Our Lord, accept [our righteous deeds] from us

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him as befitting to His Sublime Countenance and
Supreme Status. To Him all the servants draw nearer by performing good deeds, seeking His
forgiveness and satisfaction. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no
associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His
Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his pure blessed family and
companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
As to what follows, I urge you, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are
asked to obey Allah (SWT) in line with His orders, “O mankind, worship your Lord, who
created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.” (Al-Baqara:
21).
O Worshipers, Allah (SWT) has created the creation to worship Him, for the Allah (SWT)
says, “and I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Adh-
Dhariyat: 56). He enjoined upon them to perform acts of obedience and strive to draw
closer to Him by doing acts of goodness. Allah (SWT) says, “and worship your Lord and
do good - that you may succeed.” (Al-Hajj: 77). Allah (SWT) has also made it clear to his
servants that the more virtuous deeds they do, the higher status they will attain and,
ultimately, become amongst the best of His creation. This can be seen in the following Aya:
“indeed, they who have believed and done righteous deeds - those are the best
of creatures.” (Al-Bayyina: 7).
Furthermore, Allah (SWT) promised the doers of good to gain His forgiveness, His plentiful
favours and generous rewards. The Most Gracious says, “Allah has promised those who
believe and do righteous deeds [that] for them there is forgiveness and great
reward.” (Al-Maida: 9). So, for the righteous people is Allah’s mercy and Paradise as their
perpetual dwelling. Allah (SWT) says, “indeed, those who believe and do righteous
deeds - for them are the Gardens of Pleasure.” (Luqman: 8).
From this perspective, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) was keenly interested in showing
diligence in performing acts of obedience and drawing closer to His Lord. He also urged his
companions, may Allah be pleased with them, to do all that was beneficial for them and
their fellow people. Truly, that is dearer to Allah, more likely to be acceptable by Him and
also has more durable positive impact on the community. Allah (SWT) says, “but as for
that which benefits the people, it remains on the earth.” (Ar-Raad: 17).
For this reason, the companions (RADm) used to strive in performing righteous deeds and
race towards accomplishing them in the most perfect manner possible, hoping that their
acts would be accepted by Allah. Indeed, by so being, they earned the status of those whom
Allah (SWT) praises saying, “and they who give what they give while their hearts are
fearful because they will be returning to their Lord. It is those who hasten to
good deeds, and they outstrip [others] therein.” (Al-Muminoon: 60-61).
There is no doubt, they will outstrip because they made every effort to ensure acceptance
of their acts and attainment of Allah’s rewards. It was narrated, in this regard, that Abdullah
Ibn Masud (RAD) said, “Indeed, it brings me greater joy to know that
Allah has accepted one good action of mine, than owning the entire world full
of gold.”
Another example on such attitude is the one of Ibn Umar (RAD). On one occasion, a beggar
came to him and he told his son to give the beggar a gold dinar. When the beggar left, his
son said to his father, “May Allah accept it from you, O beloved father.” Ibn Umar said to
him, “If I knew that Allah had accepted from me one prostration or charity of a single
dirham, it would be more beloved to me than anything, but do you know from whom He
accepts? Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].” (Al-Maida:
27).
O Servants of Allah, Having known this, it is good to advise each other on what conditions
make our good acts acceptable and therefore rewarded by Allah. In fact, the causes for
acceptance of good deeds are many. Amongst these causes is supplication. When one does
an action, it is desirable that he/she supplicate to Allah to accept from him/her. A good
example to follow on this account is the one of Ibrahim (AS), the intimate friend of Allah,
and his son Ismail (AS). When Ibrahim was raising the foundations of the House and [with
him] Ismail (AS), they said, “our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the
Hearing, the Knowing.” (Al-Baqara: 127). They were doing a good deed, so they implored
to Allah (SWT) to accept it from them.
Amongst the other causes of acceptance of our righteous actions is to thank Allah (SWT) for
granting us success to do such good deeds, following in this the people of Paradise when
they praised their Lord and appreciated His favours. About them, Allah (SWT) says, “praise
to Allah, who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah
had not guided us.” (Al-Aaraf: 43). In this sense, part of showing gratitude to Allah (SWT)
is to appreciate and thank those who do a favour to us. On this account, Allah (SWT)
mentions in His holy Book the prayers of His Prophet Suleiman (AS) saying, “my Lord,
enable me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me and
upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by
Your mercy into [the ranks of] Your righteous servants.” (An-Naml: 19).
So, Ibrahim (AS) recognised his Lord’s favour and showed gratefulness to him. Allah (SWT)
has also mentioned another example in the holy Quran about another righteous person who
supplicated, “my Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have
bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You
will approve.” (Al-Ahqaf: 15).
Such people who appreciate the favours that Allah has endowed upon them are, truly, the
ones whose good work will be accepted and Allah will further forgive many of their flaws. He
will accept their good acts no matter how small they were, and they are promised with
Paradise wherein they will abide forever. About them, Allah (SWT) says, “those are the
ones from whom We will accept the best of what they did and overlook their
misdeeds, [their being] among the companions of Paradise. [That is] the promise
of truth which they had been promised.” (Al-Ahqaf: 16).
O Servants of Allah, Amongst the other reasons for Allah to accept one’s good deed is
asking Him for forgiveness. So, when one performs one of the acts of obedience, he is
recommended to seek Allah’s forgiveness so that his good act is more likely to be accepted.
Indeed, Allah (SWT) in many occasions ordered His servants to remember Him much and
turn to Him asking for pardoning after performing acts of worship. For instance, about Hajj,
Allah (SWT) says, “then depart from the place from where [all] the people depart
and ask forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Al-Baqara:
199).
More to the point, Allah (SWT) has mentioned a number of acts of worship to be followed by
the request for forgiveness. Allah (SWT) says, “so recite what is easy from it and
establish prayer and give Zakat and loan Allah a goodly loan. And whatever good
you put forward for yourselves - you will find it with Allah. It is better and greater
in reward. And seek forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
In like manner, when the Messenger of Allah (SAW) wanted to turn from his Salat (prayer),
he would seek forgiveness from Allah three times. Allah (SWT) enjoined him to conclude his
life, which was full of righteous deeds by seeking His forgiveness. Allah (SWT) says, “when
the victory of Allah has come and the conquest, and you see the people entering
into the religion of Allah in multitudes, then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord
and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.” (Surat
An-Nasr).
Please know that you are urged to strive in the way of getting your acts of obedience
accepted by Allah (SWT) by diligently reciting supplications, appreciating Allah’s favours
and asking Him for forgiveness. The reason is that acceptance of your deeds is a sign of
Allah’s satisfaction about your endeavour. So, make every effort that you may be amongst
those Allah (SWT) described saying, “Allah being pleased with them, and they with
Him.” (Al-Maida: 119).
The merits of Allah’s acceptance of one’s righteous acts are many. It increases one’s good
deeds and expiate their bad ones, raising thereby their status on the Day of Judgment. Allah
(SWT) says, “and for all are degrees from what they have done.” (Al-Anaam: 132).
When Allah (SWT) accepts one’s good acts, He provides him with happiness in this world
and the best of rewards in the Hereafter. Allah (SWT) says, “whoever does
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righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely
cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the
Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.” (An-Nahl: 97).
To this effect, there are signs for the believer to know whether his/her righteous deed has
been accepted by Allah (SWT) or not. One of such signs is the success in following the good
action with another good one. This really reflects Allah’s appreciation of the doers of good
so that He increases their good acts. Allah the Almighty says, “and whoever commits a
good deed - We will increase for him good therein.” (Ash-Shoora: 23). Moreover Allah
(SWT) will guide them to the deeds of righteousness and piety. Allah (SWT) says, “and
Allah increases those who were guided, in guidance.” (Mariam: 76).
You are urged, therefore, dear worshipers, to work hard towards accomplishing the causes
of Allah’s acceptance of your good actions. So doing, you will, by Allah’s grace, be amongst
the successful in this life and the next. You should also nurture such attitude in the minds
and hearts of your daughters and sons.