How Can Muslims Sustain Good Deeds After Special Worship Times?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
How can a Muslim maintain good deeds after the seasons of worship?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
Continuing Good Deeds in a Balanced Way
The best way to continue in obedience after seasons of worship is to keep a connection to those acts of worship by continuing to perform them as voluntary deeds, even if at a reduced level compared to their intensity during the season.
For example, in the month of Ramadan, we engage in fasting, night prayers, charity, strengthening family ties, caring for orphans, and reading the Quran. After Ramadan, you could continue fasting, even if only three days a month, or on Mondays and Thursdays.
You can also continue giving charity to those in need, even if your main Zakat was given during Ramadan, by contributing a little on an ongoing basis. In this way, you maintain a connection to the acts of worship you performed during these special times, even if at the minimum level, as this consistency can, by Allah’s grace, lead to greater engagement in worship.
Consistency in Worship
It is narrated that ‘Alqama said, “I asked the Mother of the Believers, ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her), ‘How did the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) conduct his acts of worship? Did he specify particular days?’ She replied, ‘No, his actions were consistent, and who among you could manage what the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) was able to do?’” [Muslim]
Reflection on Consistency
Finally, I advise you to reflect upon and implement the wisdom of Ibn ‘Ata’illah al-Sakandari, who said:
“Do not abandon remembrance (dhikr) because you do not feel present with Allah in it, for your forgetfulness of His remembrance is worse than your heedlessness while in it. It may be that He elevates you from a remembrance with heedlessness to a remembrance with awareness, from a remembrance with awareness to a remembrance with presence, and from a remembrance with presence to a remembrance with absence from all except the One being remembered. And that is not difficult for Allah.”
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa
Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.
He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.
He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.
Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.
