Good Deeds. Part 2.

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the previous post we talked about how for a Muslim, the furqan (criteria) of "good" and "bad" should be the Qur'an, and the Prophet ( ﷺ).  And we asked the question, what about deeds that are not explicitly mentioned in the furqan?

Commonly held views in Islamic sciences calls for various approaches such as  ijmā' (consensus of scholars), Qiyas (analogical reasoning) etc. However, the topic of this post does not render itself suitable for mundane jurisprudential issues. So we shall open a more metaphysical line of thought, to do with niyyah (intention).

Is blogging a good deed? Or writing a book? Eating a burger?  Is it like the great bard said : ".....for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"

There is an endless list of deeds that could be debated upon as whether being good, evil, or a third category that I call "neutral" or the appropriate Islamic term مباح mubah (permissible)......I call these kinds of deeds "neutral", which means, they are not inherently good or bad by themselves. Mubah acts are those actions that neither have any stated positive or negative consequences in the Hereafter. Performing or abandoning the mubah is the same, hence the word "neutral".

If you blog about evil things, then blogging is bad....
If you blog about good things, then blogging should be good....
If you blog about the weather, is it good or bad? I call it mubah..

If you write an evil book, then it is bad....
If you write a book about good and pious things, then it should be good..
If you write a cook book, is it good or bad? I call it mubah..

I hold the view that barring explicitly evil deeds, all deeds are either good, or mubah (that may be classified as good under certain circumstances).

The circumstance that is most compelling, is preceding the act with the right niyyah (intention). With the right niyyah, Mubah may become a Mandub (preferred act or an act with certain reward). 

There is a famous and oft-quoted statement narrated by Sayyidina Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in context of the emigration, states that he reportedly heard Allah's Messenger (sallallau alayhi wasallam) say: "Actions are but by intentions and every one will have only what they intended. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Messenger, then his emigration was for Allah and His Messenger. And whoever emigrated to attain something of this world or to marry a woman, then his emigration was for whatever reason he emigrated." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

 عن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: "إنما الأعمال بالنيات. وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوى فمن كانت هجرته إلى الله ورسوله فهجرته إلى الله ورسوله. ومن كانت هجرته لدنيا يصيبها أو امرأة ينكحها. فهجرته إلى ما هاجر إليه"     
متفق عليه

This statement is often generalized (not without reason) to a whole array of deeds, which I would classify as mubah. If the deed is apparently neutral, then the right intention will make it good. And if a deed is apparently good, intention is still extremely important, in order to let it remain good, otherwise a good deed with a polluted intention is still a big no no.... As for evil deeds, right intentions cannot make them good.

What constitutes a good intention? In my opinion the right intention should only be rida (satisfaction/pleasure?) of Allah.


In this present day and age, the amount of time we spend in sinning is significant, and the amount in doing good deeds proportionately insignificant.  And most of our time we spend in pursuit of mubah or neutral activities. Most of our lives are spent in school, university and then later in the workplace. By the time we are done with school and workplace, we have retired, and left with pretty much the fag end of our lives, and our healths. Not much to do good deeds with.


I would like to postulate, albeit controversially, that both schooling and working comes under mubah. Although many would argue that schooling is about gaining knowledge, and Islam encourages/asks us to strive in the pursuit of knowledge as a good action, I would counter by saying that spending 15-20 years of your lives institutionalized in the pursuit of this or that degree or career is not the pursuit of knowledge, unless it is preceded with the right intention. After all, how many of us thought that going to our classes regularly is a Divinely Ordained command...?

In the same way some would argue that working is essential in the pursuit of sustenance for us and our families, which again is encouraged by Islam. I would also counter that by saying how many of us work for the right intentions? I mean is getting a good salary, or a good career really the right intention?

I would like to conclude by saying that we should spend our time on earth wisely. Minimize or eradicate evil deeds, maximize good deeds, and try to convert all our mubah deeds into good, by choosing the right intention, which is "rida" of Allah.

After all, we don't want to be the ones on the Day of Judgement saying:

يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي

He will say: "Ah! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my (Future) Life!"  (Al Fajr, 89:24)

May Allah bless us with His rida in whatever we do, and help us to prepare for the Certainty that will come upon us, unannounced, and instead of meeting it in a state of "good-deed penury", we should strive to send some good deeds forward that will meet us when we are there. At the very least, we should convert our "neutral" deeds, by precluding them with the right intentions, so that they may be accepted.......

Wallahu a3lam.