A man who is not righteous in actions has no relegion. A true relegion not only consist of ideas and beliefs but also actions and good deeds. What that is of greater importance in Islam is the action rather than saying and beliefs and faith without action is not accepted. True faith and deep belief toward God accompanied by good deeds and righteousness is the only way for a muslim to be saved and salvated. What is good deed and which deed is accepted, is elaborated on by professor Hossein Ansaryan in his book “ a commentary on Kumayl supplication ”. The text to be followed is adopted from the aforesaid book which exemplifies and interprets the case clearly.
One of the common prayers of all the prophets (s.a), Imams (a.s) and Allah’s favorite servants has always been that the Almighty accept their deeds and treat them with His Mercy.
They have been aware of the fact that no one is accepted in Allah’s presence without having deeds; and no one is accepted in His presence with deeds only; other necessary characteristics are belief and sincerity without which no one is subject to Allah’s mercy. Therefore, the favorite servants paid much attention to having good deeds as well as the necessary conditions for the acceptance of deeds. Because they themselves performed their deeds as they should, they requested Allah to accept their deeds.
The Holy Qur’¡n and the traditions imply that a deed is accepted provided that its performer has belief in Allah and does it for Allah’s sake and in accord with the divine rules. It should be pointed out that the believer servant’s deed is accepted and his sin is forgiven. But the deed of a disbeliever servant, however great and worthy it might be, is not accepted and his sin, however tiny it might be, is not forgiven.
Some important traditions are narrated about worthy deed and its conditions in the most valuable Shiite books, some of which will follow:
الشَّرَفُ عِنْدَ اللهِ سُبْحَانَهُ بِحُسْنِ الأعْمَالِ لاَ بِحُسْنِ الأقْوَالِ.
The servant’s worth and value before the Almighty is because of his good deeds not his good speech.
العَمَلُ شِعَارُ المُؤمِنِ.
Deeds are the slogan of a believer servant.
المُداوَمَةَ المُدَاوَمَةَ! فإنَّ اللهَ لَمْ يَجْعَلْ لِعَمَلِ المُؤمِنِينَ غَايَةً إلاّ المَوْتَ.
Continue your deeds! Continue your deeds! Because Allah has not set an end for the believing servant’s deeds except his death.
أعْلَى الأعْمَالِ إخْلاَصُ الإيمَانِ وَصِدْقُ الوَرَعِ وَالإيقَانِ.
The best deeds are belief, piety, and faith.
Imam ¯¡diq (a.s) stated:
دَعَا اللهُ النَّاسَ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِآبَائِهِمْ لِيَتَعَارَفوا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ بِأعْمَالِهِمْ لِيُجَازَوا.
Allah named people after their fathers in this world in order that they would know each other and He will call the people by their deeds in the Hereafter in order that He would give them reward or punishment.
The Messenger of Allah (s.a) stated:
أفْضَلُ الأعْمَالِ إيمَانٌ بِاللهِ وَتَصْدِيقٌ بِهِ وَجِهَادٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ وَحَجٌّ مَبْرُورٌ، وَأهْوَنُ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ إطْعَامُ الطَّعَامِ وَلِينُ الكَلاَمِ وَالمُسَامَحَةُ وَحُسْنُ الخُلُقِ، وَأهْوَنُ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ لاَ تَتَّهِمِ اللهَ فِي شَيْءٍ قَضَاهُ اللهُ عَلَيْكَ.
The best deed is believing in Allah, fighting in Allah’s path, and accepted hajj pilgrimage. Other simpler deeds are feeding the poor, lenient speech, and good temperedness. Still an easier deed for you is that you do not accuse Allah in what He has destined for you.
سَيِّدُ الأعْمَالِ ثَلاَثُ خِصَالٍ: إنْصَافُكَ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ وَمُواسَاتُكَ الأخَ فِي اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَذِكْرُ اللهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ.
The best deeds are three; treating others justly, helping the religious brothers, and remembering Allah in every state.
Imam `Al¢ (a.s) said:
طُوبَى لِمَنْ أخْلَصَ للهِ عَمَلَهُ وَعِلْمَهُ وَحُبَّهُ وَبُغْضَهُ وَأخْذَهُ وَتَرْكَهُ وَكَلاَمَهُ وَصَمْتَهُ وَفِعْلَهُ وَقَوْلَهُ.
A lucky person is the one whose knowledge and behavior, friendship and enmity, taking and releasing, speaking and silence, are based on sincerity and Allah’s satisfaction.
The Messenger of Allah (s.a) advised Ab£-Dhar, saying:
كُنْ بِالعَمَلِ بِالتَّقْوَى أشَدَّ اهْتِمَاماً مِنْكَ بِالعَمَلِ؛ فَإنَّهُ لاَ يَقِلُّ عَمَلُ بِالتَّقْوَى، وَكَيْفَ يِقِلُّ عَمَلٌ يُتَقَبَّلُ بِقَوْلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ”إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ الله مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ.“
Try to have a deed adorned with piety rather than a simple deed, since a deed adorned with piety is not a small deed. How can an accepted deed be small while the Almighty says: ‘Surely Allah accepts (deeds) only from the pious.’
Imam `Al¢ (a.s) said:
إنَّكَ لَنْ يُتَقَبَّلَ مِنْ عَمَلِكَ إلاّ مَا أخْلَصْتَ فِيهِ.
Surely your deeds will not be accepted except those which have been done piously.
Anyway, the deeds of a servant who has belief, sincerity, and piety will be accepted. Accepted deed is so valuable that it is narrated from Imam ¯¡diq (a.s) about it:
مَنْ قَبِلَ اللهُ مِنْهُ صَلاَةً وَاحِدَةً لَمْ يُعَذِّبْهُ، وَمَنْ قَبِلَ مِنْهُ حَسَنَةً لَمْ يُعَذِّبْهُ.
A person, one of whose prayers is accepted, will not be punished by Allah and anyone, one of whose deeds is accepted, will not be chastised at all.
مَنْ قَبِلَ مِنْهُ حَسَنَةً وَاحِدَةً لَمْ يُعَذِّبْهُ أبَداً وَدَخَلَ الجَنَّةَ.
A person, one of whose deeds is accepted by Allah, will not be chastised at all and will get into the Paradise.
O Allah! Keep us from dullness in doing our deeds! Increase our joy in performing Your deserved worship! And grant our hearts full awareness!قَوِّ عَلى خِدْمَتِكَ جَوارِحى وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى الْعَزيمَةِ جَوانِحي وَهَبْ لِيَ الْجِدَّ في خَشْيَتِكَ، وَالدَّوامَ فِي الاِْتِّصالِ بِخِدْمَتِكَ، حَتّى أَسْرَحَ إِلَيْكَ في مَيادينِ السّابِقينَ وَاُسْرِعَ إِلَيْكَ فِي الْبارِزينَ وَأَشْتاقَ إِلى قُرْبِكَ فِي الْمُشْتاقينَ وَأَدْنُوَ مِنْكَ دُنُوَّ الُْمخْلِصينَ، وَأَخافَكَ مَخافَةَ الْمُوقِنينَ، وَأَجْتَمِعَ فى جِوارِكَ مَعَ الْمُؤْمِنينَ
Strengthen my limbs in Your service; fortify my ribs in determination; and bestow upon me earnestness in my fear of You and continuity in my beings joined to Your service, so that I may move easily toward You in the battlefields of the foremost, hurry to You among the prominent, desire fervently Your proximity among the fervently desirous, move near to You with the nearness of the sincere, fear You with the fear of those who have conviction and gather with the believers in Your nearness.
Request for Strength
In this part of the supplication, Am¢r al-Mu’min¢n (a.s), the mystic and righteous servant, sees all the doors of Allah’s Mercy open to him and the acceptance of his supplication near, so he asks his most valuable spiritual requests, which promote human to the peak of perfection and growth, from the Almighty. These requests are the signs of the supplicant’s mysticism, deep knowledge, and comprehensive understanding. Imam `Al¢ (a.s) asks Allah to strengthen his limbs in His service, that is sincere worship, as well as in serving Allah’s believer servants, which is in fact serving Him. If this spiritual power and divine strength is granted to the believer servant from the Almighty, he will find nothing sweater than serving the Lord and His servants.
Conditions for Allah’s Special Blessings
To gain Allah’s special blessings, the mystic servant should prepare the necessary grounds for it by:
1. Avoiding the accompaniment of people with a weak faith who do not try to strengthen their belief and accompanying the favorite servants and divine scholars instead.
2. Avoiding eating doubtful meals, let alone unlawful meals, in parties and feasts of people with unlawful wealth.
3. Purifying the soul from the vices and extreme lust and adorning it with virtues and divine realities.
4. Avoiding gluttony that is the cause of satanic states and hinderer of Godly inspirations and knowledge.
5. Avoiding too much sleeping which brings about dullness in worship and the death of humane spirit.
Association and the Companion
The Messenger of Allah (s.a) stated:
أوْحَشُ الوَحْشَةِ قَرِينُ السُّوءِ.
The worst fear is the fear of bad companion and friend.
Imam `Al¢ (a.s) said:
إحْذَرْ مُجَالَسَةَ قَرِينِ السُّوءِ، فَإنَّهُ يُهْلِكُ مُقَارِنَهُ وَيُرْدِي مُصَاحِبَهُ.
Avoid accompanying an evil friend, because such a friend abolishes his friend materially and spiritually.
The ninth infallible Imam, Imam al-Jaw¡d (a.s), said:
إيَّاكَ وَمُصَاحَبَةَ الشِّرِّيرِ، فَإنَّهُ كَالسَّيْفِ المَسْلُولِ؛ يَحْسُنُ مَنْظَرُهُ وَيَقْبُحُ أثَرُهُ.
Avoid accompanying a wicked person since he is like a sword without sheath whose appearance is nice but whose consequence is ugly.
Imam ¯¡diq (a.s) stated:
إحْذَرْ مِنَ النَّاسِ ثَلاثَةً: الخَائِنَ وَالظَّلُومَ وَالنَّمَّامَ؛ لأنَّ مَنْ خَانَ لَكَ خَانَكَ، وَمَنْ ظَلَمَ لَكَ سَيَظْلِمُكَ، وَمَنْ نَمَّ لَكَ سَيَنِمُّ عَلَيْكَ.
Avoid befriending three types of people; the disloyal, the oppressor, and the tale teller. The one, who betrays you one day, will betray you some other day too. The one, who oppresses others for your sake, will sooner or later oppress yourself. And the one, who tells other people’s tales before you, will tell your own tales to others in the future.
Imam `Al¢ (a.s) said:
صَاحِبِ الحُكَمَاءَ وَجَالِسِ الحُلَمَاءَ وَأعْرِضْ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا تَسْكُنْ جَنَّةَ المَأوَى.
Accompany the wise men and the patient people and ignore the worldly life; take home in the promised Paradise.
Reference: A Commentary on Kumayl supplications
Author: professor Hossein Ansaryan
Address: Erfan institut publication
source : a commentary on Kumayl supplication
