Good Deeds Leading to Paradise

Good Deeds

Good deeds leading to Paradise

Muhammad Nawaz Attari Madani

O those who love Allah’s Messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم! Some good deeds which can take one to Paradise have been described in previous instalments. The following five hadith of the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم discuss more of these good deeds.

1.   Whoever gives salam to twenty Muslims in a day, altogether or one by one, and dies that day; Paradise will become necessary for him. If he gives salam in the night and passes away the same night, the same is likened for him.[1]

2.   Paradise is guaranteed for the one upon whose hand someone accepts Islam.[2]

3.   From Masjid al-Aqṣā, whoever dons iḥrām for ḥajj or ʿumrah at Masjid al-Ḥarām[3], his former and latter sins will be forgiven or he will be guaranteed Paradise.[4]

The narrator of hadith was unsure whether the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم promised forgiveness or the bestowal of Jannah. From this, it is apparent that the further away from which the iḥrām state is entered, the greater the amount of reward is received.[5]

4.   The final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم passed by some of his Companions رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُم and said, “I shall recite to you verses from the end of Sūrat al-Zumar. Whoever amongst you cries, Paradise will become necessary for him.”  He recited from وَ مَا قَدَرُوا اللّٰہَ حَقَّ قَدۡرِہٖ until the end of the chapter.

The Companions رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُم recall how some of them cried whilst others did not.  Those who did not said, “We tried to cry, but we were not able to.” The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “I shall recite these verses to you again. Whoever does not cry should make an expression as though he is.”[6]

5.   Whoever recites the final ˹three˺ verses of Surat al-Ḥashr in the night or day and passes away that day, he has made Paradise necessary ˹for himself˺ .[7]

Dear readers! Seeking to please Allah Almighty and to attain Paradise from Him, try your best to carry out the good deeds described in this article. Yet, bear in mind this point mentioned by Muftī  Aḥmad Yār Khān Naʿīmī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, “Good deeds are not a categorically definitive cause of attaining Paradise. Many great names fall short in this endeavour.”[8]

May Allah Almighty allow us all to pass away as Muslims! May He grant us entry into Paradise without accountability!

اٰمِيۡن بِجَاهِ خَاتَمِ النَّبِیّٖن صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم