Be Consistent in Good Deeds

Be Consistent in Good Deeds

The Challenge of Maintaining Motivation

And then sometimes, as I mentioned, sometimes you get a motivational speaker come or you listen to a khutbah and you are motivated to do good, to change, to repent, to be better. But it lasts for a day or two, maybe a week, and then we again fall flat on our faces again. Motivation only gets us going. It's habit that gets us to our goal. So, we have to start making the acts of worship a habit that we are consistent with and that's what habits are. And if we start making those things habits, then we will eventually start to enjoy these acts of worship and they no longer become a burden for us.

But the beginning of it is very difficult, just like with everything else. When you want to start exercising, you might feel some pain and it might be very difficult, but then sometimes, you know, there's pain involved, but you have to be consistent and persistent. But how can we be persistent when the cycle seems to repeat for us all the time? How can we get out of this cycle? Well, inshaAllah, tonight I'll just mention a few things and give you a few examples so that we can, inshaAllah, truly make a change.

The Cycle of New Year's Resolutions

Because, you know, like even the non-Muslims, when the New Year comes, they have New Year's resolutions and after two weeks, maybe, and again, they also fall flat on their faces after two weeks. But what can we do? It seems like our good deed, when we do good, of course, our Iman goes up and down. And it's a part of the Aqidah of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah that our Iman rises and falls.

It's natural. When you are with good people, your Iman goes up. And when you do good deeds, then it leads to another good deed. But then when you're far from good people or you are not, when you're busy with certain aspects of the dunya, then sometimes your Iman goes down. We don't want to have this repeat over and over again. It's time to make a change.

The Urgency of Change

And it's very important for us to make that change, to be the best that we can be. Because if you don't make that change, it's like if you continue on the path that you're on or you don't improve, eventually you start going down and it's like playing Russian roulette. Why is it like playing Russian roulette when you don't repent to Allah, when you don't return to Allah, you don't change for the better? The reason is because death can come any time.

We don't know whether we're going to survive tonight or we don't know if we're going to be able to see the sunrise of tomorrow. Only Allah knows. And sometimes we tend to belittle the sins that we commit, that we're persistent in. And we don't realize that some of these sins that we do commit, we might think that they are small sins. But if you're persistent in it, it's not considered a small sin if you commit them over and over again. Because even a large ship will sink from a small leak if left unfixed.

The Most Beloved Deeds to Allah

And so, how can we change those bad habits? Well, the Prophet ﷺ informed us in a hadith, he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6464, Sahih Muslim 782)

"The most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if they are small."

This hadith is a very powerful hadith to help us be firm and strong and be upright. And being upright and being consistent in doing good deeds is so important that a companion came to the Prophet ﷺ and he said to him, he said, O Messenger of Allah, tell me something in Islam that no one else can advise me about.

The Golden Advice: Say I Believe and Be Upright

Meaning tell me something important that only you would be able to give. So this is a very important advice and it's an advice that if put to practice, will benefit us in this life and the hereafter. And you know the Prophet ﷺ was given what was called (جَوَامِعُ الْكَلِمِ - jawami' al-kalim).

(جَوَامِعُ الْكَلِمِ - jawami' al-kalim) meaning he was given the eloquence of precise and concise speech, meaning concise and precise but with vast meaning and vast benefits. Few words, these words are words that should be written with gold because they are so beneficial if you were to reflect upon them. And so the Prophet ﷺ said to this companion, he said:

(Sahih Muslim 38)

"Say: I believe in Allah, then be upright."

Say I believe in Allah and then have (الإسْتِقَامَة - al-istiqamah). (الإسْتِقَامَة - al-istiqamah) is being upright and consistently upright. But we know that our iman goes up and down. And the Prophet ﷺ mentioned it also, he said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah 4169)

"Indeed every deed has its period of enthusiasm, and every period of enthusiasm has a decline."

Indeed every deed that we do has its high points and there are times in which we're motivated. Like you have a full of energy to do some of these deeds. وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ شِرَّةٍ فَتْرَةً . But every single point of motivation that you have, that zeal that you may have also has a down point, a low point, where it actually, it doesn't stay, your motivation doesn't stay that way and it goes back down. And he said, whosoever's low point is still within my sunnah, meaning you don't crash, you go down, but there's a limit. And if you don't crash and a low point (فَتْرَة - fatrah) means just a low point, you know, like a downtime. And whosoever's downtime and low point is still within the sunnah, then he will be successful. Then he will be successful.

The Key to Consistency

And so that's why it's very important for us to be consistent in our deeds. But how can we be consistent? Well, the key is what the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6464, Sahih Muslim 782)

"The most beloved deeds in the sight of Allah are that which is most consistent, even if it is just a small amount."

Consistency is the key, even if it's a small amount. If we're consistent with our deeds, and how can we be consistent with our deeds? We have to understand that when we make a commitment, do not commit yourself to something you're not going to be able to be consistent with.

Try to set a minimum requirement that you will do for the rest of your life, that you can do every day, even on the busiest day in your life. Consistency in recitation of the Qur'an, in giving sadaqah, consistency in visiting the sick, consistency in fasting, in charity, and in everything that we do. I'm going to give you an example.

A Personal Story: Learning to Clean Consistently

When I first went to the Islamic University of Medina, I was an 18-year-old. I was younger, and in my house, I have two younger sisters. And I try to help out also, but my sisters used to, they do all the chores and everything. And I'm the eldest, and I'm the only boy in the family, so I'm a little bit spoiled. My parents spoiled me a little bit. I have to admit that later on. I know my sisters used to say that to me. And so I didn't know how to even crack an egg. I did not know, honestly, how to even crack an egg. I remember the first time I tried to crack an egg, it was a big mess. I seriously did not know, because I'd never cracked even an egg. And in my house, my mother was one of those people that, she was very clean, and she couldn't stand dust anywhere in the house.

And so I was used to being and staying in the house, and my sisters were all the same also. Our house was, if there was just a smudge on anything, that they couldn't just leave it like that. And because that was how my mother was. And so I come to my room, my dorm, and I'm sitting there, and of course you use it, and once in a while it starts to get dirty. And I don't feel comfortable. Yet at the same time, I don't like to clean. I don't like to clean. It's not something I was used to, because everyone else around me, growing up, they always cleaned for me. Even my bed, every time I would wake up, I would go to school, I would leave it just like the way it was. I would come home, it was just like a hotel. Like my mother would just fold everything perfectly, and I took it for granted. I didn't really appreciate how much work until I left.

And I would come back to my room, and it's, wait, you know, my bed is still dirty, and the blankets and everything else, they're not folded properly. Yet at the same time, I'm not used to cleaning. So I said, you know, I guess I have to start cleaning. I can't just leave it like this, because it's like, it's very uncomfortable to see a room that's unkept and unclean. So I would clean, I would clean, and then I would stop, and then sometimes I would get lazy, and then the mess would come again. And I said, you know, I have to do something.

The Three-Minute Rule

So what I did was, every single day, every time I would leave my room, or I would enter my room, every time the door is opened, whether I would just go out to maybe use the bathroom or anything, I would clean for three minutes. And you know, in Medina, it's very dusty. So there's a lot of dust, even when you leave for a couple of hours, some areas, sometimes it becomes dusty, especially on windy days and so forth. And generally, a day or two, the dust will come. So I decided to clean for three minutes. Before I would do anything, I would just sit down and clean for three minutes.

And three minutes is not a lot. After three minutes, I would stop, or sometimes I would continue to do so. Because one of the most difficult things is to start doing something. But once you start it, you know, it's not difficult. It's just the starting. Once you start it, it's easy. You can clean for the next 10 minutes and not realize that you've done a lot. So every time I would do at least three minutes. And in a week, I found that my room, I could not even find dust. And so I started looking at the books, and I would wipe everything clean. But I would not spend too much time cleaning. And I saw that my room now was very clean. So I decreased it to a minimum of one minute. But even that one minute was enough to keep my room very clean. Because I did it consistently. I did it consistently. Every time I would come in, I would always clean it. And I do the same thing now with my car.

Applying Consistency: The Car Example

One of the things that I do is every time I leave my car, I would have to look for at least three pieces of trash. And I would clean. I would take just three pieces. But every time I would go to the supermarket, the first place that I go to is the garbage can, or that you guys call the rubbish bin, right? So I would go there. But I also have a rule in my car. If I have my kids with me, everyone has to also find three pieces. And if you do it often enough, you never have to worry about cleaning your car. And it's not difficult because you're consistent with it. You're consistent with it. And if you're consistent, then it remains clean even though you don't feel like you're spending a lot of time doing it. And it's not a burden. Yet you get a lot of things done.

And so to the point where my kids now, before we get out of the car, they're looking for trash and pieces of garbage in the car. And because they're strapped in their seat belts, they call it first because they want to get out first. Because they don't want to be looking for garbage. So they say, I called it. Don't get that one. That's mine. So if the car stops, they fight for it. And they will even say, they'll even say, you know, that was my piece of garbage. He took mine. So I said, just find another one. I'm sure you can. He said, no, I can't find anymore.

Why? Because every time we leave, and they won't be able to leave until they find three pieces at least. They won't be able to leave. And I don't take small tiny pieces because you can vacuum those things up. So it's at least like a chickpea or a size of a marble. That's what they have to look for. And if they can't find one, they will look at the crevices. And so the car becomes very clean. And sometimes they will, you know, try to get around it, and they'll find trash in their pockets. And they're like, throw it down. And I got my three pieces. I said, where did those three pieces come from? I said, that was candy I ate at home. Well, how did it end up over there? Because he brought it with him. He wanted to get out of the car quickly. They wanted to look for anything like that. So the thing, the point is consistency is very important.

The Five Daily Prayers: A Model of Consistency

And that's why when we have prayers, we have five daily prayers at different intervals, different times of the day. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he said, if one of you had a stream running in front of your house, and if he were to jump in it to clean himself every day, five times a day, would he be able to find any filth on his body? And the companion said, no. And the Prophet ﷺ said, likewise are the five daily prayers. (Sahih al-Bukhari 528, Sahih Muslim 667)

Likewise are the five daily prayers. They cleanse ourselves spiritually and physically. Spiritually and physically. And that's why we Muslims are the cleanest people. We should be at least. If we put Islam, if we practice our religion properly.

A Story About Cleanliness

And so I remember taking a person or taking a group to make hajj. And I was taking a group from Southeast Asia. And some of these people were from the village. So this is their first time on the plane. And so I remember one man, an old man, he was making wudu. And he was washing his feet on the sink in the airplane. And he did not close the door because they're not used to closing the door. And plus the space is very tight. So he puts his feet on the sink and the airline stewardess comes by and says, you know, that's, I don't know, I don't remember her exact words, but sort of like, that's so uncivilized. And that's so uncivilized and that's so dirty. So he turns around and he says, excuse me, how many times do you wash your face in a day? And she said, well, I wash my face at least in the morning and night time also before I go to sleep. I said, my feet are cleaner than your face. I washed them five times a day. So don't tell me when I put them on the sink, if you wash your face in the sink, your face is dirtier than my feet. Anyways, he was, she was just trying to make a point.

The Wisdom Behind Five Daily Prayers

But when we watch, when we pray five times a day, it's teaching us what consistency in doing good deeds. It's not about doing a lot all at once, because Allah can just, you might think, well, wouldn't it be easier if we would have just the five daily prayers at the end of the day? And that's it. Right? Wouldn't it be easier? You know, you finish your work and you don't have to worry about prayer and come home at the end of the day, pray your five prayers or pray them all in the morning. And then you know, you're done with. Wouldn't that be easier? Not necessarily, but Allah knows what's best for us. He knows what's best for us and how to and also we have been created to worship Him and Allah knows what's best for us. And whatever is good for us, whatever is best for us is in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. And so, you know how some people, they say, that person has a clean heart. He or she does not pray, yes, but he or she has a clean heart.

The Clean Heart Analogy

You know what that's like saying? That's like saying, that person's mouth is clean, yet he or she never brushes her teeth. Like, if you don't brush your teeth, is it possible that your mouth is clean? Like, not only do you need to brush your teeth, you know, it's not only just once a day, but when you go throughout the day, in the afternoon, you need to brush your teeth again, actually. If you really want to keep it clean, you have to brush it multiple times, just like the Prophet ﷺ did with every prayer or with every wudu, he would use the siwak. And when he would come home, the first thing that he would do is use the siwak. And so, with the five daily prayers, if someone says, you know, he doesn't pray, but his heart is clean, that's, it's like saying, your mouth is, my mouth is clean, but I don't brush my teeth. Because when you pray, Allah orders us to make wudu, and the sins are dropping from us.

The Danger of Desensitization

And all, we're committing sins, whether sometimes we know it, sometimes we don't even realize that these are sins, or we take them so, we get so desensitized that we don't even realize that they're sins anymore. Sometimes you sit down and you're watching, and you're watching, you know, maybe a TV, or, and there's a woman there, and you're staring at her. And because we're so used to it, we become desensitized, we don't even see or feel that this is a sin, because we're not, we're so used to it. We're so used to it, we become desensitized, that there are things that we do, and that's why Anas ibn Malik Radhi Allahu Anhu said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6492)

"Indeed, you commit acts that are finer in your eyes than a hair, but we used to consider them during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to be among the destructive sins."

You, during his time, this is during the time of the Tabi'i, the companions at the end of the time of the companions, and he had, Allah gave him a very long life, and so he was speaking to the Tabi'i, and he said, You commit acts, you now commit acts that you see as thinner than a strand of hair, lighter than a strand of hair to you. But during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, we used to consider those acts to be destructive sins. To be major sins.