“Indeed a servant commits a sin by which he enters Paradise; and another does a good deed by which he enters the Fire.” It was asked: How is that? So he replied: “The one who committed the sin, constantly thinks about it; which causes him to fear it, regret it, weep over it and feel ashamed in front of his Lord – the Most High – due to it. He stands before Allah, broken-hearted and with his head lowered in humility. So this sin is more beneficial to him than doing many acts of obedience, since it caused him to have humility and humbleness – which leads to the servant’s happiness and success – to the extent that this sin becomes the cause for him entering Paradise.
As for the doer of good, then he does not consider this good a favour from his Lord Upon him. Rather, he becomes arrogant and amazed with himself, saying: I have achieved such and such, and such and such . So this further increases him in self adulation, pride and arrogance – such that this becomes the cause for his destruction.”
O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them, that is better for you, in order that you may remember.
And if you find no one therein, still, enter not until permission has been given. And if you are asked to go back, go back, for it is purer for you, and Allah is All-Knower of what you do.
There is no sin on you that you enter (without taking permission) houses uninhabited (i.e. not possessed by anybody), (when) you have any interest in them. And Allah has knowledge of what you reveal and what you conceal.
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.[27-30]
Salah is the practice of formal worship in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Salah is a ritual worship, having prescribed conditions, a prescribed procedure, and prescribed times. To perform valid Salah, Muslims must be in a state of ritual purity, which is mainly achieved by ritual ablution, (wuḍūʾ), according to prescribed procedure
s.
Salah is prescribed at five periods of the day. These are measured according to the movement of the sun. These are: near dawn (fajr – 2 rakats), after midday has passed and the sun starts to tilt downwards / Noon (dhuhr or ẓuhr – 4 rakats), in the afternoon (asr – 4 rakats), just after sunset (maghrib – 3 rakats) and around nightfall (‘isha – 4 rakats), hence 2-4-4-3-4.
Abu Huraira radiyallahu ʿanhu narrates that I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?” They said, “Not a trace of dirt would be left.” The Prophet added, “That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds.” —Sahih al-Bukhari.
Likewise, each amount they spend, be it small or large, and each journey they undertake, shall be recorded in their favour so that Allah may bestow upon them reward for their good deeds. Surah At-Tawbah [9:121]
Abu Hurairah (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “When a man dies, his deeds come to an end, except for three: A continuous charity, knowledge by which people derive benefit, pious son who prays for him”[Muslim]
We all have different levels of faith. Some people have very strong faith and some people have very weak faith.
Test your faith against the words of the Messenger of Allah Salalahualaiwaslam who said:
“Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it by his hand (by action), and if he cannot, then by his tongue (by speaking out), and if he cannot, then by his heart (by feeling that it is wrong), and that is the weakest of faith.”
[Al-Bukhaari, Fath, 1/51]
Sadly with alot of us we can see evil all day yet our hearts do not even condemn it- and that is the lowest level of faith.
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If you are uncertain in the prayer and do not know whether you have prayed three or four rakas, then pray a raka and make two prostrations from the sitting position before the taslim. If the raka that you prayed was the fifth, then you make it even by these two sajdas, and if it was the fourth, then the two prostrations spite Shaytan.”
قال رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” إِذَا شَكَّ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي صَلاَتِهِ فَلَمْ يَدْرِ كَمْ صَلَّى أَثَلاَثًا أَمْ أَرْبَعًا فَلْيُصَلِّي رَكْعَةً وَلْيَسْجُدْ سَجْدَتَيْنِ وَهُوَ جَالِسٌ قَبْلَ التَّسْلِيمِ فَإِنْ كَانَتِ الرَّكْعَةُ الَّتِي صَلَّى خَامِسَةً شَفَعَهَا بِهَاتَيْنِ السَّجْدَتَيْنِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ رَابِعَةً فَالسَّجْدَتَانِ تَرْغِيمٌ لِلشَّيْطَانِ
So have they not traveled through the earth and have hearts by which to reason and ears by which to hear? For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts.(22:46)
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) saying, “There is a Surah in the Qur’an which contains thirty Ayat which kept interceding for a man until his sins are forgiven. This Surah is `Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion.’ (Surat Al-Mulk 67).”
[At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud].
