Procrastination Can Cease Your Good Deeds

(From Salah, charity, and distribution of inheritance to istaghfar and sila rahmi (maintaining the ties of kinship), many of us have been delaying doing good deeds by taking them very lightly, but we hurry to commit sins. This is one of the most dangerous habits for a believer. Most everyone procrastinates their some or other work without realizing that it harms their life and akhira. This article makes us understand the loss that can occur to the akhira of a Muslim because of procrastinating and gives tips on how to overcome it.) Consistency and sincerity are intertwined. To prove sincerity, consistency is one of the parameters. That is what the hypocrites in the times of the Prophet could not maintain. They were casual and careless in attending prayers and considered zakat as burdensome. By allowing consistency to fade due to bad habits and wrong prioritization of schedule, we do not realize that we are allowing our sincerity to evaporate as well. Losing Consistency For any sincere work in the proper manner, consistency is the key. Allah loves consistent deeds, as He says,

“The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small.” (Sahih Al Bukhari: 6464)

Consistency is also essential for faith, since it brings about death to faith, as Allah Himself assures,

“To those who have said, ‘Allah is our Lord,’ and have remained steadfast to their belief, the angels will descend saying, ‘Do not be afraid or grieved. Receive the glad news of the Paradise which was promised to you.’” [Surah Fusilat: 30]

Therefore, if we lose consistency we will ultimately fail in our work or fall short of any accomplishment. It is due to procrastination that there exist higher chances of losing consistency. For example, if you have a habit of reciting the Quran in the morning, but you decided once to delay it and recite it in the afternoon, but it may be that when the afternoon arrives, you again delay your recital due to some reasons, such as the weather or being tired. Furthermore, when evening arrives, you again start thinking, “Morning was much better as the mind is fresh,” and you postpone it for the next morning, thereby missing out on a full day without opening the Book of Allah. This way we keep on delaying until we lose a well-cultivated habit. You May Miss Many Chances to Perform Good Deeds Many people maintain the desire to perform a righteous deed that will be beneficial to society and their hereafter, as a continuous reward, but reach their graves without even beginning it; and it may be that others abandon it halfway, thinking that they will complete it later, but they never do. They keep on procrastinating, until they leave this world without accomplishing that deed. Some may miss out on performing Hajj, which was an obligation upon them, due to their postponing it every year to the following year, others may skip the obligatory prayers, hoping that they will become regular in them later on, and some may even keep delaying the zakat. These duties were an obligation upon them, and carried with them the promise of pardon and entry into Paradise if they were performed per their schedule and rules. However, these people kept delaying it for a later time, which never came, and so they ended up being the losers.

Ibn ‘Umar used to say, “If you survive until evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive until the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening,” (Sahih Al Bukhari 6416)

The Solution: Force your Nafs to Do Good Without Delay Whenever Satan finds a believer involved in good, he is consistent in seeking to distract him by showing alluring things and reminding them of other works. He creates waswasa thoughts to make him procrastinate in the performance of those good deeds. Additionally, Allah has joined the hastening of good deeds with faith, ‘amr bin maroof (commanding good) and nahi an al-munkar (stopping from evil) and declared that such performers are counted as the righteous,

“They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous.” [Surah Al Imran:114]

Perform Obligatory Duties Without Delay The following verse mentions that Allah will not delay His decision, and so we should not delay our opportunities to do good deeds.

“And donate from what We have provided for you before death comes to one of you, and you cry, ‘My Lord! If only You delayed me for a short while, I would give in charity and be one of the righteous.’” [Surah Munafiqun: 10]

“O you who believe, when the call to prayer is made on Friday, then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trading. That is better for you if you only knew.” [Surah Jumuah: 9]

‘Abdullah ibn Umar asked the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), “Which deed is the dearest to Allah?” He replied,

“To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times.” (Sahih Bukhari:527)

Instantly Stop from Haram Many bad habits continue because we lack the spirit to stop them. When we come across a verse declaring something to be haram, many of us find it difficult to rid ourselves of it; smoking, backbiting, and watching indecent videos are a few such bad habits. When alcohol was declared impermissible, the companions stopped it immediately. Allah says,

O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it so that you may be successful. [Surah Al Maidah: 90]

It was the ardent desire of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab that Allah declare intoxicant to be haram. When the above verse was revealed, with an interrogative question, “Will you not abstain?”, Umar exclaimed, “We abstain, we abstain.”

Anas bin Malik said, “I once was giving an alcoholic beverage to Abu ‘Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah, ‘Ubayy bin Ka’b, Suhayl bin Bayda’ and several of their friends were meeting at Abu Talhah’s house. When they were near intoxication, some Muslims came and said, ‘Did you not know that alcohol has been prohibited?’ They said, ‘We will wait and ask.’ They then said, ‘O Anas, spill the remaining alcohol out of your container.’ By Allah, they never drank it again.” [Tafseer ibn Kathir, Al Maidah: 90]

Do not Delay Tawbah and Istaghfar The success of life depends upon the condition of death, whether a person died upon Islam or kufr, sin or good deeds. That is why tawbah (repentence) should never be delayed, as it wipes away sins, which is a major condition for being qualified to enter Paradise.

And hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous.” [Surah Al e Imran: 133]

The test of obedience lies in instant obedience, and here are a few examples from the life of the most successful people mentioned in the Quran and the salaf who followed them. When Prophet Yusuf’s brothers requested their father Yaqub to seek pardon for them from Allah, he did not delay.

They said, “O our father, ask for us forgiveness of our sins; indeed, we have been sinners. He said, “Soon I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” [Surah Yusuf: 97, 98]

Imam Tabari says concerning this verse, “The word, saufa means very soon and it refers to tahajjud.” [Tafseer Tabari, Surah Yusuf: 98]

Seek Refuge in Allah from Laziness and Learn this Dua One of the regular supplications of the Prophet was to seek refuge from things that could harm his character, and laziness was one of them, since procrastination is a result of mental laziness.

Allahumma inni a‘oodhu bika min al-kasali wa’l-harami wa’l-ma’thami wa’l-maghrami, wa min fitnat il-qabri wa ‘adhaab al-qabri, wa min fitnat in-naari wa’adhaab in-naar, wa min sharri fitnat il-ghina, wa a‘oodhu bika min fitnat il-faqri wa a‘oodhu bika min fitnat il-maseeh id-dajjaal (O Allah, I seek refuge with You from laziness and old age, from sin and debt, from the trial of the grave and the punishment of the grave, from the trial of the Fire and the punishment of the Fire, and from the evil of the trial of wealth; I seek refuge with You from the trial of poverty, and I seek refuge with You from the trial of the Dajjal). (Sahih Bukhari: 6368, Muslim 589)

Value Your Time Life is a compilation of hours, minutes, and seconds, so do not let it waste. Utilize your free time to fulfil your projects and accomplishments. The salaf produced mountainous works within the short life they lived. Some wrote voluminous books (i.e., Ibn Kathir, Ibn Taymiyyah, etc.), while some worked hard to compile knowledge (i.e., Ibn Abbas, Imam Bukhari, etc.), and others utilized time in serving their parents and the needy (i.e., Owais Al-Qarni). This is because they did not delay good works but prioritized their duties. Become Not Distracted by Social Media, Entertainment, and Current Issues One of the ploys of Satan is to divert and distract us from our main focus, and for this Allah issues a warning,

“Never let Shaitan avert you.” [Surah Zukhruf: 62]

Many people ignore their vital projects due to being hooked on watching sports events, getting updates on politics, scrolling different social media platforms, and getting entertained by videos. They do this even though Allah has already cautioned them not to become distracted from Him. We know that the previous nations were destroyed because they became distracted from the main focus of life.

“They were deceived by the life of this world.” [Surah Al Araf: 51]

Therefore, Muslims are strictly instructed to develop habits of not getting distracted by vain things, and Allah declares this to be a lofty characteristic of Believers.

“And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden).” [Surah Mo’minoon:3]

Introspect Your Efficiency and Productivity Every good deed has a right and each should be done fulfilling its right. Productivity and efficiency should go together, and one should be offering good deeds carelessly. Note the following examples from the Quran:

O you believe, strive in the way of Allah the way it has the right to. [Surah Hajj: 78]

Those who are given the scriptures, study it the way it has the right to be studied. [Surah Al Baqarah: 121]

Words of Advice Find out which are the good actions you want to do but are unable to do. Make a list of your pending projects and obligatory deeds and see which you delay. They may be delayed due to your procrastination. Do not allow Satan to win by falling for his tricks. Now that you have finished reading what I have wrote, now get on your incomplete projects and march ahead towards prosperity.