Hasten to deeds before being overtaken by tribulations that are like patches of the darkest night;

Arabic text

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «بَادِرُوا بِالْأَعْمَالِ فِتَنًا كَقِطَعِ اللَّيْلِ الْمُظْلِمِ، يُصْبِحُ الرَّجُلُ مُؤْمِنًا وَيُمْسِي كَافِرًا، أَوْ يُمْسِي مُؤْمِنًا وَيُصْبِحُ كَافِرًا، يَبِيعُ دِينَهُ بِعَرَضٍ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا».

Translation

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Hasten to deeds before being overtaken by tribulations that are like patches of the darkest night; a man would be a believer in the morning and become a disbeliever in the evening, or he would be a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever in the morning. He sells his religion for a worldly gain."

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is urging the believer to hasten to good deeds and perform them frequently before they become difficult and he gets preoccupied with tribulations and suspicious matters that would prevent him and turn him away from offering good deeds. During such tribulations, which are as dark as the night, the truth and falsehood are mixed up, and it becomes hard for people to distinguish between them. Their severity causes one to wander blindly to the extent that he would be a believer in the morning and become a disbeliever in the evening, or he would be a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever in the morning, abandoning his religion for the sake of a transient worldly gain.

Benefits

• It is obligatory to hold fast to the religion and hasten to good deeds before being hindered by impediments.
• Referring to the succession of misleading trials at the end of time and the fact that when one trial ends another begins.
• If one's religion is weak and he gives it up in return for worldly affairs like wealth and others, this will cause him to deviate, abandon the religion, and get carried away by trials.
• The Hadīth bears evidence that good deeds are a means of salvation from trials.
• Trials are of two types: trials related to suspicious matters and their treatment lies in knowledge, and trials related to desires and their treatment lies in faith and patience.
• The Hadīth points out that those with few good deeds are more vulnerable to tribulations, whereas those with plenty of good deeds should not be deceived by what they have done; rather, they should strive for more.

Topics

• The Creed
• Names and Rulings
• Branches of Faith