"Among the signs that you depend on your deeds is that you lose hope when sins occur." Ibn Ataa'.
In this beautiful phrase, Ibn Ataa' is telling us that even though we are seeking to please Allah and hoping for His rewards, we must never depend on our own acts or deeds like Salah, Zakah or other things. Always depend on Allah's generosity and mercy.
The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Deeds will never give anyone entrance to Paradise." The companions asked, "Even you, O Prophet of Allah?" To which the Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Even me, only if Allah has mercy on me."
This means that deeds are not the ticket to enter Paradise. In other words, if you were hoping for Allah's generosity being dependent on your many good deeds, then if your deeds are less and you fall into sin, would that mean there is no hope?
When we say Allah rewards us because of our good deeds it sounds like Allah has set a price for Heaven. So we think if we pay the price (Salah, Zakah, and Hajj etc), we can claim we have the right and we deserve Heaven! Is this true?
If I purchase a watch from a store, and I pay the full equivalent price of this item, then it belongs to me. I own the item. The seller has no claim to this watch anymore. This is the normal interaction in life in relation between one person to another, a buyer and a seller, but the relation to Allah is different.
When we say, we deserve Paradise because we have paid the price, a question arises: Who gave you the ability to pray? Who made it feasible for you to perform Hajj? Who gave you the wealth to donate money? Who made your heart a place for faith rather than a place for Kufr? It was no one but Allah. Allah said: {They regard as favor to you that they have embraced Islam. Say: "Count not your Islam as a favor upon me. Nay, but Allâh has conferred a favor upon you that He has guided you to the Faith if indeed you are true}. Hujurat 17.
We should never imagine that we deserve Heaven because we believe we have done our homework. This would mean that all our deeds are based on our own acts with help from no one as though we are self sufficient. As if we alone were able to carry out these deeds by ourselves and we have paid the full price for paradise, so give it to us God!
There is no power or ability but by Allah, or have we forgotten that? I need Allah to move my tongue to remember Him in Zikr. I need Allah to move my feet to walk to Salat. I need Allah to put this faith in my heart and preserve it.
A person might ask, didn't Allah say, "Enter Paradise, because of (the good) which you used to do?" Yet this statement is a decision from one side only. It is not from two partners who are bound by a contract. For example, when you give your son money and tell him if he donates it to the poor, you will give him a gift. Who gave him the means and the encouragement to donate?
A maid was praying in the night, making this Dua: "O Allah, I ask You by Your love for me to make me happy. I ask You by Your love for me to help me." Her master was angry when he heard and said, "How dare you say such things to Allah. You should say: O Allah I ask You by my love for You to give me, not the other way around!" She said, "My master, if He did not love me, He would not have made me wake up for Him this hour."
Sh. Kifah Mustapha