From a show on Hidayat TV (a faith show directed primarily at the Shia sect)
The Maulana mentioned we need to be good but not only talk about being good but be good in deeds. It is far better for us to have Allah know we do good deeds than strive for people to accept us as good people. Our good deeds should be in the way of Allah. If we do things to gain acceptance of people, then it is these people we should be expecting rewards from , rather than Allah (swt).
An anecdote was narrated of Surain (not sure how to spell that name) who defeated an enemy soldier. Someone else went to Rasulallah (pbuh) and claimed credit for the victory. A person who was familiar with the event was surprised about this but soon enough there was another person who came forward and claimed credit for the same act.
The person familiar with the event did not like this and immediately ran to Surain and asked him to go to the Messenger (pbuh) and get his due credit. He said to Surain, "There are already two people claiming your victory and there might be more if you don't go ahead and let the truth out. You deserve to applauded for your victory."
Surain said "No, my friend. I shall not do that. If I had done this for the Messenger (pbuh), I would most definitely have gone to him. I have acted in the way of Allah and for Him alone is that I went into that battle. He knows what I did and nothing is hidden from Him. My actions are in the way of the Almighty."
This little anecdote teaches us a great deal about our approach towards helping others. We should be generous and kind but rather than chasing social acceptance it should only be done in His way.
The Maulana mentioned we need to be good but not only talk about being good but be good in deeds. It is far better for us to have Allah know we do good deeds than strive for people to accept us as good people. Our good deeds should be in the way of Allah. If we do things to gain acceptance of people, then it is these people we should be expecting rewards from , rather than Allah (swt).
An anecdote was narrated of Surain (not sure how to spell that name) who defeated an enemy soldier. Someone else went to Rasulallah (pbuh) and claimed credit for the victory. A person who was familiar with the event was surprised about this but soon enough there was another person who came forward and claimed credit for the same act.
The person familiar with the event did not like this and immediately ran to Surain and asked him to go to the Messenger (pbuh) and get his due credit. He said to Surain, "There are already two people claiming your victory and there might be more if you don't go ahead and let the truth out. You deserve to applauded for your victory."
Surain said "No, my friend. I shall not do that. If I had done this for the Messenger (pbuh), I would most definitely have gone to him. I have acted in the way of Allah and for Him alone is that I went into that battle. He knows what I did and nothing is hidden from Him. My actions are in the way of the Almighty."
This little anecdote teaches us a great deal about our approach towards helping others. We should be generous and kind but rather than chasing social acceptance it should only be done in His way.
