During a virtual mulaqat of the national amila of Lajna Imaillah Bangladesh with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa, which was held on 14 November 2020, a member of Lajna Imaillah said, “Which is the most pleasing and which is the most disliked action in the sight of Allah the Exalted?”
Huzooraa replied:
“The fact of the matter is that such actions can vary depending on an individual’s circumstances.
“A man came to the Holy Prophetsa and asked as to what good deed he should adopt. The Holy Prophetsa replied, ‘Serve your parents. That is pleasing to Allah.’
“Then, another man came and asked as to what good deed he should adopt, which would please Allah the Exalted. The Holy Prophetsa replied, ‘Make financial sacrifices. That is pleasing to Allah the Exalted.’
“Then, a third man came and asked as to what good deed he should adopt that would please Allah the Exalted. The Holy Prophetsa replied, ‘Fight in the way of Allah.’
“Likewise, a fourth person came and he was told some other action. So, the Holy Prophetsa was aware of their circumstances and knew who had what weaknesses. He would have known some of their weaknesses due to his being aware of their circumstances and Allah the Exalted would have also guided him. So, actions can vary depending on an individual’s circumstances.
“Allah the Exalted has given 700 commandments in the Holy Quran, which include virtuous deeds as well as prohibitions. He has laid out what actions are to be performed and which ones are prohibited; the commandments and the prohibitions; the dos and don’ts. Allah the Exalted has revealed a grand list. Now, one has to see for oneself as to what weakness he has that he can then remove and what good deeds he is currently not performing that he can then start doing.
“Thus, if everyone undertakes a self-analysis in this manner, then that would lead to reformation. Therefore, one should seek a fatwa from one’s self. Not every edict appears in black and white. In principle, the instruction is to find one’s weaknesses and to try to remove them; or rather, not only to remove weaknesses but also to perform good deeds.
“Therefore, the basic principle stated by Allah the Exalted is that you have two responsibilities: one is to fulfil the rights owed to Allah the Exalted, that is the right of His worship. If the right of the worship of Allah the Exalted is fulfilled properly, then He gives man the strength to continue doing good deeds because the right of His worship is being fulfilled. Secondly, Allah the Exalted has commanded that one should fulfil the rights owed to His servants. A person who is trying to fulfil the rights owed to God’s servants, would not harm anyone and is consequently enabled to do more and more good deeds.
“These two things are intertwined. So, the most basic task is to fulfil the rights owed to Allah and to fulfil the rights owed to His servants.
“Other than that, one should go into the details, undertake a self-analysis and ask one’s conscience as to what evil deeds one still has to give up and what virtues one still needs to adopt.
“Another thing is that once, a person came to the Holy Prophetsa and told him, ‘I am not such a good person. I have numerous evil characteristics. Please tell me just one evil that I should give up for the time being. I cannot leave all at once.’ The Holy Prophetsa replied, ‘Make a vow that you will not lie and that you will always tell the truth.’ Once he resolved to always tell the truth, every time he was about to commit an evil deed, he would think, ‘If the Holy Prophetsa asked about this evil deed, I would feel embarrassed if I told the truth and if I told a lie, I would have to break the vow not to lie.’
“In this way, all his evil traits gradually disappeared. So, one has to see for themselves. That is why Allah Exalted has equated lying with shirk. Therefore, one should consider that they must not lie even about the smallest things because it is tantamount to shirk and Allah the Exalted dislikes shirk.
“Thus, many of these things vary depending on a person’s individual circumstances. Therefore, undertake a self-analysis and introspect to see what is lacking. However, the fundamental principle is to fulfil the rights owed to Allah and those owed to His servants. Whenever you start doing something, consider that Allah is watching you. When one is certain that Allah the Exalted is watching him, and their every deed, then one will resist evil and do good deeds.”
