those who submit, ‘O our Lord, avert the punishment of Hell from us, its punishment is indeed a noose around the neck.’ Indeed, that is a most wretched abode.

[Kanz-ul-Iman (translation of Quran)] (Part 19, Surah Al-Furqan, Verses 64-66)

Let us listen to the summary of what has been said regarding these verses in Siraat-ul-Jinaan: ‘Here, the private life of those with perfect Iman has been mentioned, so it is stated: The state of the solitude of those with perfect Iman is such that their night is spent performing Sajdah on their faces and standing in prayer on their feet.’

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                            صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Dear Islamic brothers, we have just heard how much preparation our pious predecessors would make to keep their good deeds concealed. If only we too would become pious for the sake of these pious people and not share our Nafl fasts, recitation of the Quran, Sadaqah and charity, litanies and invocations, us being a Sayyid, scholar, or a Hafiz with other people, without necessity or a valid Shar’i reason.

Mufti-e-A’zam Hind, Maulana Mustafa Raza Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, who is the elder son of A’la Hadrat رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, states: ‘Firstly, our Nafs-Ammarah does not allow us to perform any good deed, and if we are actually fortunate enough to carry out a good deed, then our Nafs does not allow us to conceal it.’

The virtues of concealing good deeds

Our Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has also encouraged us to hide our good deeds:

He صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, ‘Whoever from you has the ability to conceal his good deeds, then he should do so (i.e. conceal his good deeds). (Jami’ Sagheer, p. 512, Hadees 8405; Naykiyan Chupao, p. 12)

The Merciful Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has stated: ‘That Zikr of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ which even the overseeing angels are unable to hear is 70 times better than the Zikr