Conditions for the Acceptance of Good Deeds
The deeds of slaves will not be accepted unless two conditions are met:- 1st Condition:
Sincerity. i.e. the deeds must be done sincerely for the sake of Allah. Allah says:
(And they were commanded not but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him) and perform As-Salat and give Zakat: and that is the right Deen.) (98:5)
Allah, the Exalted, says in the Hadeeth Qudsi(Its meaning is from Allah, whereas its words are from the Prophet.) : ‘I have no need for partners. Whoever does a deed while associating partners with Me, I would leave him and his Shirk.' (Muslim #2985) - 2nd Condition: To follow the example of the Prophet; i.e. to observe the act of worship the way he did. This condition would not be correct unless six things are considered:
- Reason for the act of worship: If a person worships Allah for a certain reason which is not recognized in the Shari'ah, his action would be considered as a rejected Bid'ah. Example: Some people observe certain acts of worship during the 27th night of Rajab. They claim that the Prophet was taken on the Night Journey in this night. Night prayer is a valid act of worship, but the reason it is initiated during this night is not acknowledged in Shari'ah. With this point, one can clearly differentiate between Bid'ah and Sunnah acts.
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Its type:
The act of worship should agree with the Shari'ah in its type. If a person worships Allah by an act of worship which is not acknowledged in the Shari'ah it would not be acceptable.
Example: If a person slaughters a horse as a sacrificial animal during the month of Dhul-Hij'jah (12th month in the Islamic calendar). This person's sacrificial animal would not be accepted because he belied the Shari'ah in this point, since sacrificial animals can only be a camel, cattle, goat or sheep. - Its steps: If a person wants to perform a prayer while considering it an obligatory prayer, it would not be accepted since the obligatory prayers are known in the Shari'ah. Likewise, if a person prays Dhuhr prayer five units, his prayer would not be accepted.
- Its method: If a person makes wudhu and washes his feet first and then wipes his head, we say that his wudhu is null and void, since one must make wudhu in sequence.
- Its time: If a person sacrifices his sacrificial animal in the first days of Dhul-Hijjah his sacrifice would not be accepted since he did not do it in the appropriate time.
- Its place: If a person makes I'tikaaf in other than a Masjid, his I'tikaaf would not be correct since it should be done in a Masjid.
Dangers of Bid'ah
There is immense danger in observing acts of Bid'ah; the enemies of Islam would attack Islam and Muslims through it. So every Muslim should be cautious so that he would not be used as a tool to harm the Deen or Muslims in any manner. Furthermore, a Muslim should not cover up or hide a man of Bid'ah...
Read More +Warning and Admonition
Abdullah ibn ad-Dailami said: 'It has reached me that the Deen would fragment and become lost by abandoning the Sunnah. People would abandon Sunnah practice after Sunnah practice, just as a rope would become weaker and weaker.' (Ad-Darimi #98)
Read More +Is the Deen of Islam Complete?
It is known by necessity that the Deen of Islam is complete, as Allah, the Exalted, says: (This day, I have perfected your Deen for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your Deen.) (4:3)