Gifts of Ramadan

Volume One: The Remaining Righteous Deeds

Shaykh Faid Mohammed Said

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“Allah Guides to His Light Whom He Wills.” (Surah An-Nur)
Gifts of Ramadan: The Remaining Righteous Deeds

Bismillah-ir Rahman-ir Raheem.

Money and children are the embellishment of this dunya, and the remaining righteous deeds
are better with your Lord and better for hope.
(Surah Al-Kahf, 46)

Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) speaks about “zeenah” or embellishment. In Arabic, actions or

appearance can be described as beautiful or jamal, but there is certain things that are not
described as beautiful in Arabic, but instead they are called zeenah. Zeenah is an adornment
or something extra like the jewerly, clothes, cars, frames or furniture that you put in the
house.
That is why Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) said one of the tricks of shaitan is that he embellishes
things (zeenah). Allah did not say shaitan beautifies or use the word jamal for what shaitan
is doing. Zeenah is not what Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has created in someone. It is
something that we add in order to adorn or embellish.
Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) said the remaining righteous deeds are better with your Lord. This
means they are better than the zeenah, which are your children, money and all the ways we
embellish our existensce. Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) said the remaining righteous deeds are
better place for our hope because people typically seek hope in their children, money and
other embellishments.
Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) related embellishments to this life (dunya), and ascribed no weight
to them in the afterlife (akhira).

And Allah increases, those who were guided, in guidance, and the remaining righteous deeds
are better reward with your Lord and it is the best return [to your Lord].
(Surah Maryam, 76)

Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) mentioned remaining righteous deeds (baqiyaat-us-salayhaat)

twice in the Qur’an: once in Surah Al-Kahf and once in Surah Maryam.
In Surah Al-Kahf, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) spoke about money and children as the
embellishment of this life (dunya), and Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) said the remaining

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righteous deeds are better in this life (dunya) with your Lord and better for hope, for now
and what is to come (akhira).
In Surah Maryam, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) said: And Allah increases those who were
guided, in guidance. What is better than this? You ask for this guidance seventeen times a
day by saying:

“Guide us to the straight path”

(Surah Al-Fatiha, 6)

Guidance is what we ask for. However, you might be guided, but if that guidance stops
where it is, then you have been limited. Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has no limits, and
closeness to Him (qurb) has no limits.
In Surah Al-Kahf, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) said the remaining righteous deeds are better
with your Lord than the embellishment of this dunya, and in it is more hope. In Surah
Maryam, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) said the remaining righteous deeds are even better than
guidance and an increase in guidance, as it has better reward with your Lord, and it has a
better return. He even related it to akhira. This means there is a reward for the guided and
the much-more guided, but the better reward is for the remaining righteous deeds.
For those who are guided, all that remains for them is hope. Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) is
saying that there is more hope in the deeds that remain over the deeds they are currently
doing, as a time may come where those deeds will end, whereas the deeds that remain wait
for you at the end.

What are the Remaining Righteous Deeds?

What are this remaining righteous deeds or baqiyaat-us-salayhaat? Abdullah Ibn Abbas
(radiallah anhu) said the remaining righteous deeds are the five daily prayers (salawat).
Although the five daily prayers (salawat) are guidance and a blessing (khair), and increasing
in them is increased guidance and blessing, you need a proof (daleel) to limit the remaining
righteous deeds to the five daily prayers (salawat). The remaining righteous deeds have to
be special. After some time, Abdullah ibn Abbas (radiallah anhu) changed his mind, and all
the muhaddatheen including Ibn Jarir and shaykhs of Mufassireen agreed with him.
Abdullah ibn Abbas (radiallah anhu) said that the remaining righteous deeds are all your
good actions and words.
The first opinion of Abdullah ibn Abbas (radiallah anhu) is limiting, and the second opinion is
very wide. There is a lot of benefit and blessing (khair) in the second opinion; it encourages
you, and it is in the spirit of the Mercy (Rahma) of Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) and the blessing
of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam), but this opinion is juxtaposed with another Hadith.
Imam Hakim (rehmatullah alaih) reported that Abu Huraira (radiallah anhu) said:

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While we were in the battlefield, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) said: O people, take
your protection, take your protection, take your protection and create a shield.
The Sahaba said: Ya Rasulullah, are you warning us from an enemy that is approaching?
The Sahaba asked this because they know that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) can
see what they cannot, and maybe they wanted to know which direction the enemy was
coming from as they were already battle ready. When Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam)
said this, He (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) was addressing everyone, so they also may have
thought the enemy could be coming from any direction.
Addressing the people who stood ready with their lives, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi
wasalam) said:
No, from the ordeal (adhaab) of the Day of Judgement (Yaum Al Qiyamah).

Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah, wa la ilaha illAllah wallahu akbar, verily is the shield from
any ordeal (adhaab) on the Day of Judgement (Yaum Al Qiyamah).
They are the remaining righteous deeds. (Imams Al-Nasa’i, Bayhaqi, Hakim)

The scholars of the second opinion said these are from the remaining righteous deeds, but
this does not mean that there are not any other remaining righteous deeds. It is like when
Imam Abu Hanifa (rehmatullah alaih) said that salat with Al-Fatiha is not invalid. They
replied: But Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) said salat without Al-Fatiha is incomplete,
incomplete, incomplete. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) said incomplete three times.
Imam Abu Hanifa (rehmatullah alaih) said: Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) said it is
incomplete, but he did not say it is invalid.
The scholars of the second opinion, such as Ibn Jarir (rehmatullah alaih), say that they agree
that “Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah, wa la ilaha illAllah wallahu akbar” is from the
remaining righteous deeds, but that it might not be the only one.
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) did not say specifically that it the only remaining
righteous deed, but we have to look carefully at the grammar of what Rasulullah (sallallahu
alayhi wasalam) said to help us understand. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) said:

‫ﺎت‬ ِ‫ﺼ‬
ُ َ‫ﺎﳊ‬ ُ ِ‫ُﻫ ﱠﻦ اﻟْﺒَﺎﻗ‬
‫ﻴﺎت اﻟ ﱠ‬
Hunna ‫ُﻫ ﱠﻦ‬
is detached pronoun, which means “they” in a feminine form. This detached
pronoun comes in a position of rafaa ‫ َر َﻓ ْﻊ‬only. All the people of grammar have agreed that a
َ َ
detached pronoun in a state of ‫ َرﻓَ ْﻊ‬is marifa ‫ﻣ ْﻌﺮﻓﺔ‬, which is a definite article. Hunna ‫ﻦ‬
‫ ُﻫ ﱠ‬is
detached pronoun, in a state of ‫ َرﻓَ ْﻊ‬and it is definite, and in this case it is mubtada ‫ ُﻣ ْﺒـﺘَ َﺪا‬,
which is the first part of a noun sentence. Al-baqiyaat ُ ِ‫اﻟْﺒَﺎﻗ‬
‫ﻴﺎت‬ is coming in a state of a
َ
definite article as well. The mubtada, which is ‫ﻦ‬
‫ﻫ ﱠ‬,
ُ is definite, and the khabar �ْ َ ‫ﺧ ب‬, which is

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ُ ِ‫اﻟْﺒَﺎﻗ‬, is definite. As-salayhaat ‫ﺎت‬
‫ﻴﺎت‬ ِ‫ﺼ‬
ُ َ‫ﺎﳊ‬ ‫ اﻟ ﱠ‬is an adjective. Both the words in the sentence are
marfu ‫ َﻣ ْﺮﻓُﻮع‬and definite.

The people of eloquence say that the highest level of specification (qasr) is when in a noun
sentence, both the subject (mubtada) and the predicate (khabar) are definite. Due to this
reason, we know that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) meant that the remaining
righteous deeds is “Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah, wa la ilaha illAllah wallahu akbar.”
Which brings us to the next big question: Why is “Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah, wa la
ilaha illAllah wallahu akbar” the remaining righteous deeds?
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) is teaching us that we often experience varying states.
There are states in which we feel strong and powerful, and there are states in which we feel
down and weak. There are states in which we need things, and states in which we do not
have anything.
This leads us to the Hadith of A’isha (radiallah anha):
O people, ask Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) for everything, even the string to repair our
shoes. If Allah did not make it easy, you would not find it. (Bayhaqi, Abu Ya’la)
What can be worse punishment for someone who has everything they need? They have all
that they need including their food, rent, medical care and clothes. A poet named Al-
Mutanabi said: It is enough of an ordeal for me to have the worry that this might not last.
Ibn al-Rumi (rehmatullah alaih) said: And what spoils everything good that I have is having
the certainty (yaqeen) that it is not going to last forever. So even after having everything in
this dunya, you may still not rest easy!
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) is telling us that this is the situation of this dunya - to
have all these wavering thoughts, and hence running to “Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah,
wa la ilaha illAllah wallahu akbar” is the only deed that will always remain.
Always remember that the eternal existence (akhira) is a part of us. Remembering that
nothing will remain is also hope for those who do not have anything, because everything in
this dunya is an embellishment. It is also a warning for those who think that they are in
absolute guidance. There is a greater blessing (khair), and also there is another warning that
nothing remains in this dunya. Speaking to the Sahaba, Rabbi (subhana wa ta'ala) said:

… …
“… You want the achievement of this dunya and Allah wanted akhira for you…”
(Surah Al-Anfal, 67)

So let us run to “Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah, wa la ilaha illAllah wallahu akbar.”

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To do any deed, you need ability or affordability, but the blessing and justice in the
remaining righteous deeds is that it is achievable by all. For example, to pray, to do other
forms of worship or to give charity you have to be able to afford to do so, either physically
or financially.
However, to do the remaining righteous deeds, you do not even need to be in a state of
ablution (tahara). There is no excuse for anyone not to do them. This is the real competition
to compete in because everyone can do it!
Salawat is a part of it, because Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) is the one who guided
us to this Mercy and blessing. There are a lot of doors of blessings (khair), but we focus on
every door of khair, because Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) wanted us to have the
blessing (khair).
In the Muwatta of Imam Malik (rehmatullah alaih), it is narrated that Rasulullah (sallallahu
alayhi wasalam) said:
“Every Prophet (Nabi) has [been granted] a dua, and they have already made their dua, and I
have saved my dua for my ummah!”

Relate this Hadith also to the Hadith of Sayyidi A’isha (radiallah anha). She said:
I saw Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) happy and relaxed, so I asked him to make dua
for me. When He (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) made dua for me, I was laughing until my head
fell onto my chest out of happiness. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) asked: What is
making you laugh, Ya A’isha? I said: Ya Rasulullah, how can I not laugh and be happy when
you made dua for me? Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) said: Wallahi A’isha, that is the
dua that I make for my ummah in every prostration (sujud)! (ibn Hibban)

Look at the Mercy (rahma) of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam)!

It was narrated that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) once recited the shortest surahs
during Salat-ul Fajr, and the Sahaba asked why he did not recite [longer surahs] as He
normally would, because the Sahaba were used to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam)
reading longer surahs in Salat-ul Fajr. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) responded: I
heard a child’s cry and wanted to free his mother for him!
When Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) saw his Companion (Sahabi), Nu’man ibn Zarqa
(radiallah anhu), crying profusely at the death of his father in the midst of the battlefield,
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) said to him: O you! Are you not happy for me to be
your father!
This is from His mercy (rahma) that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) is teaching and
guiding us. Failure only comes from us, as Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) taught and
guided us to the best reward in just saying: “Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah, wa la ilaha
illAllah wallahu akbar.”

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He (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) is Mercy (rahma)!
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) also taught us:
Whoever says after every prayer (salah): “Subhan Allah, wal hamdulillah, wa la ilaha
illAllah wallahu akbar” thirty-three times, and “La ilaha illAllah, wahdahu la shareeka lah,
lahul-mulk walahul-hamdu, wahuwa aala kulli shayin Qadir” one-hundred times, Allah
(subhana wa ta'ala) will erase all his or her sins even if their sins enumerated were greater
than the foam of the sea. (Sahih Muslim)
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasalam) is opening the doors of hope and blessings (khair) for
you.