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Chapter 21

What is the Value of Sound Deeds and Words,
and How are they Made Nullified?

Preface: We have referred to the issue of sincerity in deeds along with a portion of Man's Test during the good and bad times of the world. Therefrom, it verily becomes clear that a test takes place when there is an opponent after or opposing the person and that opponent is ready to do battle in the pursuit.

Having perceived this truth, there are stipulations of hundred fifty six verses of the Qur'an merely on the destructions and performances of Satan. Likewise about Satan's vigorous assistant (ego), besides its main manifestations, it is mentioned under particular names of Enjoining-unto-evil¹, Accusing², and at-Peace ego³ and the aspects of its harms are enlightened in two hundred fifty four verses of the Holy Qur'an. The Intact Qur'an of believers has been explicit about them everywhere; the generous Messenger of God Muhammad (peace be upon him), has also given extensive explanations about this issue, and the Muslim Gnostics (Urafa) have scrutinized therein according to the exposure they had, which are all truths proving human beings' soundness, and that were given as training to the believers by the Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him), at the start of Islam. However, anti-Islamic forces, using certain tactics, did eliminate those truths, and did instead create the present situation under the name of Islam, which resulted in the Islamic society after fourteen hundred years to face these backward miseries, is one of the questions shaking the soul and psyche of a true and real Muslim. To some extent the activities of Jinni and human Devils have substantially affected it, and the carelessness of authorities has also played its important role thereupon.

In summary, this nimble rival, with the collaboration of ego, besides creating various complications before one succeeds in accomplishing good deeds and preventing the person through all kinds of deceits from carrying out that deed, should someone still succeed intelligently and forcefully to carry out a good deed, then Satan tries to nullify it, so that the person may receive no reward therefrom on the Judgment-Day, and no light to his Nucleus of Monotheism or Luminosity of Faith in the Heart today. Under your consideration, a portion of the topics will follow.

1. Have you noticed? How the Angels for recording Man's deeds know to differentiate the outwardly bad but inwardly good deeds, or those ones inwardly corrupt but outwardly good which we consider Hypocrisy (Riya) and Saying-to-be-heard (Sum'ah) or other corruptions? Sure! The Nucleus of Monotheism in the heart reveals itself and is illuminated if a deed is accomplished at any time, anywhere, under any circumstances, whether verbal, financial or physical, and is accepted. Therefore, the right shoulder's Angels record it in the person's Account Book of Good Deeds (Dafter-e-Hasanat).

2. Have you noticed? On the contrary, the deed may outwardly be good, for instance, someone gives donations, calls people to the path of Truth, or accomplishes other deeds in view of the people who are present in line with the religious jurisdictions principles and the enforced laws. However, in Heart, he has the intention of deceiving and betraying people, so that by this means he may gain a pious reputation and people would trust his words. Heart will have no luminosity therefrom, the left shoulder Angel will record it in the person's Account Book of Evil Deeds (Dafter-e-Saiy'at). Of course, there is good probability for it to be suppressed and erased while sincerely repenting.

3. Have you noticed? Such accomplishments might be considered by some among the audience as sound deeds or words and acceptable to His Almighty Being. However, since the Nucleus of Monotheism is not brightened from that accomplishment, contrarily darkness is progressively increasing instant by instant in his Heart. Consequently, the person often feels his disinterestedness in his insides, but he takes no notice of it. Thus, it is better for the believer to ask Almighty God for the acceptance of deeds and not fellow human beings. He should try from the inside not to get carried away by people's appreciations and admirations, and he should not be enticed to any of an audience's compliments.

4. Have you noticed? The nullification of such deeds as outwardly legitimate and inwardly rejected (mardood), takes place in two ways:

First: The person is accomplishing the act deliberately for deceiving people, and essentially he has no sound believe in its reward. For instance, some unbelievers portrayed themselves as compliant with commandments and outward requirements of religion for betraying the believers, until they managed to cultivate all these seeds of disharmony, schism and diverse faiths and customs amongst the believers with which we are hand to hand today, and from which we do not know any solution but the special grace and support of Him Almighty Being and the cooperation of the sincere-hearted companions. The punishment of the first person (founder of disharmony and schism) keeps increasing and multiplying, and knowing followers are held responsible until the resurrection day for these circumstances, and they are accountable in front of Almighty God.

5. Have you noticed? The second way of nullification of deed is about an action or word already fulfilled or spoken. The doer has religious belief therein and yet it is nullified and enters the Account Book of Evil Deeds in two ways: First: The person has accomplished the deed for the purpose of teaching and learning for people, or supporting the poor and oppressed ones, in line with the jurisprudence. However, Satan drives him later to show off, compelling him to mention it in many places or at least once before individuals or society for the purpose of getting people's attention in order to be called as benevolent, so that in the future he may take advantage of it. Thus, in this way, his deed is either nullified or is absolutely hypocrisy. If, his deceit becomes effective in people's minds, then forever the scar of disharmony will be put on the forehead of this kind of people.

We seek refuge in God.

6. Have you noticed? What is the second way? Well! This is such that the person has accomplished a certain good deed, and for showing off he mentions it to someone or a group of people who were not present. Or, someone expresses contentment for that action of him, and he replies with pride, "Yes I always accomplish this kind of good deed," whereas this was the only time he had accomplished a good deed. Right there that very deed of him is nullified which was recorded in his Account Book of Goodness as good deed. This hypocrisy is considered by the Islamic Jurisprudence as the category of Questionable Deeds (Mashbooh) or saying-to-be-heard (Sum'ah).

7. Have you noticed? If Satan managed to nullify a portion of the accomplishment of that act or those acts through the above mentioned deceits and the person noticed it and became heartily penitent, then Almighty God effaces that entire thing back from his Account Book of Evil Deeds and enters it in his Account Book of Good Deeds as reward.

"Whoso does evil and his ego is darkened, then he seeks Almighty God's forgiveness, Almighty God forgives him and mercifully grants him spiritual ranks."⁴

8. Have you noticed? What delicate points there are in the blessed religion of Islam for accomplishment of a person's deeds, some of which we just mentioned and shed light on. As a result, whatever the believer is fulfilling must be purely for the sake of Almighty God. In fulfillments as such, one should not let the expectation from other-than-God neither while accomplishing nor afterwards. Namely, he should expect his reward from Almighty God, not from other-than-Him, as this is a fraud of Satan.

"I do not ask you any reward for what I guided you to Truth, and my reward is with the Lord of worlds."⁵

Footnotes:
1 Enjoining-unto-Evil (Ammarah-b-Ssoo) - (Ref: Yusuf:53, Quran)
2 The Accusing Ego (Lawwama) - (Ref: Qiyamat:2, Quran)
3 the Ego at-Peace (Mutma'inna) - (Ref: Al-Fajr:27, Quran) What is Ego?
4 The Holy Quran: Chapter 4 - An-Nisa (Women) verse 110
5 The Holy Quran: Chapter 26 - Al-Shuara (the Poets) verse 109