By Shaykh Jamal Abdinasir
4 May 2025

﷽

It is from the mercy of Allah that He allows us to gather each week for the Jumuʿah prayer to reflect and be reminded. In this week’s Khutbah I reflected on a narration recorded in the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad. 

Two great companions came to Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and asked: “O Messenger of Allah, give me advice, something I can act upon that will help me in my life and grant me salvation in the next.”

The Prophet ﷺ, who was given jawāmiʿ al-kalim – the ability to say a few words with deep meaning – responded with three powerful statements: 

Fear Allah wherever you are, follow up a bad deed with a good one, it will erase it, and treat people with good character.

1. “Fear Allah wherever you are.”

Whether you are alone or among people, travelling or residing, with family or in business, fear Allah. The Almighty says in the Qur’an:

A person might hide from people and cross the limits set by Allah, thinking no one sees him. But Allah sees everything. The people of the past used to say: if you want to disobey Allah, then go to a place where He cannot see you, a place He has not created, and where He has no knowledge. Such a place does not exist.

The Prophet ﷺ taught that taqwa is in the heart. It is not in how you look, what you say, or where you come from. If it’s not in your heart, it won’t be in your life. And if taqwa is absent, a person cannot truly know Allah.

The scholars say: the more taqwa you have, the more you know Allah. And if you know Him, you will love Him, fear Him, and always carry taqwa with you. When taqwa is in the heart, Allah blesses every aspect of your life. He provides a way out of hardship and forgives your sins. These are the people who will be saved and admitted into Paradise.

Some people become offended when reminded to fear Allah. But the scholars say: the least advice you can give your brother is, “Fear Allah.” Even the Prophet ﷺ, who had the most taqwa out of everyone, was commanded in the Qur’an to fear Allah. If he ﷺ was told, then what about us?

The famous companion Thawbān (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: “On the Day of Judgement, there will be people with good deeds like mountains, but Allah will turn them into scattered dust.”
The companions asked, “Who are they?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied: “They are people who, when alone, have no taqwa. Behind closed doors, when no one sees them, they violate the limits of the religion. But in public, they appear righteous. Allah knows everything. And so their deeds vanish before their own eyes.”

2. “Follow up a bad deed with a good one, it will erase it.”

We are not angels – we are human. We make mistakes. But Allah, in His mercy, wants us in Paradise. When you sin, follow it with something good. It will erase the bad as if it never happened.

Shaytan might whisper, “This is hypocrisy. How can you sin and then do good?”
But Allah knows our nature. He tells us to follow up the bad with good, and He will wipe it away.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

A man came to the Prophet ﷺ admitting he fell into ḥaram with a woman. This verse was revealed in response.
The man asked, “Is this only for me?” The Prophet ﷺ replied: “No, it is for the entire Ummah of Muhammad.”

The early Muslims used to say: if Allah opens a door of goodness for you, walk through it. You don’t know when it will close. Use your wealth, your health, your time, or your knowledge for the sake of Allah. 

The Prophet ﷺ said: 

The best of you are those who are most beneficial to others.

3. “Treat people as you would like to be treated”

Many people wrong others, speak badly of them, judge them, or harm them and would hate if the same were done to them. The Prophet ﷺ said: 

Come to the people the way you want the people to come to you.

The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever wants to be saved from the Hellfire and enter Paradise must do two things: live and die with belief in Allah and the Last Day, and deal with others in the way they themselves wish to be treated.

In another hadith, he ﷺ was asked: “What leads people to Paradise the most?”
He replied: “Taqwā of Allah and good character.”

Both are essential: It is not enough to fulfil the rights of Allah while neglecting the rights of His creation, nor to be good to people while turning away from Allah. Both must be upheld. If you pray, fast, and recite the Qur’an but harm others through insults, backbiting, or injustice, your worship will not save you. And if you show kindness to people but ignore the commands of your Lord, that too is a deficiency. Salvation lies in fulfilling both your duty to Allah and your duty to His servants.

The Prophet ﷺ also warned of the muflis, the bankrupt person. He is someone who comes on the Day of Judgement with salah, fasting, and charity, but he insulted, slandered, and wronged others. So their rights are taken from his good deeds. When his deeds run out, their sins are loaded onto him, and he is thrown into the Fire.

These three statements from the Prophet ﷺ are enough to transform a life:

1. Fear Allah wherever you are.
2. Follow up bad deeds with good ones.
3. Treat people how you want to be treated.

May Allah allow us to live by them.

Ameen

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