Allah Almighty says: {Has the time not yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humbled at the remembrance of Allah and to the truth that has been revealed? And that they should not be like those who were given the Scripture before, whose hearts grew hard after the passage of long time, and many of them were evildoers.} [Surat al-Hadīd:16] Allah Almighty also says: {Then We sent Our messengers in their footsteps, and We sent after them Jesus, son of Mary; We gave him the Gospel, and instilled kindness and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. As for monasticism, they invented it – We did not prescribe it for them – seeking thereby Allah’s pleasure, yet they did not observe it faithfully.} [Surat al-Hadīd: 27] Allah Almighty also says: {Do not be like the woman who unravels her yarn after spinning it firmly} [Surat an-Nahl: 92] Allah Almighty also says: {and worship your Lord until the certainty [of death] comes to you.} [Surat al-Hijr: 99]
1) Performing good deeds consistently reflect the individual’s desire to do them.
2) The believer is advised to be consistent with his good deeds and avoid reluctance and laziness in order to continue doing what he does, for indeed a few consistent deeds are better than abundant yet inconsistent deeds.
‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “... and the best (good) deed in His sight is that which is done regularly.” It has been explained in the previous chapter.
153/1 - ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever sleeps and fails to recite his nightly portion, or part of it, and then observes it between the Fajr prayer and the Dhuhr prayer, it will be recorded for him as if he recited it during the night.” [Narrated by Muslim]
His nightly portion: his voluntary night prayer. A portion here refers to a portion of the Qur’an (recited in prayer).
1) It is recommended to be consistent in doing good deeds, which include the voluntary night prayer.
2) The believer should be keen not to miss an act of worship that he is accustomed to do. Even if he missed its due time, he should make up for it if it can be made up for.
154/2- ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: “O ‘Abdullah, do not be like so-and-so. He used to offer prayer the whole night but then abandoned it.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
155/3 - ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform twelve Rak‘ah during the day time if he missed the voluntary nightly prayer due to suffering pain or any other reason.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) Steadfastness and consistency in doing good deeds is the practice and guidance of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).
2) It warns against starting a good deed then abandoning it.
3) If one missed an act of worship that is tied to a specific time due to an excuse, he can make up for it.
4) If one misses the Witr (odd-numbered) prayer at night, he makes up for it during the day with an even number of Rak‘ahs. For example, if someone usually concludes his night prayer with three Rak‘ahs (and misses performing them), he makes up for them during the day with four Rak‘ahs.
When giving advice, wisdom entails that we do not mention the name of the individual involved. This has two benefits: the first is concealing the flaws of the individual; and the second is that this individual might change to the better, thus he would not deserve the present judgment we made regarding him.