This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Abu Hamza Abdul Khaliq Siddiqi's book Sahih Fazail-e-Amaal.
Those who strive in the way of Allah against the self, Satan, and the enemies of Allah are very fortunate. And Allah Almighty rewards their efforts abundantly and grants them the ability to perform righteous deeds so that through them they may attain nearness to Him. As He has said:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا ۚ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾
"And those who strive for Our cause - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good."
Reference: (29-Al-Ankabut:69)
﴿وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْآخِرَةَ وَسَعَىٰ لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًا﴾
"And whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer - it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah]."
Reference: (17-Al-Isra:19)
﴿إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَقُومُ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ثُلُثَيِ اللَّيْلِ وَنِصْفَهُ وَثُلُثَهُ وَطَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الَّذِينَ مَعَكَ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يُقَدِّرُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن لَّن تُحْصُوهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ ۚ عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَىٰ ۙ وَآخَرُونَ يَضْرِبُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ ۙ وَآخَرُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ ۚ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا ۚ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا ۚ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ﴾
Your Lord knows very well that you and a group of those with you spend nearly two-thirds of the night, half of it, or one-third of it in Tahajjud prayer. And Allah has full knowledge of the night and the day. He knows well that you will never be able to keep it up. So He has shown mercy to you; therefore, recite as much of the Qur'an as is easy for you. He knows that some of you are ill, others are traveling through the land seeking Allah's bounty, and others are fighting in the cause of Allah. So recite as much of the Qur'an as you can easily, establish prayer, give zakat, and give Allah a goodly loan. And whatever good you put forward for yourselves - you will find it with Allah better and greater in reward. And seek forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Reference: (73-Al-Muzzammil:20)
The more one strives in the way of Allah, the closer Allah becomes to His servant. As mentioned in the following Hadith Qudsi:
عن أنس رضى الله عنه ، عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يرويه عن ربه عزوجل قال:إذا تقرب العبد إلى شبرا تقربت إليه ذراعا ، وإذا تقرب إلى ذراعا تقربت منه باعا ، وإذا أتاني يمشي أتيته هرولة
Narrated by Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) narrated from his Lord that Allah Almighty said: "When a servant comes one span closer to Me, I go one cubit closer to him; and when he comes one cubit closer to Me, I go two cubits closer to him; and when he comes walking towards Me, I run towards him."
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Tawheed, Chapter: Mentioning the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his narration from his Lord, No: 7536.
Consider! How much effort does the infallible, intercessor of the sinners, the intercessor of the Day of Judgment, Muhammad Rasulullah (peace be upon him) exert in the path of Allah? How much hard work does he do?
عن عائشة رضي الله عنها ، أن نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يقوم من الليل حتى تتفطر قدماه، فقالت عائشة: لم تصنع هذا يا رسول الله ، وقد غفر الله لك ما تقدم من ذنبك وما تأخر؟! قال: أفلا أحب أن أكون عبدا شكورا؟
Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to stand in prayer at night so long that his feet would swell. I said to him: "Why do you do this, when Allah has forgiven all your past and future sins?" He replied: "Should I not be a thankful servant?"
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Tafsir, No: 4836 - Sahih Muslim, Book of Characteristics of Hypocrites, Chapter: Increasing deeds and striving in worship, No: 2820.
One form of striving in the way of Allah is that a person remains busy in the field of Dawah (inviting to Islam) throughout the day and in the solitude of the night prostrates before his Lord and supplicates to Him so that his Lord may be pleased with him. And if difficulties and hardships become obstacles in adopting the religion, he should not mind them but only care for the religion and faith. Such a person, who bears such a great task, is praised in the Qur'an and Ahadith. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
يأتي على الناس زمان الصابر فيهم على دينه كالقابض على الجمر .
"There will come a time upon the people when the one who is patient on his religion will be like the one who holds a burning coal in his hand."
Reference: Sunan Tirmidhi, Book of Tribulations, Chapter: The patient on his religion in tribulations, No: 2260.
Imam Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) declared it authentic.The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and the pious predecessors sacrificed their wealth and lives for the cause of the Divine religion. They knew that all this was by the grace of their Lord and that they would be questioned about it. This is why the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
لا تزول قدما عبد حتى يسأل عن عمره فيما أفناه وعن علمه فيما فعل فيه وعن ماله من أين اكتسبه وفيم أنفقه وعن جسمه فيما أبلاه .
"The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about four things: about his life and how he spent it; about his knowledge and how he acted upon it; about his wealth and from where he earned it and on what he spent it; and about his body and how he wore it out."
Reference: Sunan Tirmidhi, Book of the Description of the Resurrection, Chapter: On the Resurrection: 2417.
Imam Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) declared it authentic.The efforts and struggles of the Companions such as Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with them) in the propagation and preaching of the religion are unparalleled. Whenever there was a need, all the Companions participated in it with all their means and resources. May Allah grant us sincerity, devotion, and steadfastness in His path. Ameen!
