6.3, Ways of Doing Good

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed, and I begin in the Name of Allah, the Most Glorified and Exalted, who says in the Qur’an, “… and whatever you do of good deeds, truly, Allah knows it well.” (2: 215)

And in another place, Allah says, “So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.” (99: 7)

More often than not, when we are advised to increase in good deeds, what comes to mind is spending more time in the Masjid, making extra prayers, increasing in Tasbeeh, reading Qur’an for longer, and so on. But, in doing so, by equating good deeds to these acts alone we limit our Islam and forget that this is a way of life that not only defines our relationship with our Creator, but also defines our relationship with the created, i.e., people, animals, plants, the environment, and so on.

I ended previously with the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), “Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.” (Muslim)

In a strong sense, what we see here is a social obligation. But, this cheerfulness should be something that comes to us naturally in all of our day to day interactions and dealings. Whether it is the friend you see at university every day or the friend you haven’t seen in years, this cheerfulness should be as fresh as the radiant face you would take with you to a job interview, and as welcoming as the smile that comes upon hearing good news.

And why not when we have so much to be cheerful for; from the health and wealth that we enjoy, to the family and friends that provide us with so much comfort, to the Islam and God-consciousness that give us peace and protection from all evil and depression.

Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Every day the sun rises charity (Sadaqah) is due on every joint of a person: that you administer justice between two men is a charity; and assisting a man to mount his beast, or helping him load his luggage on it is a charity; and a good word is a charity; and every step that you take (towards the mosque) for Salat (prayer) is a charity and removing harmful things from the road is a charity.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

When we hear this, it becomes clear how many opportunities for charity we pass every day. Think about it, how many times have you seen a mother struggling to take her pushchair up a set of stairs, or a friend feeling slightly down in need of a visit or a kind word, or an elderly neighbour carrying a large load of shopping, and upon seeing this you thought to yourself, “he’ll be ok”, or “I’m busy, somebody else will help him”, or perhaps you passed by without thinking anything at all? These are opportunities gone missing. Not only for our selves, but also opportunities to improve the general negative impression that these individuals are likely to have built against Muslims from the media circus around them.

This Hadith and the previous one are with regards to our dealings with people. What about animals? Does Islam give any rights to animals?

Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “While a man was walking on his way he became extremely thirsty. He found a well and went down into it to drink water. Upon leaving it, he saw a dog which was panting out of thirst. His tongue was lolling out and he was eating moist earth from extreme thirst. The man thought to himself: ‘This dog is extremely thirsty as I was.’ So he descended into the well, filled up his leather sock with water, and holding it in his teeth, climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah appreciated his action and forgave his sins.” The Companions asked: “Shall we be rewarded for showing kindness to the animals also?” He (SAW) said, “A reward is given in connection with every living creature.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

There are slight variations in the narration, but in all it emphasizes the importance of kindness to every creature, including animals, because Allah is pleased with such kindness. We also see here that Allah’s mercy and forgiveness is immensely vast. If He wants He may forgive a person even on account of a minor good action done by that person.