalted) to be one of them. You shall also know that the heaviest thing in the scale of balance of a person on the Day of Recompense is good manner as was reported in the last Hadith of this book, stating the most frequent thing that admits people to Paradise along with piety.
In this introduction, I may point out that dedicating words and actions to Allah alone and making them in harmony with the Shari`ah rulings are the two conditions of accepting actions. So, you should have that balance wherever you are and whenever you are, direct to your Lord in submission and humbleness, and look at the source of your food, drink, clothes in order to know the result of your invocations [whether answered or not]. Ask Allah to preserve the favor of Dhikr, gratitude, worship, and to help you perform them well because performing them is also a favor from Allah. Many people know the reward of these actions but they are not guided to perform them despite their easiness. I invoke Allah to grant you and me martyrdom as it is the shortest way to Paradise. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people].
Muhammad Khayr Yusuf.
Introduction of the third edition
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people]. And peace be upon our honorable Messenger, his family, and all his Companions. I mentioned to some friends in more than one session that whoever reads this book shall benefit a lot and shall collect millions of good deeds in minutes, if he is guided to do so and deserves His Favor and Mercy. However, who does not deserve that shall be directed away from it because of his inattention, lack of desire, ignorance, or caring for the world, its people, and its adornment. Many people know the reward of actions and their good deeds, but they do not care for them and rather prefer joy, play, money, and provision to them, thus they are not guided to righteous deeds; we seek refuge in Allah against this case. This is the third edition of this book in which I mentioned a good selection of authentic Hadiths with their explanations. Moreover, I added 36 Hadiths talking about great rewards for easy work. He is Allah who guides whomever He wants to act according to these easy actions or according to part of them, for He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knowing.
Muhammad Kayr Yusuf
Sha`ban 1433 AH
Source: Alukah.Net in English – Alukah in English – Homepage