Simple, Easy Deeds With Great Rewards - Islamic Perspective.

Introduction: Allah the Almighty has sent us in this world so that we worship Him alone and try our best to make our Lord happy so that we get the best of the rewards in the life hereafter.
In contrary to what should be the purpose of our lives , we spent our time, energy and our all our resources to make the life of this world a comfortable and beautiful one. Nobody can deny the fact that one day he/she has to die and as a Muslim we also believe that we have to answer Our God about the life spent in this world, so why not try our best to gather as much good deeds as we can.
The way of life which Islam teaches is not a difficult one, neither it is hard to earn rewards from simple and easy deeds, which with a little practice we can make them a part of our daily lives.

Here I have tried to summarize simple and easy deeds which are great and rewarding in the sight of Allah. We would neither need much time, energy or money to make these a habit but surely we hope that Allah will give us lots of rewards in this life as well as in the hereafter.

1. Having Good Intentions: Before doing any work, either it is your studies, household work or business if we start it with a good intention to please our God- Allah it becomes a reward.
Our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and His messenger, And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for. ( Narrated By Sahih Bukhari And Sahih Muslim) 

We do a lot of things daily for example we eat, drink, make friends,  go to work, cook, etc, and if before doing any of these things we simply make a good intention for example before we eat we can make an intention that we are eating because Allah has told us to take care of our bodies and that once we get energy from this food we will praise Allah for providing us the blessings , the action of eating will be rewarded too.


2. Making Supplications To Allah And Asking Allah For Everything: The act of supplication and asking from Allah is one of the beloved deeds in the sight of Allah. In our day to day routine there are many things that we need for example a need for good clothes, a nice place to live, delicious food to eat, good job, nice weather and so on. if we keep on raising our hands to Allah and ask Him alone from the very minor things to the major needs , our supplications would not only be answered by the Lord of the worlds but also we would be rewarded for having trust in Allah and asking Him alone for everything.
It has been narrated in Tarmizi that Our Messenger Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) has instructed us to make supplications to Allah not only in bad times but also in good times of life.

Allah Himself Says in The Holy Quran In Surah Baqarah chapter 2 verse 186:

And when my slaves ask you (O Mohammad (pbuh) ) concerning Me , then answer them, I am indeed near, I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me, so let them obey Me and believe in Me so that they may be led aright.

It is not necessary that we call Allah for help only when in need for a major issue instead invocation to  Allah is itself a form of worship and  it is narrated in Tirmizi that Prophet (pbuh) told:

Make Dua And ask Allah if even you need a shoelace. 

3. Making Istagfar (repentance to Allah) : We never know but we do commit sins time to time in our daily life and so if making repentance a habit will help clean those sins. Keep on asking forgiveness from Allah while driving, cooking, sewing and after every prayer. Repenting for our sins helps make our life easy and opens the door of blessings from Allah.

4. Remembrance Of Allah: Again it is easy to keep ourselves busy with remembrance of Allah and praising Him while we do our routine activities like driving or cooking etc. Instead of gossiping and wasting our time we should make a habit of praising Allah with simple short words like Subhanallah, Allhamdulliha, Allah o akbar which neither takes much time, nor energy but has great rewards.

5. Praising The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH): Saying Durood and Praising Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) is also very rewarding but a simple deed.
It is mentioned in Surah Al Ahzab Chapter 33 verse 56:

Allah sends His blessings and mercy on the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and also His angels ask Allah to bless him. O you who believe send your durood ( Ask Allah to bless) him (Mohammad pbuh)and you should greet him with the Islamic way of salutation.

6. Having Patience: Being patient on worldly difficulties and hardships is practically a bit difficult but is very rewarding in the sight of Allah. May be you have lost your loved one or you may be your desires have not be fulfilled, but if you make a habit of accepting Allah's will and stay patient, it will not only make your life easy and give you a peace of mind but also you will get an enormous reward for Allah Almighty. This life will have many hardships and thinking that it can be perfect is not practical. So why not follow what Allah has told us in the Holy Quran:

And certainly We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits but give glad tidings to those who remain patient. Who when afflicted with calamity say Truly to Allah we belong and truly to Him shall we return These are those on whom are the blessings from their Lord and they are those who receive His mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones. ( Surah Baqarah Chapter 2 verses 155-157)

7. Saying Bismillah Before Starting Any work: Again a very simple habit which is rewarding and brings blessings to your work. Bismillah is an Arabic work which means starting in the name of Allah.  Although you may forget in the early few days but once it becomes your habit you would be starting everything by saying Bismillah ( that is in the name of Allah).

8. Greeting with As salam uilkum: you go to work or meet your friends say As salamuilkum by sending peace and blessings to you fellow Muslims and it will increase your friendship as well as you will be rewarded. Also it is not necessary to say salam to people you know but say it to any one Muslim  you meet.

9. Visiting A Sick Person: It is one of the good deeds which anyone can do without spending much energy or money.

10. Participating In The Funeral Prayer: If you know any one of your fellow Muslim brother or sister has died go and participate in the funeral prayer, which is a short prayer but is very rewarding.

AbuHuraira reported that Allah's Messanger (pbuh) said:

He who attends the funeral till the prayer is offered for the dead , for him is the reward of one qirat and he who attends and stays till he is burried, for him is the reward of two qirats. It was said . What are Qirats? He said: They are equivalent to two huge mountains.

11. Hiding Someones Fault: None of us are perfect and if by chance you know someones fault which would not hurt anyone else but if it stays hidden the person would not be disgraced, do not publicate it. Many of us may not know but it is a rewarding deed and in return Allah would hide our faults on the day of judgement and prevent us from being disgraced.

12. Advising others About Good and preventing Them From Doing Bad: May be you know a friend or a fellow colleague who does not pray five times a day. Try to advice in a polite way and practice in front of them. It is a great reward and once your friend would start practicing good deeds you would get a continuous reward too. Similarly preventing someone from performing a bad action is also a great rewarding deed. Allah says in the Holy Quran in Surah Al Imran Chapter 3 verse 110:

You are the best people raised among mankind. You enjoin good and forbid bad......

13. Giving Charity And Helping The needy: Although a small act of kindness but very rewarding. You may have some extra food, money or clothes and giving them to a needy person would help make someone life better and your hereafter wonderful.

14. Forgiving Others: It is not uncommon that we get hurt due to someones bad attitude but if we make a habit of forgiving others it not only gives you peace in your heart but you would be rewarded by Allah and in return Allah would forgive your sins.

15. Talking Politely: It is a part of good manners as well as a good deed in the sight of Allah.

16. Respecting The Parents: After obeying Allah it is the duty of every Muslim to be respectful and obedient to their parents. Again it will make you a good person as well as get reward from Allah.

17. Be Kind and Respectful With Ones Spouse: A very important aspect of married life. It will make your life happier and you would be rewarded by Allah.

18. Keeping the Kinship: Islam teaches us to be respectful and kind with our relatives. Never break the ties of kinship and help them when they are in need.
Allah says in the Holy Quran:

O Mankind , be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him He created his wife and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through whom you demand your mutual rights and do not cut the relations of kinship. And surely Allah is ever all watcher over you

19. Being Good With Your Neighbors:  This action will not only make a good citizen and a nice person in the society but it is a recommended act for Muslims to be nice to their neighbors.

It is Narrated that Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said that he was advised by the angel Gabriel about neighbors to an extent that he thought they may even get a share in one's inheritance. ( Shaih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

It was advised by our Prophet (pbuh) not to let your neighbor sleep hungry while you have a table full of food. Sharing gifts and small acts of kindness towards your neighbor would be rewarded.

20. Welcoming The Guests: Respecting and welcoming your guests is again a very rewarding act.

21. Avoiding A Fight And Argument: In our day to day activities there may be times when you feel like to argue in order to prove yourself . If you feel the matter not important just leave the fight and stay quiet even if you are on the truth. It is a very rewarding act and will also help you make a better person in the society.

22. Respecting Your Elders And Be Kind To The Younger Ones; This is also a part of good manners at the same time Allah rewards you for the kind act.

23. Listening To the Azan (Call for The Prayer): When the call for the prayer (azan) is made listen to it and answer it according to the method taught in ah hadith. It takes just a few minutes to stop doing our work and pay attention to azan but its reward is enormous and also our supplications are answers if asked after azan.

24. Starting Your Work Early In The Morning: It is also proven scientifically that waking up early in the morning and sleeping early at night is good for our health but this good habit is also taught by Islam. Waking up early for the fajar praying and then starting our work early as many blessing for Allah the Almighty.

25. Planting A Tree: With A good intention to help people with the fruit and the shade is also a very rewarding act.

26. Being Kind To The Animals: Helping out a hungry or a sick animal is also a kindness that is rewarded by Allah.

27: Being Hopeful and Having Trust In Allah: No matter what problem we go through always hope for the best and trust Allah.

The above points are just a short summary, although there are a number of other deeds too which have lots of rewards. May Allah guide us all and help us to be good Muslims and good person in the society.