Taking Refuge to God from Acts That Ruin Good Deeds

TEHRAN (IQNA) – According to Islamic teachings, the rewards and effects of all rituals such as prayer and fasting can vanish with wrong acts such as backbiting.

Muslims should behave wisely and take care not to ruin their good deeds. According to narrations, the prayers of those who backbite will not be accepted by God for 40 days. Hence, in the blessed month of Ramadan when God warmly welcomes worshipers and grants their wishes, we should not miss this opportunity by carrying out bad deeds.

In the supplication dedicated to day 26 of the blessed month of Ramadan, we read: “O Allah, on this day, make my efforts worthy of appreciation, and my sins forgiven, my deeds accepted, my flaws concealed, O the best of those who hear.”

 Message 1: Efforts should be worth appreciation

God Almighty appreciates the efforts of His servants. This means that Allah Almighty observes the rights of those who worship; one who has done a good act will be appreciated by God.

Those efforts that are made purely and for only God’s sake will be appreciated by God.

Message 2: Forgiving sins

Who do benefit from God’s forgiveness? God is Forgiving but this forgiveness is granted to those who seek to repent. In today’s supplication, we ask God to forgive our sins because one of the features of the blessed month of Ramadan is its effect in washing sins away.

Message 3: Acceptance of deeds

It is not the implementation, but the acceptance and effect of the deeds that are important. According to the Quran and narrations of Ahl al-Bayt (AS), there are conditions for God’s acceptance of deeds, including relying on God and taking refuge in Him, respecting parents, and staying away from sins, among others.

Message 4: Asking God to hid our flaws

On Resurrection Day, the truth and inner traits of humans will be evident to all. Without God’s concealment of flaws in this world, people would be irritated.

But what should we do to benefit from this blessing? Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Conceal your brothers’ flaws so that God conceals yours.”

Message 5: God hears

God Almighty is the best of those who hear. He knows our demands and hears our prayers. We hope that He would accept our deeds, grant our wishes, forgive our sins, and conceal our flaws.

This article was derived from a book written in Persian by Hojat-ol-Islam Ruhollah Bidram.