Question: Are our deeds presented to the Prophet ﷺ and to our relatives?
Answer: A certain mufti, while advising those who shave their beards, said: “Those who shave their beards: your deeds are presented daily by the angels to the service of the Messenger ﷺ, so how much grief must the Messenger ﷺ feel on seeing these actions?” Upon this, the mufti cited
and
. Then, as evidence that deeds are presented to relatives, he cited
and
.
It is true that shaving the beard is forbidden in Islam, it is opposition to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ and an invitation to the painful punishment. However, the narrations presented regarding the presentation of deeds in this context are not authentic.
✿ Allah the Exalted says:
يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَإِلَى اللَّـهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ
“He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and all matters are returned to Allah.”
↰ That is, the one to whom every matter, great or small, in the universe returns is Allah alone, and no other. Allah has mentioned this theme in Surah al-Baqarah
, Surah Al ‘Imran
, Surah al-Hadid
, and elsewhere.
And in Sahih Muslim:
❀ Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: تعرض الاعمال في كل يوم خميس واثنين فيغفر الله عز وجل في ذلك اليوم لكل امرئ لا يشرك بالله شيئا إلا امرا كانت بينه وبين اخيه شحناء فيقال : اركوا هذين حتى يصطلحا اركوا هذين حتى يصطلحا
“Deeds are presented every Thursday and Monday, and on that day Allah forgives every person who does not associate anything with Allah, except a man who has enmity between himself and his brother. It is said: Leave these two until they reconcile. Leave these two until they reconcile.”
❀ In another narration, Sayyiduna Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“O Messenger of Allah! I have not seen you fast in any month as much as you fast in Sha’ban.” He ﷺ said: ذلك شهر يغفل الناس عنه بين رجب ورمضان، وهو شهر ترفع فيه الاعمال إلى رب العالمين، فاحب ان يرفع عملي وانا صائم
“That is a month between Rajab and Ramadan which people neglect, and it is a month in which deeds are raised to the Lord of the worlds. I like that my deed be raised while I am fasting.”
❀ Similarly, a hadith states that the Prophet ﷺ used to fast on Monday and Thursday. He ﷺ said: “On these days deeds are presented to Allah. I like that when my deed is presented, I am in a state of fasting.”
❀ A hadith states that the Prophet ﷺ said:
يرفعه يرفع إليه عمل الليل قبل عمل النهار وعمل النهار قبل عمل الليل
“The deed of the night is raised to Him before the deed of the day, and the deed of the day before the deed of the night.”
↰ Harmonising all these hadiths, the renowned muhaddith Abd al-Rahman Mubarakpuri writes:
وهذا لا ينافي قوله عليه السلام: يرفع عمل الليل قبل عمل النهار، وعمل النهار قبل عمل الليل، للفرق بين الرفع والعرض، لأن الأعمال تجمع فى الأسبوع وتعرض فى هذين اليومين. فى حديث مسلم تعرض الاعمال الناس فى كل جمعة مرتين يوم الاثنين ويوم خميس فيغفر لكل مومن الا عبد بينه وبين اخيه شحناء فيقال : انظروا هذين حتى يصطلحا قال ابن حجر: ولا ينافي هذا رفعها فى شعبان، فقال: إنه شهر ترفع فيه الأعمال، وأحب أن يرفع عملي وأنا صائم. لجواز رفع أعمال الأسبوع مفصلة، وأعمال العام مجملة
“(The presentation of deeds on Monday and Thursday) is not contrary to the Prophet’s ﷺ statement that the deed of the night is raised before the deed of the day and the deed of the day before the deed of the night. This is because raising (rafa’) and presenting (‘ard) differ: over the whole week deeds are gathered, and on these two days they are presented. In the hadith of Sahih Muslim it is stated that twice every week, on Monday and Thursday, deeds are presented to Allah, and Allah forgives every believer except two people who have enmity between them. It is said: Defer these two until they reconcile. Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him) said that these hadiths also do not contradict the hadith that deeds are raised in the month of Sha’ban and that the Prophet ﷺ liked his deed to be raised while fasting, because it is permissible that the deeds of the week are raised in detail and the deeds of the year are raised in summary in Sha’ban.”
↰ From the aforementioned hadiths it is known that all our deeds are raised and presented to Allah, who is the owner of their reward and punishment, and there is no one other than Allah who disposes of affairs before whom our deeds are presented.
Regarding the narration cited from Musnad Ahmad, that:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إن أعمالكم تعرض على أقاربكم وعشائركم من الأموات، فإن كان خيرا استبشروا به، وإن كان غير ذلك قالوا: اللهم لا تمتهم حتى تهديهم كما هديتنا.
“Your deeds are presented to your deceased relatives. If the deeds are good, they rejoice at them, and if they are not good, they say: ‘O Allah! Do not let them die until You guide them as You have guided us.'”
This narration is weak, because in its chain between Sufyan and Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) there is an unidentified narrator (majhul). The mufti has cited Majma’ al-Zawa’id along with Musnad Ahmad, but it is surprising that while he mentioned the reference to Majma’ al-Zawa’id, he swallowed up the criticism of this narration by Imam Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him). After narrating this report, Imam Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) says: رواه احمد وفيه رجل لم يسم “It was narrated by Ahmad, and in its chain there is a man whose name is not mentioned.”
↰ After this, Imam Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) pointed to a narration from Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) that corresponds to this report, and Imam Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) brought Abu Ayyub’s narration in the chapter before this one, and then said:
وفيه مسلمة بن علي وهو ضعيف “This narration has been brought by Imam al-Tabarani in “al-Mu’jam al-Kabir” and “al-Mu’jam al-Awsat.” In its chain is Maslamah ibn Ali, a weak narrator.”
◈ Regarding Maslamah ibn Ali, Imam al-Bukhari, Imam Ibn Hibban and Imam Abu Zur’ah al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on them) say: “He is munkar al-hadith (narrates rejected hadiths).”
◈ Imam al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
قال البخاري كل من قلت فيه منكر الحديث فلا تحل الرواية عنه
Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Whoever I say about him that he is munkar al-hadith, it is not permissible to narrate from him.”
◈ Imam Ya’qub ibn Sufyan al-Fasawi described him as da’if al-hadith; Imam al-Jawzjani, Imam al-Azdi, Imam al-Nasa’i, Imam al-Daraqutni, and Imam al-Barqani described him as matruk al-hadith; and Imam al-Ajurri transmitted from Abu Dawud that he was not trustworthy (ghayr thiqah) and not reliable (ghayr ma’mun).
◈ Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
يروي عن الاوزاعي والزبيدي المناكير والموضوعات
“Maslamah ibn Ali used to narrate munkar and fabricated (mawdu’) reports from Imam al-Awza’i and al-Zubaydi.”
Therefore, it is established that this narration is extremely weak.
In a narration found in Hilyat al-Awliya and Kanz al-Ummal, these words appear:
ان اعمال امتي تعرض علي في كل يوم جمعة واشتد غضب الله علي الزناة
“Every Friday my ummah’s deeds are presented to me; the wrath of Allah against adulterers becomes very severe.”
This narration is also extremely weak. Two of its narrators are majruh. Ahmad ibn Isa ibn Mahan al-Razi used to narrate false reports in praise of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and would relate strange and bizarre reports. The scholars of hadith have criticized him.
The second narrator of this report, ‘Abbad ibn Kathir al-Basri, is also disputed (mutakallam fihi). Therefore, this narration too is not acceptable as evidence.
Two more narrations of the same theme are attributed to Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). One narration has been cited by Imam Ibn ‘Adi (may Allah have mercy on him).
In its chain, Farrash ibn Abdullah is saqit al-i’tibar (disregarded). In the other narration, there is Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Ziyat Abu Salamah al-Ansari, who narrates fabricated and false reports, and Imam Ibn Tahir called him a liar (kadhdhab).
Therefore, the narrations cited by the mufti are weak and unacceptable as evidence, and it is by no means permissible for people of knowledge to rely on them, when it is definitively established from the Quran and hadith that the return of all deeds is to Allah Almighty, who is the Controller of affairs and the Master of reward and punishment. No being other than Allah is beyond the causes of the world and is a controller of affairs. To regard anyone other than Allah as a controller of affairs, and to hold the belief that deeds are returned to them, is absolutely wrong and false. In the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, there were several incidents that remained hidden from him, and those deeds were not presented to him. As is found in a sahih hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had a servant (male or female) who used to perform cleaning work in his mosque. When that person died, he was buried without the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, being informed. After a few days, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, enquired about him, and he was told that he had died. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: افلا كنتم اذنتموني به؟ دلوني علي قبره “Why did you not inform me? Show me his grave.”
↰ From this sahih hadith it is known that this entire matter remained hidden from the blessed person of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. If the claim that the deeds of the ummah are presented to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, were correct, this matter would never have remained hidden from him. Similarly, when Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was sent as an envoy at Hudaybiyyah, his situation also remained hidden from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Therefore, since deeds were not presented to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, during his lifetime, to hold the belief after him that our deeds are presented to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and that he is pleased upon seeing good deeds and supplicates upon seeing bad deeds, and likewise such a belief regarding our relatives, is not correct.
