Are my deeds accepted by Allah SWT?

We pray, fast, do Hajj, give zakat and sadaqah – are they accepted? How do we know?

Every deed must have the following conditions in order for them to be accepted by Allah SWT:

• INTENTION – done only for the sake of Allah (SWT), and
• DONE ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET (PBUH). ACCORDING TO TEACHING OF QUR’AN

FROM THE QUR’AN

• “And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakāh. And that is the correct religion.” 98:5
• “And recite to them the story of Adam’s two sons, in truth, when they both made an offering [to Allah], and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. Said [the latter], “I will surely kill you.” Said [the former], “Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him]”. 5:27
• “And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord” – 23:60
• “And We will approach [i.e., regard] what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed.” 25:23 “scattered floating particles of dust”
• “And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], “Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.”2:127
• “[They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work.” 18:104

FROM HADITH

• Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, deeds are only with intentions and every person will have only what they intended. Whoever emigrated to Allah and His Messenger, his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever emigrated to get something in the world or to marry a woman, his emigration is for that to which he emigrated.” Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 54, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1907
• Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The deeds are presented on Monday and Thursday. Thus, I love for my deeds to be presented while I am fasting.” Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 747
• Abu Hurairah (May Allah bepleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Do you know who is the bankrupt?” They said: “The bankrupt among us is one who has neither money with him nor any property”. He said, “The real bankrupt of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with Salat, Saum and Sadaqah (charity), (but he will find himself bankrupt on that day as he will have exhausted the good deeds) because he reviled others, brought calumny against others, unlawfully devoured the wealth of others, shed the blood of others and beat others; so his good deeds would be credited to the account of those (who suffered at his hand). If his good deeds fall short to clear the account, their sins would be entered in his account and he would be thrown in the (Hell) Fire”. [Muslim].
• It has been narrated on the authority of Sulaiman b. Yasar who said: People dispersed from around Abu Huraira, and Natil, who was from the Syrians. said to him: O Shaikh, relate (to us) a tradition you have heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: Yes. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The first of men (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgment will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought (before the Judgment Seat). Allah will make him recount His blessings (i. e. the blessings which He had bestowed upon him) and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his life). (Then) will Allah say: What did you do (to requite these blessings)? He will say: I fought for Thee until I died as a martyr. Allah will say: You have told a lie. You fought that you might be called a” brave warrior”. And you were called so. (Then) orders will be passed against him and he will be dragged with his face downward and cast into Hell. Then will be brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and recited the Qur’an. He will be brought And Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Then will Allah ask: What did you do (to requite these blessings)? He will say: I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur’an seeking Thy pleasure. Allah will say: You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called” a scholar,” and you recited the Qur’an so that it might be said:” He is a Qari” and such has been said. Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire. Then will be brought a man whom Allah had made abundantly rich and had granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them and (admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Allah will (then) ask: What have you done (to requite these blessings)? He will say: I spent money in every cause in which Thou wished that it should be spent. Allah will say: You are lying. You did (so) that it might be said about (You):” He is a generous fellow” and so it was said. Then will Allah pass orders and he will be dragged with his face downward and thrown into Hell. Reference       : Sahih Muslim 1905a

And Allah knows best.

Related Links:

• 10 signs of accepted good deeds – Ustadh Aqeel Mahmood
• What are the conditions for the acceptance of good deeds in Ramadan? by Dr Zakir Naik
• How do we know our repentance is accepted by Allah? By Dr Zakir Naik
• When does Allah accept a Good Deed? Animation
• The Signs of Acceptance and Rejection of Deeds