Small Deeds, Great Reward

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وَكَذَلِكَ مَا شَرَعَ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ وَأَذَانِهِمْ وَحَجِّهِمْ وَأَعْيَادِهِمْ مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللهِ تَعَالَى إِنَّمَا هُوَ بِالْجُمْلَةِ التَّامَّةِ كَقَوْلِ الْمُؤَذِّنِ

Likewise, what has been legislated for Muslims in their prayers, calls to prayer, pilgrimage, and festivals, as a remembrance of Allah the Almighty, is indeed in complete sentences like the statement of the caller:

الله أكبر الله أكبر أشهد أَن لَا إِلَه إِلَّا الله أشهد أَن مُحَمَّدًا رَسُول الله

(Allah is the Greatest; Allah is the Greatest. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.)

وَقَول الْمُصَلِّي الله أكبر سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي الْعَظِيم سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي الْأَعْلَى سمع الله لمن حَمده رَبنَا وَلَك الْحَمد التَّحِيَّات لله

And the statement of the one praying: (Allah is the Greatest. Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great. Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. Allah listens to the one who praises Him. Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise. All greetings are for Allah.)

وَقَول الملبي لبيْك اللَّهُمَّ لبيْك وأمثال ذَلِك

And the statement of the one performing the Talbiyah: (Here I am, O Allah, here I am) and similar phrases.

فَجَمِيعُ مَا شَرَعَهُ اللهُ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ كَلَامٌ تَامٌّ لَا اسْمٌ مُفْرَدٌ وَلَا مَظْهَرٌ وَلَا مُضْمَرٌ

Therefore, all that Allah has prescribed of remembrance is indeed complete speech, not a single noun, whether explicit or implicit.

وَهَذَا هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَمَّى فِي اللُّغَةِ كَلِمَةً كَقَوْلِهِ

And this is what is called in the language a 'word', as in his saying:

كلمتان خفيفتان على اللِّسَان ثقيلتان فِي الْمِيزَان حبيبتان إِلَى الرَّحْمَن سُبْحَانَ الله وَبِحَمْدِهِ سُبْحَانَ الله الْعَظِيم

"Two phrases that are light on the tongue, heavy on the balance, and beloved to the Most Merciful: 'Glory be to Allah and His is the praise, Glory be to Allah, the Most Great.'"

أَفْضَلُ كَلِمَةٍ قَالَهَا الشَّاعِرُ كَلِمَةُ لَبِيدٍ أَلَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلَا اللهُ بَاطِلٌ

"The best phrase the poet Labid said: 'Indeed, everything besides Allah is false.'"

وَمِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى ٥ الْكَهْف كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ الْآيَةُ

And among them is His saying the Exalted: 'Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths.'

وَقَوْلُهُ ١١٥ الْأَنْعَام وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا

And His saying: 'And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and justice.'

وَأَمْثَالُ ذَٰلِكَ مِمَّا اسْتُعْمِلَ فِيهِ لَفْظُ الْكَلِمَةِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ بَلْ وَسَائِرِ كَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ فَإِنَّمَا يُرَادُ بِهِ الْجُمْلَةُ التَّامَّةُ

And similar uses of the term 'word' in the Book and the Sunnah, as well as in the rest of Arabic speech, refer to a complete sentence.

كَمَا كَانُوا يَسْتَعْمِلُونَ الحَرْفَ فِي الاسْمِ فَيَقُولُونَ هَذَا حَرْفٌ غَرِيبٌ أَي لَفْظُ الاسْمِ غَرِيبٌ

Just as they used the term 'letter' in place of 'word', saying: 'This is a strange letter,' meaning the word is unusual.

وَقَسَمَ سِيبَوَيْهِ الْكَلَامَ إِلَى اِسْمٍ وَفِعْلٍ وَحَرْفٍ جَاءَ لِمَعْنًى لَيْسَ بِاسْمٍ وَلَا فِعْلٍ

And Sibawayh divided speech into noun, verb, and a particle that conveys a meaning and is neither a noun nor a verb.

وَكُلٌّ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأَقْسَامِ يُسَمَّى حَرْفًا لَكِنَّ خَاصَّةَ الثَّالِثِ أَنَّهُ حَرْفٌ جَاءَ لِمَعْنًى لَيْسَ بِاسْمٍ

And each of these categories is called a particle, but the distinguishing feature of the third is that it is a particle that conveys a meaning and is not a noun.

تَخَيَّلْ مِيزَانًا وَاضِحَ اللِّسَانِ وَالْكِفَّتَيْنِ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ

Imagine a balance with a clear tongue and two pans; it does not wrong the weight of an atom.

تُعْرَضُ عَلَيْهِ الْأَعْمَالُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا كَأَرْقَامٍ جَافَّةٍ بَلْ كَصُوَرٍ وَمَعَانٍ حَيَّةٍ لَهَا ثِقَلٌ وَحُضُورٌ

Actions are presented on it on the Day of Judgment not as dry numbers, but as living images and meanings with weight and presence.

السرّ أن الثِّقَال في الميزان من طبيعة الحقّ؛ فهو ثابتٌ مُحكَم، والباطل خفيفٌ مُتلاشي، وإن بدا ضخمًا في أعين الناس

The secret is that the weight in the balance stems from the nature of truth; it is firm and solid, while falsehood is light and vanishing, even if it appears large in people's eyes.

لِذَلِكَ جَاءَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَلَمْ يَقُلْ مَنْ رَجَحَتْ سَيِّئَاتُهُ لِأَنَّ السَّيِّئَاتِ لَا تُعْطِي صَاحِبَهَا وَزْنًا مَحْمُودًا بَلْ تُسْقِطُهُ

Therefore, it is mentioned in the Quran: 'So those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful ones,' and it does not say: 'whose bad deeds outweigh,' because bad deeds do not give their owner a praiseworthy weight; rather, they bring him down.

الْمُؤْمِنُ لَهُ حَسَنَاتٌ وَسَيِّئَاتٌ

The believer has good deeds and bad deeds.

إِنْ غَلَبَ نُورُ عَمَلِهِ الصَّالِحِ ثَقُلَتْ كَفَّتُهُ فَيُعْرَفُ مَكَانُهُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ بِعَمَلِهِ كَمَا يَعْرِفُ أَهْلُ الْجُمُعَةِ مَنَازِلَهُمْ عِنْدَ الانْصِرَافِ

If the light of his righteous deeds prevails, his balance becomes heavy, and his place in paradise is known by his deeds, just as those who attend Friday prayers know their homes upon leaving.

وَإِنْ كَثُرَتْ سَيِّئَاتُهُ عُوقِبَ بِقَدْرِهَا ثُمَّ تُخْرِجُهُ بَقِيَّةُ حَسَنَاتِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَتْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ إِذْ إِنَّ الْإِيمَانَ لَا يَنْعَدِمُ مَعَ وُجُودِ أَصْلٍ مِنْهُ

And if his bad deeds are numerous, he is punished according to them, then the rest of his good deeds deliver him, even if they are the weight of an atom, for faith does not vanish as long as a trace of it remains.

وَعَلَى الضِّدِّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَنْ لَمْ تَبْقَ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ مُعْتَبَرَةٌ وَقَدْ قَضَاهَا عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ فَلَا يَقُومُ لَهُ وَزْنٌ أَعْمَالُهُ كَالسَّرَابِ أَوِ الرَّمَادِ فِي يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍ

And on the contrary: whoever has no significant good deeds left—having wasted them on falsehood—has no weight; his deeds are like a mirage or ashes on a stormy day.

وَمِنْ أَبْلَغِ الْأَمْثِلَةِ قِصَّةُ الْبِطَاقَةِ

And among the most striking examples is the story of the card.

تُوضَعُ بَطَاقَةٌ فِيهَا كَلِمَةُ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي كَفَّةٍ وَتُقَابِلُهَا سِجِلَّاتٌ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ فِي الْكَفَّةِ الْأُخْرَى فَتَغْلِبُ الْبَطَاقَةُ بِمَا فِيهَا مِنْ حَقٍّ خَالِصٍ

A card with the word of monotheism is placed on one side, and records of sins on the other side; the card outweighs them with its pure truth.