Home » Hanafi Fiqh » CouncilofUlama.co.za » Presentation of Deeds

Presentation of Deeds

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by CouncilofUlama.co.za

Q: In some Hadiths it is mentioned that our deeds are presented to Allah Ta’ala in Sha’ban, but some places mention it to take place on Laylatul Qadr. Which is the correct view?

A: Allah Ta’ala is All Aware of man’s deeds. From time to time, these deeds are presented to Allah Ta’ala by the Angels for specific reasons. The Hadiths mention various different times for when these presentations are made to Allah Ta’ala.

Daily presentation
Sayyiduna Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (radiyallahu’anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu’alyhi wasallam) said: ‘Allah Ta’ala doesn’t sleep, and its not appropriate that He sleeps… The deeds of the night are lifted to him before those of the day, and the deeds of the day are lifted to him before the deeds of the night..’ (Sahih Muslim, hadith: 446)

This Hadith means that the deeds of the night are lifted at the beginning of the next day, and the deeds of that day are lifted at the beginning of the following night and so on.

Weekly

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu’anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu’alayhi wasallam) said: ‘The deeds are presented to Allah Ta’ala every Monday and Thursday, then Allah forgives all besides those who ascribe partners to him and those who harbour ill-feelings for each other.’ (Sahih Muslim)

Yearly

When asked about the reason for fasting in Sha’ban, Rasulullah (sallallahu’alayhi wasallam) said: ‘That is a month in which people become neglectful as it occurs between [2 sacred months] Rajab and Ramadan…It is a month in which the deeds [of man] are raised up to Allah. I love that my deeds be raised while I am fasting.’ (Nasai, hadith: 2678 with a sound chain.)

‘Allamah Munawi (rahimahullah) has specified that the deeds are lifted on the 15th night. (At Taysir; Also see: Su’udul Aqwal wa Raf’ul A’mal of Shaykh ‘Abdullah Sirajuddin, pg.70)

No contradiction

There is no contradiction in any of the above. Rather each ‘presentation’ has its reasons and wisdoms. ‘Allamah Munawi (rahimahullah) explains: ‘The presentation of the deeds on Mondays and Thursdays are summarised ones, while the presentation of the deeds on 15th of Sha’ban and Laylatul Qadr are done in detail for the entire year…The daily lifting of the deeds are also done in detail.’

He writes further: ‘The benefit of this repeated presentation is to illustrate to the Angels the virtue of those who did these deeds.’ (At Taysir; as in Su’udul Aqwal wa Raf’ul A’mal, of Shaykh ‘Abdullah Sirajuddin, pg.70)

‘Allamah Ibn Hajar Haytami (rahimahullah) has offered a similar reconciliation between these Hadiths. (Al-Idah wal bayan li ma ja-a fi laylatayir raghaib wan nisfi min sha’ban, pg.5-manuscript)

The ‘Ulama have cited many other reasons for these presentations. One of them is so that Allah Ta’ala may forgive the wrong doers who qualify for His forgiveness.

See a detailed list of these wisdoms/reasons in the book of My Teacher’s teacher; Shaykh ‘Abdullah Sirajuddin (rahimahullah) entitled: Su’udul Aqwal wa Raf’ul A’mal, pgs.79-114.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best,

Answered by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar

This answer was collected from CouncilofUlama.co.za, which is operated under the supervision of Council of Ulama Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Read answers with similar topics: