What Are the Virtues and Effects of Righteous Deeds in This World and the Hereafter?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti

Question

What are the virtues and effects of righteous deeds in this world and the hereafter?

Answer

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Master of the Messengers, his Family, and all his Companions.

Righteous deeds are the fruit and result of faith, and thus they entail virtues and effects similar to those of faith. Among their virtues and effects in this world: they are a means to a good life, and they serve as a means to alleviate distress and answer prayers.

As for the hereafter: they lead to the forgiveness of sins, immense reward, a good end, and the best return in paradise. They also elevate good words and raise one’s rank with Allah. Allah knows best.

Detailed Explanation

Righteous deeds involve doing good and acts of obedience, avoiding prohibitions, and performing obligatory duties and acts of worship with sincerity to Allah in all situations. Allah (Most High) says:

“So whoever hopes for the meeting with their Lord, let them do good deeds and associate none in the worship of their Lord.” [Quran, 18:110]

Righteous deeds are associated with faith and are its fruit; the Quran often mentions faith alongside righteous deeds.

Virtues and Effects of Righteous Deeds in This World

A Good Life:

Allah (Most High) says:

“Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.” [Quran, 16:97]

A Means to Seek Allah’s Help and Intercession:

As in the story of the three men trapped in a cave who prayed to Allah with their righteous deeds, narrated by Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar: “The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

Three men from among those who were before you set out until night came and they had to enter a cave. They entered a cave, and a rock fell from the mountain and blocked the entrance of the cave. They said: Nothing will save you from this rock but that you call upon Allah by your righteous deeds…” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Virtues and Effects of Righteous Deeds in the Hereafter

Forgiveness and Great Reward:

Allah (Most High) says:

“To those of them who believe and do good, Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward.” [Quran, 48:29]

“As for those who believe and do good, We will certainly absolve them of their sins, and reward them according to the best of what they used to do.” [Quran, 29:7]

A Good End and Best Return in Paradise:

Allah (Most High) says:

“Those who believe and do good, for them will be bliss and an honorable destination.” [Quran, 13:29]

Elevation of Good Words:

Allah (Most High) says:

“To Him (alone) good words ascend, and righteous deeds are raised up by Him. ” [Quran, 35:10]

This is the view of Ibn ‘Abbas, Sa‘id Ibn Jubayr, Hasan, ‘Ikrima, and most of the commentators that it elevates good words. Hasan Basri said: “Righteous work raises good speech to Allah, and words are presented to deeds; if they are in agreement, they are raised, otherwise, they are rejected.” [Suyuti, Tafsir al-Dur al-Manthur]

Conclusion

I advise you and myself to increase in righteous deeds with honesty and sincerity in our intentions so that we may be among the people of righteous deeds whom Allah has described and praised by saying:

“And whose words are better than someone who calls (others) to Allah, does good, and says, ‘I am truly one of those who submit.’?” [Quran, 41:33]

May Allah make us among them and with them by His mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.

Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti

Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti is a Syrian scholar born in Aleppo in 1977. He obtained his degree in Shari‘a from the Shari‘a Faculty of Damascus University, a Diploma in Educational Qualification from the Faculty of Education at Aleppo University, and a Diploma in Shari‘a and a Master’s in Shari‘a from the Faculty of Sharia, and Law at Omdurman University in Sudan. He is currently writing his doctoral thesis.

He studied under esteemed scholars such as Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani, and Shaykh Dr. Nur al-Din Itr, among others. Shaykh al-Yakti has worked in teaching and cultural guidance in orphanages and high schools in Aleppo. He served as an Imam, Khatib, and reciter at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and as a certified trainer for Khatibs in Abu Dhabi’s Khatib Qualification Program.

He is involved in developing and teaching a youth education program at Seekers Arabic for Islamic Sciences.

Among Shaykh al-Yaqti’s significant works are “Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni: Bayna Ilm al-Kalam Wa Usul al-Fiqh” and the program “The Messenger of Allah Among Us (Allah bless him and give him peace).”