Central Khutbah: “Beautify Your Good Deeds with the Sunnahs of the Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him”
Islam does not only teach us about obligations, but also about how to beautify and elevate our actions. Every good deed becomes more valuable and beautiful when it is carried out in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Whoever revives one of my Sunnahs in my Ummah truly loves me. And whoever loves me will be with me in Paradise.”
(Hadith reported by Imam at-Tirmidhi, no. 2678, authenticated as hasan by al-Albani)
Let us now mention a few practical examples of how good deeds can be beautified through the Sunnah.
- Beautifying the prayer through wudu (ablution) and the supplication after it
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Whoever performs ablution and perfects it, then says: Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu (I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger), the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him, and he may enter through whichever one he wishes.”
(Hadith reported by Muslim in his Sahih, no. 234)
Tufayl ibn ‘Ubayy ibn Ka‘b al-Ansariyy, the brother of the well-known companion Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, may Allah be pleased with them both, travelled from Medina to Sham (Greater Syria) just to hear this hadith. He went to see ‘Uqba ibn ‘Amir al-Juhaniyy, may Allah be pleased with him, and said:
“I did not come for business or any other reason, but solely to hear the hadith you reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.”
‘Uqba then narrated the hadith he heard from ‘Umar regarding the supplication after wudu.
(Reported by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, no. 17415, authenticated by Shu‘ayb al-Arna’ut)
- Beautifying the prayer with dhikr for those who cannot recite the Qur’an
Rifa‘ah ibn Rafi‘, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said:
“O Messenger of Allah, I am not able to learn anything from the Qur’an, so teach me something that will suffice me in the prayer.”
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Say: Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.”
(Hadith reported by Abu Dawood, no. 832, an-Nasa’i, no. 925, and considered hasan isnad by Imam an-Nawawi)
This hadith shows the perfection of the Sunnah: even someone who does not know how to recite the Qur’an can still beautify their prayer with the supplications approved by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
- The beauty of words in prayer – Praising after the ruku‘ (bowing)
Rifa‘ah ibn Rafi‘ also reported:
A man was praying behind the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. When the Prophet said: Sami‘a Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears the one who praises Him), the man said:
Rabbana wa laka al-hamd, hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubaarakan fīh
(Our Lord, to You belongs all praise — an abundant, pure, and blessed praise)
After the prayer, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked:
“Who said that?”
The man replied:
“It was me, O Messenger of Allah.”
The Prophet then said:
“I saw over thirty angels rushing to be the first to record those words.”
(Hadith reported by al-Bukhari, no. 799)
Faith is not just about outward form. Faith resides in the heart, in sincerity, and in the desire to make each act done for Allah as beautiful as possible.
The Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is what completes our deeds. So let us not settle for the bare minimum. Let us beautify our deeds with supplication, wudu, dhikr (remembrance), and the knowledge of what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, loved.
May Allah make us among those who follow the Sunnah out of love, not merely out of duty.
May He adorn our deeds with sincere intention and the beauty of the practice of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
Ameen.
(Central khutbah by the religious leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on April 4, 2025, at the “Association Islamique Ihsan” in Dudelange)
