Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … Approximately fourteen and a half centuries ago, the revelation began to descend upon the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. From that time until now, the majority of the Muslim Ummah’s history has passed in hardships, trials, and tribulations; the periods of prosperity and spiritual tranquility have been very few. The present era, too, is nothing less than a heavy burden upon the Muslims; rather, now Muslims have begun to consider disbelief (kufr) as dominant and their own Islam as subdued, and the inhabitants of some countries are being crushed in the millstone of the enemies’ oppression and tyranny.

From this hadith, it is understood that a person’s righteous deeds indicate the goodness of his inner self; the same applies to evil deeds. This refutes those people who, despite being involved in certain evils and neglecting some obligatory acts (fara’id), claim with this misguided notion that doing good and refraining from evil is a matter of the heart, and that it does not matter if it is not manifested outwardly. In reality, there is crookedness and deviation in the hearts of such people, and this claim is merely an excuse for their evil actions.