The Prophet was asked: What are the deeds most loved by Allah?
The Prophet replied: The most persistent, even if little!
Dara: There are people who think that praying all night is the right way to worship, and they do so for Ramadan or maybe a couple of more nights here and there, and then they sleep all nights for the rest of the year. That is not a good form for deeds. It is better if you prayed a little but every night, a few minutes, Ramadan or not!
Some other people think that reading a lot of spiritual books is great deed, but it is not! Read a few words, yet understand and practice their truths and apply everyday, than read a lot of books without understanding and without practicing. Read one Hadith or one Aya, understand and practice, that is most loved by Allah, than memorizing the entire Qur’an and books of Hadith with little understanding and no deployment in daily life.
Some people think that fasting a lot is great, but it is better to eat lesser portions at each meal, avoid luxury foods that were obtained by warring and genocide of farmers abroad.
We all love to be the strongest the best the richest the most knowledgeable the most famous … the most this and the most that, but Allah does not love any of that. These are merely our desires, nothing of Allah’s love.
Instead Allah loves your deeds that are persistent and continual, should they be tiny deeds or insignificant in people’s judgement, but truly large for Allah.
فتح الباري، شرح صحيح البخاري، – للإمام ابن حجر العسقلاني
المجلد الحادي عشر >> كِتَاب الرِّقَاقِ >> باب الْقَصْدِ وَالْمُدَاوَمَةِ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ
الحديث: حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَرْعَرَةَ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ سُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَيُّ الْأَعْمَالِ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ قَالَ أَدْوَمُهَا وَإِنْ قَلَّ وَقَالَ اكْلَفُوا مِنْ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا تُطِيقُونَ
الشرح: قوله (عن سعد بن إبراهيم) أي ابن عبد الرحمن بن عوف، وأبو سلمة شيخه هو عمه.
© 2015-2002, Dara O Shayda