50 Narrations on Virtuous Deeds

Part I

All narrations have been declared ‘authentic’ by Shaykh al-Albani.

1) Whoever reads Surah Ikhlas ten times, Allah will build a palace for him in Paradise. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) exclaimed, “If that’s the case, then we will increase in our palaces!” The Prophet ﷺ (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) responded, “Allah is better and greater (in reward).” [Ahmad]

2) Whoever reads Surat al-Kahf on Friday, it will act as a light/protection for him from one Friday to the next. [Bayhaqi]

3) Whoever memorizes the first ten verses from Suratul Kahf, he will be protected from the trial of the Dajjal (Anti-Christ). [Ahmad]

4) Whoever reads Ayatul Kursi after every obligatory prayer, nothing will keep him from Paradise except death. [Nasaa’i]

5) When you go to your beds at night, read Surat al-Kafirun then sleep upon completing it, for it will be a protection from Shirk (associating partners with Allah). [Ahmad]

6) Whoever performs their ablution carefully and then affirms (their faith by testifying): “Ash-hadu an laa ilaha il Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lahu wa anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa rasuluhu; Allahumma-ja’lni min at-tawaabeen waj-a’lni min al-mutatahireen”: ‘I testify that there is no true deity except Allah Alone, Who has no partners, and that Muhammad ﷺ is His slave and Messenger; O Allah, make me from those who repent and purify themselves’ – the eight gates of Jannah are opened for him so he may enter through whichever of these gates he desires.[Tirmidhi]

7) Whoever makes ablution then says upon finishing: “Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika;, Ashhadu an laa ilaha ila anta, Astaghfiruka wa atoobu ilayk”: ‘Glory be to You O Allah and all praise belongs to You; I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except You. I seek Your Forgiveness, and I turn to You,’ – it is written in a parchment, then sealed; and is not opened till the Day of Resurrection. [Nasaa’i]

8) While we were praying one day with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a man from among the people said, “Allahu Akbaru Kabeera, walhamdulillahi Katheera, wa Subhan’Allahi bukratan wa aseela”, ‘Allah is the Greatest above everything else, and All Praise is for Allah abundantly, and Glory be to Allah in the morning and evening.’ The Prophet ﷺ asked, “who said those words?” A man replied, “I did, O Messeger of Allah.” The Prophet ﷺ then said, ‘I am amazed by your speech, for they caused the doors of heaven to open.’ Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) added to this narration, “I never left saying those words after I heard the Messenger of Allah say that. [Muslim]

9) One day we were praying behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and when he ﷺ raised his head from the position of ruku` (bowing position), he said: “Sami Allahu leman hamidah” – ‘Allah hears the one who praises Him’. A man from behind added: “Rabbanna wa la kal hamd – hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan fih” – ‘Our Lord, all praise is due only to You, praise which is abundant, excellent and blessed.’ When we finished [the prayer] the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Who spoke?’ The man said, ‘I did’. He ﷺ said, ‘Indeed I saw some 30 angels all scuffling to see which one of them could record it.’ [Muslim]

10) Whoever prays twelve units of prayer voluntarily in a day and night, Allah will build him a house in Paradise. [Muslim]

11) Whoever observes four rakaat (units) before dhuhr (midday) prayer, and four rakaat after prayer, the fire will not touch him. [Abu Dawud]

12) May Allah have mercy on a person who prays four rakaat before ‘Asr (afternoon) prayer.[Abu Dawud]

13) Whoever stands in night prayer and recites ten verses (from the Qur’an) will not be written as a heedless person. And whoever recites 100 verses will be written as a devout slave. And whoever recites 1000 verses will be written as one who has mountains of good deeds. [Abu Dawud]

14) The voluntary prayer of a man where no one can see him is 25 times greater than voluntary prayer in front of the people. [Abu Ya’la]

15) Whoever prays four rakaat of Duha (mid-morning) prayer, and then another four (for a total of eight rakaat), a house is built for him in Paradise. [Tabarani]

16) Verily, Allah and His angels pray for the ones who fill in (or complete) the rows [in prayer], and whoever fills in a gap, Allah will raise his status because of it and will build a house for him in Paradise. [Ahmad]

17) Whenever a servant prostrates to Allah, Allah writes a reward for him, wipes out one of his sins and elevates his rank by one degree; so prostrate as much as you can. [ibn Majah]

18) Whoever prays fajr (morning prayer) in congregation then sits remembering Allah until the sun rises, then prays two units of prayer has the reward like that of Hajj and Umrah. [Tirmidhi]

19) “Whoever prays to Allah for forty days in congregation, not missing the first takbeer (of prayer), he will be recorded as being free from two things: free from the Fire and free from hypocrisy. [Tirmidhi]

20) The best of prayers with Allah is the fajr (morning) prayer, prayed in congregation on Friday. [Abu Nu’aym] (There is a difference of opinion among the scholars if this narration is a hadith or a statement of ibn Umar – Allah knows best)

21) Whoever says, “Subhan’Allah al-Adheem wa biHamdihi” – ‘Glory be to Allah the Most Great and for Him is all praise’, will have a date-palm tree planted for him in Paradise. [Tirmidhi]

22) Whoever says “Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, ash-hadu an laa ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilaika” – ‘(O Allah, You are free from every imperfection; praise be to You. I testify that there is no true god except You; I ask Your Pardon and turn to You in repentance)’ in a gathering of remembrance, it will be like a seal to stamp it (the remembrance) with, and he who says it in a gathering of vain talk, it will be an expiation for it (the vain talk). [Nasaa’i]

23) Indeed, (saying) “SubhanAllah” – ‘Glory be to Allah (and He is high above any imperfection)’ and “Alhamdulillah” – ‘All praise and thanks is only for Allah alone’, and “Laa ilaha ilAllah” – ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except ’llah’, and “Allahu Akbar” – ‘Allah is Greater than everything’, cause a slave’s sins to fall away just as the leaves of a tree fall. [Ahmad]

24) Would any of you like to accumulate 1000 rewards every day? Say “SubhanAllah“, ‘Glory be to Allah and He is high above any imperfection’ 100 times and Allah will record for you 1000 rewards or He will remove 1000 mis-deeds. [Muslim]

25) Verily, Allah has chosen four words from all speech: “SubhanAllah” (Glory be to Allah and He is high above any imperfection), and “Alhamdulillah” (All praise and thanks are for Allah alone), and “Laa ilaha ilAllah” (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah), and “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greater than everything). Therefore whoever says SubhanAllah twenty deeds will be recorded for him and twenty sins will be removed from him. And whoever says Allahu Akbar will get the same. And whoever says Laa ilaha ilAllah will get the same. And whoever says “Alhamdulillahi Rabbil `Alamin” – ‘All praise and thanks is for Allah alone, the Lord of all things’, from his heart, thirty good deeds will be recorded for him and thirty sins will be dropped from him. [Nasaa’i]