Did Allah Accept My Deeds?
Before the time when Allah usually sends abundant rain, my husband decided to plant some trees in the garden. He chose three Hibiscus trees, three Palm trees and a Mango tree. He watered the plants regularly and soon the monsoon rains came with their flashing lightning storms until the plants were firmly established. Today, almost two years later, we are left with one Hibiscus, two palm trees and a mango tree. Two Hibiscus trees and a palm tree did not grow and were destroyed. Allah accepted some plants and rejected others. My husband wondered ‘How many deeds of mine has Allah accepted and how many others has He rejected?’ This reminded me of something I had studied from The Qur’aan.
And when Ibraheem was raising the foundations of the House and Ismaa’eel, saying ‘Rabbanaa Taqabbal Minnaa. Indeed You are The All Hearing and All Knowing.’ (Qur’aan 2:127)
We are all familiar with the historical event when Ibraheem and his son Ismaa’eel built the Ka’bah in Makkah. But if we read the story carefully we find something quite profound. While building the Ka’bah they were supplicating to Allah saying ‘Rabbana Taqabbal Minnaa’ meaning ‘Our Lord Accept this from us.’ Here they were Prophets of Allah and obedient devout slaves, building the House of Worship for the sake of Allah. They were performing a mighty deed before Allah, free from sin or misguidance, yet despite this they were saying, ‘Rabbanaa Taqabbal Minnaa.’ If this is the case with the Prophets of Allah who were fulfilling the command of Allah then what about those other than them? Truly, this is a mighty lesson for us all.
It doesn’t matter what deed we perform. It could be the most perfectly performed deed. If we are true believers who know our Lord we will always have fear in the heart, being concerned whether Allah accepted the deed from us. This is because Allah is not compelled to accept anything from us unless He wishes to accept it by approving our intention and action. Even if we ourselves feel that our intention was pure and our action was in accordance with the Sunna, along with hope that our deed will be accepted we should have fear that our deed may be rejected. We can only hope and strive and on the Day of Reckoning, that is when we will know for sure.
My Husband’s money is Halaal so the plants were bought from Halaal means. Some of them I bought for him from the local store and others he purchased from the gardener. Some of the trees were planted by my husband and others by the gardener. His intention for planting the trees was twofold. His intention for planting the Hibiscus and Palm trees was to cover an area of the garden which was exposed. By covering this area he hoped for some privacy so that we could come out together and enjoy the outdoors without people looking in. His intention for planting the mango tree was for ongoing charity, hoping Allah would reward him each time an insect, animal or human ate from the tree.
As for the Hibiscus and Palm trees, the first three trees survived and flourished and the next three died. My husband tells me that although his intention was for obtaining privacy, after planting the first few trees he began thinking about how beautiful the garden would look once the trees grew. Thus his intention shifted without him realizing, expect later. As for the mango tree then he did not let his mind depart from the thought of Allah’s reward. He even sort of grabbed the tree from the gardener who was about to plant it. Instead he took hold of the tree and planted it himself while supplicating to Allah.
Another thing he tells me is that he remembers killing a lot of ants accidentally while watering the trees which did not survive. At times he gave the trees a lot of water and in doing so some ants were drowned. Although some ants were drowned accidentally he later realized that others were drowned by his carelessness and recklessness for all he had to do was to sprinkle some water and the ants would leave. He was remorseful for he had killed worshippers of Allah and had opposed the Sunna of the Rasool. Ever since, he is extremely careful around ants and forbids me to kill a single ant in the home. He simply removes the piece of crumb or food and the ants leave within minutes.
It is possible Allah accepted only those trees my husband planted seeking His reward and following the Sunna of His Rasool, and destroyed those that were planted seeking worldly beauty and watered recklessly. Allah knows best. The mango tree is growing and insects and wallabies are already eating from its leaves. It is now four foot tall. The first few trees which were planted seeking privacy so that I could come out without wearing my head cover are flourishing. The trees which were planted while thinking about how beautiful the garden would look were completely destroyed. These were the trees were the ants were massacred, may Allah forgive him.
I wonder if this is the case with planting trees, how many other deeds of ours has Allah accepted and rejected. It is a reminder for my husband and I to safeguard the intention more carefully and to follow the Sunna more closely. We ask Allah for forgiveness and we sincerely ask Him, ‘Rabbana Taqabbal Minnaa.’
Written by Kamillah Khan
