Masʾalah fī al-Murābaṭah wa-al-Mujāwarah - Ibn Taimiya - (81)

216 – This is exactly what Allah, the Exalted, says: “So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous work and associate none with his Lord in worship” (Sūrat al-Kahf 18:110).

217 – ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, would supplicate: “O Allah, make all my deeds righteous, make them purely for Your Face, and do not let anyone else have a share in them.”⦗1⦘

Definition of the Righteous Deed

218 – A righteous deed is that which the Law has prescribed. It is an act of obedience to Allah and His Messenger. It is the performance of good works by which a person becomes a muḥsin (a doer of good).⦗2⦘

219 – Allah, the Most High, says: “Who could have a better religion than someone who submits his whole self to Allah, while acting with excellence, and follows the creed of Abraham in all uprightness? Allah took Abraham as an intimate friend” (Sūrat al-Nisāʾ 4:125).

220 – And He says: “Indeed, whoever submits his whole self to Allah while acting with excellence shall have his reward with his Lord; no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve” (Sūrat al-Baqarah 2:112).

(1) The author also cites it in: Iqtida al-Sirat (2/843); Al-Safadiyya (2/262); Al-Istiqaama (2/308); and Minhaj al-Sunna (5/253). (2) His distinguished pupil, the eminent scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, likewise defines a righteous deed as “an act devoid of ostentation and regulated by the sunnah” (Al-Jawab al-Kafi, p. 91).

٢١٦- وهذا كما قال تعالى: ﴿فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَداً﴾ (الكهف: من الآية١١٠) . ٢١٧- وكان عمر بن الخطاب ﵁ يقول:" اللهم اجعل عملي كله صالحا، واجعله لوجهك خالصا، ولا تجعل لأحد فيه شيئا"١. تعريف العمل الصالح ٢١٨- والعمل الصالح: هو المشروع. وهو: طاعة الله ورسوله. وهو: فعل الحسنات التي يكون الرجل به محسنا٢. ٢١٩- قال تعالى: ﴿وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِيناً مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفاً وَاتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلاً﴾ (النساء:١٢٥) . ٢٢٠- وقال: ﴿بَلَى مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ﴾ (البقرة:١١٢) .

١ أورده المصنف أيضا في: "اقتضاء الصراط" (٢/٨٤٣) و"الصفدية" (٢/٢٦٢) و"الاستقامة" (٢/٣٠٨) و"منهاج السنة" (٥/٢٥٣) . ٢ وقال تلميذه النجيب العلامة ابن القيم ﵀ في تعريفه للعمل الصالح أيضا: "هو العمل الخالي من الرياء المقيد بالسنة" "الجواب الكافي" ص (٩١) .