As we cruise down further into the last few days of Ramadhan and in seeking the night better than a thousand months, as fatigue and tiredness starts to occasionally kick in, this verse is a concise and important reminder for us to keep going, and finish strong :
هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ
"Is there any reward for Ihsan (goodness, excellence) other than Ihsan?” (55:60)
A rhetorical question from Allah, it's a short but powerful statement to remind us that
1. Your efforts of ihsan to seek the Pleasure of Allah will never go to waste!If you put in the effort, is it befitting that Allah, the Most Just (العدل), Most Generous(الجواد، الكريم), All-Appreciative (الشكور), reward you with anything less than excellence?
No, you should look at all your deeds as an investment. Like every investor is hopeful in seeing the fruits of his investment, likewise, you should be optimistic in what Allah has in store for those who invest.
The Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said :
"if one if you makes good (performs with ihsan in) his Islam, his good deeds will be rewarded ten times to 700 times for good deed, and an evil deed will be recorded as it is" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 2,#40)
10 to 700 multiples : That's 1000% to 70, 000% return on investment! How crazy do people go over to get a lousy 7% percent investment, that's not even a "guarantee"? compared to this promise from Allah, الحق!
And that's on a "normal" day - imagine if those efforts of yours hit Laylat-ul Qadr.. Multiply that by a further 1,000 months.
2. Did you think that the Excellent Rewards of Allah will come FREE? And this is more in line with the context of the verse - After Allah narrates to us the excellent rewards of Paradise, then He mentions this verse, as if asking, "is there any other way of obtaining this excellent rewards, other than excellent effort?"
So don't be complacent with whatever effort we've put into our deeds, especially in seeking Laylat-ul Qadr. Awesomeness requires awesome effort, and really, we shouldn't "syok sendiri" and pat ourselves on the back.
Set high benchmarks for yourselves - can anyone of us even equal half that of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam)? He prayed qiamullayl until his feet cracked. Did he NEED forgiveness from Allah? No - he did it out of pure shukr of Allah. Here we are, in desperate need of the forgiveness and pardon of Allah, we should be cracking our feet even more. As far as I know, our feet are still in tip top condition by the time Shawwal comes - ok je nak pegi byk open house.
3. All deeds of good that others have done for you - is it befitting that you don't reward them with good? This verse also serves as an indirect warning to us, don't take others' good deeds for granted. Don't overlook people's kindness or good words, in whatever form - have the decency to always be appreciative & thank others : either directly by saying JazakumUllah khayr (may Allah reward you with good) as taught by the Prophet, or indirectly, by making du'aa for the person.
The Prophet said, "لم يشكر الناس، لم يشكر الله عز و جل"
"those who aren't thankful to the people, aren't thankful to Allah" (Tirmidzi)
This hadith is serious, brothers and sisters! Do we want to be praying to Allah in a state of unthankfulness to Him?
Before you spend your days in the night in thankfulness to Him, spend your days thanking other human beings who have done good for you.
4. Don't think that your good deeds to others will go to waste!
For those amongst us who do good to others, you shouldn't be expecting anything in return. The reality is, if they don't even bother to thank you or make du'aa for you, Allah has Reserved greater reward for you.
Remember, whatever deeds of ihsan you do, is for Allah, not for the people.
Their unthankfulness, is their business with Allah. You just keep at it: keep up your good akhlaq, your charity, etc., because ihsan to others is your personal brand. Your excellent rewards await when you meet Him –
هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ
"Is there any reward for Ihsan (goodness, excellence) other than Ihsan?” (55:60)
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