In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
There are plenty of good deeds all around us ready to be picked up. A sincere good deed may raise one's rank with Allah and erase the person's sins (except major sins which require sincere repentance for forgiveness). Would you not rush to take them one by one?
Our ultimate goal in life is to attain Allah's love. The recipe to gain Allah's love is to perform all the obligatory religious duties and add supererogatory works and good deeds.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه و سلم said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.[Bukhari]
Remember the poor and the homeless. They are hungry. Feed them. Look in your food pantry and share some with them. If you are not the kind who stock up food, then go buy some bread, cheese, meats, even peanut butter and jelly, and make sandwiches and distribute to them (personally) with your family. The weather in the northern hemisphere is still cold. This is the best time to clean out your closets for extra blankets and clothes that you haven't worn for a while (probably you had forgotten they ever existed), and give them away to those who are in need.
Sometimes the poor hide themselves. So you might not be able to readily see them but they are out there. It might take some searching to find them them but this extra effort will only increase your reward.
Faith wears out in the heart just like the clothes wear out. If you haven't work on building your iman (faith), even if it is good last year, it is worn out this year. Acts of good will renew your iman (faith) inshaAllah.
If you have never tasted homelessness, you have not tasted the bliss of home. If you have never tasted sorrow, you'll never tasted happiness. Remember the poor, the needy and the homeless. Be generous to them and encourage others to do the same. Allah will reward you with the bliss of the eternal abode without having to taste homelessness, inshaAllah.
Allah Almighty says,
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِٱلْمِرْصَادِ ﴿١٤﴾ فَأَمَّا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ إِذَا مَا ٱبْتَلَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَأَكْرَمَهُۥ وَنَعَّمَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّىٓ أَكْرَمَنِ ﴿١٥﴾ وَأَمَّآ إِذَا مَا ٱبْتَلَىٰهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّىٓ أَهَـٰنَنِ ﴿١٦﴾ كَلَّا ۖ بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ ٱلْيَتِيمَ ﴿١٧﴾ وَلَا تَحَـٰٓضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ ﴿١٨﴾ وَتَأْكُلُونَ ٱلتُّرَاثَ أَكْلًا لَّمًّا ﴿١٩﴾ وَتُحِبُّونَ ٱلْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا ﴿٢٠﴾ كَلَّآ إِذَا دُكَّتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا ﴿٢١﴾ وَجَآءَ رَبُّكَ وَٱلْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا ﴿٢٢﴾ وَجِا۟ىٓءَ يَوْمَئِذٍۭ بِجَهَنَّمَ ۚ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَذَكَّرُ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ ﴿٢٣[Qur'an, Al-Fajr 89:14-30]
يَقُولُ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِى ﴿٢٤﴾ فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ ﴿٢٥﴾ وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ ﴿٢٦﴾ يَـٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفْسُ ٱلْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ﴿٢٧﴾ ٱرْجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً ﴿٢٨﴾ فَٱدْخُلِى فِى عِبَـٰدِى ﴿٢٩﴾ وَٱدْخُلِى جَنَّتِى ﴿٣٠
Indeed, your Lord is in observation. (14) And as for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favors him, he says, "My Lord has honored me." (15) But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me." (16) No! But you do not honor the orphan (17) And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor. (18) And you consume inheritance, devouring [it] altogether, (19) And you love wealth with immense love. (20) No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed - (21) And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank, (22) And brought [within view], that Day, is Hell - that Day, man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance? (23) He will say, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life." (24) So on that Day, none will punish [as severely] as His punishment, (25) And none will bind [as severely] as His binding [of the evildoers]. (26) [To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul, (27) Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], (28) And enter among My [righteous] servants (29) And enter My Paradise." (30)
Being of service to others is a way of life that leads to happiness. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam is reported to have said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say to his slave when He will be taking account of him on the Day of Judgement,
"Verily, Allah will say to his slave when He will be taking account of him on the Day of Judgement, 'O' son of Adam, I was hungry and you did not feed me.' He will answer: 'How could I feed you? You are the Lord of the worlds!' He will say: 'Did you not know that my slave so and so who is the son of so and so felt hunger, and you did not feed him. Alas, had you fed him you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me.' 'O' son of Adam, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink.' He will reply: 'How could I give You drink? You are the Lord of the worlds!' He will say: 'Did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so felt thirsty and you did not give him drink. Alas, if you had given him, you would have found that (i.e. reward) with me.' 'O' son of Adam, I became sick and you did not visit Me.' He will answer: 'How can I visit You? You are the Lord of the worlds!' He will say: 'Did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so became sick and you did not visit him. Alas, had you visited him, you would have found Me with him."'
Here is an interesting point, in the last third of the hadith are the words: ...'you would have found Me with him.' This is unlike the first two parts of the hadith wherein: 'You would have found that (i.e. the reward for feeding and giving drink) with Me.'
The reason for this is that Allah is with those whose hearts are troubled, as is the case with the person who is sick.
Also, know that Allah made the prostitute from the children of Israel to enter Paradise because she gave a drink to a dog who was thirsty. So what will be the case for the one who feeds other humans, giving them drink and removing from them hardships!
It is reported in an authentic hadith that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said:
"Whoever has extra provision, he should give from it to the one who has no provision. And whoever has an extra mount, he should give with this extra to the one who has no mount."
Hatim said in some of his beautiful couplets, commanding his servant to search for guests: "Burn the coals, for truly, the night is chilly, If you bring me a guest, then I set you free."
And he said to his wife: "Whenever you make food, then search, for the one who is hungry, as I do not eat alone."
Ibn Mubarak's neighbor was a Jew. He would always feed him before his own children and would provide clothing for him first and then for his children. Some people said to the Jew, 'Sell us your house.' He answered, 'My house is for two thousand dinars. One thousand is for the price of the house and one thousand is for having Ibn Mubarak as a neighbor!' Ibn Mubarak heard of this and he exclaimed, 'O' Allah! guide him to Islam.' Then, by the leave of Allah, he accepted Islam.
On another occasion, Ibn Mubarak passed by a caravan of people who were traveling to make the pilgrimage to Makkah and he himself was on his way to do the same. In the caravan, he saw a woman taking a dead crow from a cesspit. He sent his servant to inquire about this and when he asked her, she replied, 'We have had nothing for three days except that which finds its way into it.' When Ibn Mubarak heard of this, his eyes swelled with tears. He ordered for all of his provision to be distributed among those of the caravan, and having nothing with which to continue the journey, he returned to his home and gave up making the pilgrimage for that year. Later, he saw someone in a dream saying, 'Your pilgrimage has been accepted, as have your rites; and your sins have been forgiven.'
Allah, the All-Compassionate, says:
وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلْإِيمَـٰنَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِى صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِّمَّآ أُوتُوا۟ وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ ۚ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٩[Qur'an, Al-Hashr 59:9]
And (it is also for) those who, before them, had homes (in Al-Madinah) and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given (from the booty of Banu An-Nadîr), and give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that themselves. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness (the greed of their hearts), such are they who will be the successful. (9)
One poet said: "Even if I am a person who is far, from his friend in terms of distance, I offer him my help and wish to alleviate his difficulties, And I answer his invitation and his call to me for help, And if he dons a wonderful new outfit I will not say, Alas, were I to be blessed with the clothes that he wears."
Another poet said: "Good remains, even if time prolongs, And evil is the most vile of things to keep possession of."
May Allah enable us to follow the footsteps of the righteous and pious and protect us from covetousness and miserliness and make among the generous. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassallam
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