39- Deeds that are heavy on the scale

39- Deeds that are heavy on the scale

The First Khutbah
All praises are due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Who has decreed deeds that are heavy on the Divine scales. I bear witness there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, the Uniquely One, having no partner in that One-ness. And I bear witness that our Leader and Sayyid, our Prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), is the perfect example of servanthood unto Allah, and is His sent Messenger unto the entirety of the created universe.

To continue: I advise you and myself with the Taqwa of Allah, for Allah has said: ‌

وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly. [Quran: 2:281]

O Believers: Allah (Glorified be He) says:
فَأَمَّا مَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ* فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَاضِيَةٍ
Then as for one whose scales are heavy [with good  deeds], He will be in a pleasant life. [Quran: 101:6-7]

What is meant by heavy here is that the good deeds one does in one’s life are more than those which are not good, so they outweigh them on the scales, so such a person attains the pleasure of the Most-Merciful and the bliss of paradise.

About this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:
«خَمْسٌ مَا أَثْقَلَهُنَّ فِي الْمِيزَانِ، وَذَكَرَ مِنْهَا: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ»( )
There are Five Things extremely heavy on the scale: [Saying] La ilaha il Allah, Wallahu Akbar, Subhan Allah, Walhamdu lillahi. [Ahmad]

So the remembrance of Allah (dhikr) whilst being light on the tongue is heavy on the scales and beloved to the Most-Merciful, as Allah has raised its rank and increased its rewards. The best dhikr is “La ilaha il Allah”, for the Prophet Nuh (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to his two sons: I command the two of you [with saying and upholding] “La ilaha il Allah”, for the heavens and the earth and what lies in between if it was all to be put on one side of the scale, and if La ilaha il Allah were to be put on the other side, then La ilaha il Allah would outweigh it [Ahmad].

Likewise, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:
لَا يَثْقُلُ مَعَ اسْمِ اللَّهِ شَيْءٌ
Nothing is heavier than the Name of Allah. [Tirmidhi]

So whosoever persists upon dhikr of Allah in all his times, and preserves himself upon it in his heart before he falls asleep and after his prayers, then his reward will be multiplied and his scale will be heavy.

About such perseverance the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:
 خَصْلَتَانِ لَا يُحَافِظُ عَلَيْهِمَا رَجُلٌ مُسْلِمٌ إِلَّا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ، هُمَا يَسِيرٌ، وَمَنْ يَعْمَلُ بِهِمَا قَلِيلٌ، يُسَبِّحُ فِي دُبُرِ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ عَشْرًا، وَيَحْمَدُ عَشْرًا، وَيُكَبِّرُ عَشْرًا، فَذَلِكَ خَمْسُونَ وَمِائَةٌ بِاللِّسَانِ، وَأَلْفٌ وَخَمْسُمِائَةٍ فِي الْمِيزَانِ، وَيُكَبِّرُ أَرْبَعًا وَثَلاَثِينَ إِذَا أَخَذَ مَضْجَعَهُ، وَيَحْمَدُ ثَلاَثًا وَثَلاَثِينَ، وَيُسَبِّحُ ثَلَاثًا وَثَلَاثِينَ، فَذَلِكَ مِائَةٌ بِاللِّسَانِ، وَأَلْفٌ فِي الْمِيزَانِ
There are two qualities or characteristics which will not be consistently acted upon by any Muslim except they will enter Paradise thereby. While they are easy, those who act upon them are few. [They are that] One should say: "Glory be to Allah" ten times after every prayer, "Praise be to Allah" ten times and "Allah is Most Great" ten times. That is the equivalent of a hundred and fifty on the tongue, and the equivalent one thousand and five hundred on the scale. 

[The three phrases each said ten times after the five times of prayer makes a hundred and fifty, and as a good deed gets a ten-fold reward the total is treated as one thousand five hundred.]  When he goes to bed, he should say: "Allah is Most Great" thirty-four times, "Praise be to Allah" thirty-three times, and Glory be to Allah thirty-three times, for that is a hundred on the tongue and a thousand on the scale. [Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and others]

So O Allah make our tongues moist with your dhikr, and our hearts full of gratitude to You, and make heavy our scales and bless us with Paradise, O Lord of all the worlds. I say this, and seek your forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness, indeed He is the most forgiving, most merciful.

Second Khutbah
All praises are due to Allah, the One, and peace and blessings upon the Prophet after whom there is no other, and upon his companions and those that follow him.

O Believers: Indeed, from the greatest of what is heavy on the scale of good deeds is goodly character, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:
مَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَثْقَلُ فِي الْمِيزَانِ مِنْ حُسْنِ الْخُلُقِ
“The heaviest thing that will be put on the believer’s scale (on the Day of Resurrection) will be good character.” [Abu Dawud]

How could this not be the case, when good character is most beloved thing to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and that which draws a person closest to him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as he said:
إِنَّ مِنْ أَحَبِّكُمْ إِلَيَّ، وَأَقْرَبِكُمْ مِنِّي مَجْلِسًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ؛ أَحَاسِنَكُمْ أَخْلَاقًا
The dearest and the closest of you to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who are the best in character. [Tirmidhi]

Know that good character softens hearts and strengthens relationships between people and it is through it that a person is able to forgive those who have wronged him, and rectify affairs that were spoiled. So what could be more beautiful than a person who dedicates his life to dhikr and continues to improve and beautify his character. May Allah give us this, so that we can attain the pleasure of our Lord, and enter thereby into His Paradise.

And with this, let us send our prayers and blessings upon the best of those who had a good opinion of Allah, our master, our Prophet, Muhammad. May Allah send His peace and blessings upon him, upon his family, his companions, all of them. O Allah protect our homeland, raise its status and spread happiness and remove strife from amongst its people. You are our and its Lord and our and its protector.