Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
O you who have believed, obey God and obey the Messenger, and do not let your deeds go to waste.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, wassalatu wassalamu ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een. All praise is due to Allah, and may Allah's peace and blessings be upon His final Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ.
As Muslims, we know that every Muslim in this world should acquire as many good deeds as possible—exerting effort to collect as many good deeds, to do as many good deeds as possible. But there is also something even more important than that, which is maintaining and preserving your good deeds.
Why? Can good deeds be nullified? Can they be invalidated? Yes.
You might be asking, "Well Shaykh, maybe you mean shirk or kufr, associating partners with Allah." No, no, no, no, no. There is no dispute that kufr invalidates all good deeds. This is something agreed upon. We're not even discussing this.
Then what else can invalidate good deeds? Well, sins can invalidate or nullify your good deeds, and this is something very serious.
And we're going to be talking about verses of the Qur'an that establish this principle—that sins may, pay attention to this word, may invalidate your good deeds.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says in the Qur'an:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ
"O you who believe, obey Allah and obey His Messenger, and do not invalidate your deeds."
Now, at first glance, you might be thinking, "Oh, this is for those who disbelieved, who associated partners with Allah." Yes, this is included in the verse, but look at what the companions understood from this verse.
Ibn Kathir has narrated—mentioned this athar, a statement of some of the companions: When the verse was revealed, they thought that there is no sin that can harm a believer if he says لا إله إلا الله. So there is no ma'siyah that can affect a believer if he says لا إله إلا الله—the sins cannot affect his good deeds, just like good deeds cannot benefit a person who does not believe.
Until the verse was revealed:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ
"And do not invalidate your deeds."
So after this verse, the companions understood that sins may invalidate good deeds.
And this is something that is well established by the 'ulama of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah—like Ibn Kathir, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Rajab—and the companions, as I mentioned, the understanding of the companions.
And there's another statement of Ibn Umar that was also mentioned by Ibn Kathir. And this is the middle stance. It was said that when this verse was revealed:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ
They feared that major sins would directly invalidate good deeds. Imagine—any major sin that you do—this is what they feared, that any major sin that you do would nullify good deeds that you have done.
This is something very serious.
But then, Alhamdulillah, Allah 'Azza wa Jall revealed the verse in Surah An-Nisa, where Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ
Pay attention to this verse. Even though this verse mentions that indeed Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala does not forgive associating partners with Him, look at the second part:
وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ "And He forgives whatever is less than that (or other than that)."
So all sins, as they say, are under the mashi'ah of Allah—under the will of Allah. If He wants, He may forgive them, and if He wants, He may establish these sins or the scale of sins on the Day of Judgment. So they are under the mashi'ah.
So after this verse was revealed, Ibn Umar said that after this verse, they stopped talking about the matter. So they hoped for those who did good deeds, and they feared for those who committed sins. So it's still under the mashi'ah—under the will of Allah. Some sins might invalidate your good deeds; others may not. So it's up to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
It's definitely something that is scary. Imagine the good deeds that you have done—you have put effort in, trying to establish ikhlas, trying to come up with all the valid conditions—and then suddenly, because of a stupid sin that you have done, you invalidate this good deed that you worked really hard on doing. SubhanAllah.
Let's take some other examples. Are there some other verses in the Qur'an that talk about this matter? Yes.
And there are a couple of verses, actually, that talk about a specific good deed—which is sadaqah.
Ya Allah—sadaqah, invalidated? Yes. Look at what Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:
قَوْلٌ مَّعْرُوفٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن صَدَقَةٍ يَتْبَعُهَا أَذًى ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَنِيٌّ حَلِيمٌ
Allah 'Azza wa Jall says:
قَوْلٌ مَّعْرُوفٌ—a kind word, a good word—وَمَغْفِرَةٌ—and forgiveness—خَيْرٌ مِّن صَدَقَةٍ يَتْبَعُهَا أَذًى—is better than giving sadaqah (charity) and then following it with harm.
Let me explain the verse. What does it mean—Qawlun ma'roof wa maghfirah?
Well, this will be understood when you look at the context of the verse. If a needy person comes and asks you for money, and usually, SubhanAllah, sometimes they keep on insisting, they keep on insisting—so a person might say a bad word to them. "Get out of my face," or "Get out of my sight," or "Leave me alone." Being harsh to them.
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is saying: a kind word—telling them a kind word—and forgiveness.
So, telling them a kind word, saying: "Ya akhi, ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Say: 'Ya Allah, rizuqni.'" Teach him—teach him to ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala for his provision. Tell him: "Ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Look, we're both needy, and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is the One free of need. We're both poor, and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is Ghani." Teach them to ask Allah, so that He will give them a source of provision.
So, teaching them a kind word—this is a kind word.
Qawlun ma'roof wa maghfirah.
What is maghfirah in this context? Maghfirah is forgiveness.
But why should a person forgive? Why would he need to forgive a needy person?
Well, again, let's look at the situation. He keeps on insisting—asking for money, or asking for food, or asking for anything—until he might say a bad word. He might say: "Akhi, give me some of your money. Akhi, why are you being greedy?" See, he's saying these bad words out of need.
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is teaching us:
Qawlun ma'roof wa maghfirah—forgiving them.
Forgiving them for these words—because they don't know their situation. Qawlun ma'roof wa maghfirah—forgiving them if they might bother you. So, forgiving them for what they have done.
These two together—Qawlun ma'roof wa maghfirah—this is better than giving them sadaqah and then:
Qawlun khayrun min sadaqatin yatba'uha atha.
So, for example, even if you give them whatever—a hundred dollars, five hundred dirhams, whatever—you give them a hundred dollars and then you tell them: "Get out of my face."
La! What are you doing?
You have invalidated that sadaqah. SubhanAllah—Qawlun ma'roof.
Even if you did not give them anything, if you told them: "Look, honestly, I'm unable to give you now. Maybe some other time." And if you forgive them for, you know, their insisting—they might say a bad word—you forgive them for what they have said or what they have done.
This is more rewarding in the sight of Allah than actually giving them some money and then hurting them with a word, or a remark, or a statement that, you know, hurts their feelings.
Don't do that.
And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala also mentions in another verse:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
Or He said, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ
Clear statement:
Do not invalidate your sadaqah—your charity—the thing that you give for the sake of Allah.
لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم with two things.
Do not invalidate them with two things.
So these two things invalidate your sadaqah. What are they?
لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ
Al-mann—what is al-mann?
Al-mann is to remind them.
So, for example, you gave him an amount of money. You gave this person an amount of money—okay, 500 dirhams, 100 dollars, whatever. You gave them an amount of money.
After a couple of weeks, okay, you saw them on the street, and you told them:
"Hey, why don't you come and say salam? Why aren't you smiling in my face? Did you forget?"
You're showing them—you're reminding them—that you did a favor for them.
This is something bad, and it definitely hurts their feelings.
Did you do it for the sake of Allah?
If so, then why are you reminding them?
Do you want something from them?
SubhanAllah, this is definitely bad, and this is really, really, really cruel.
So, they asked you out of need.
And then you gave them for the sake of Allah, and then you're reminding them—it's like you want something from this sadaqah that you have given them.
That is why it is something very dangerous. And this is not how a Muslim should be.
Did you forget that Allah is the One who gave you, aslan—and that Allah 'Azza wa Jall is testing you with this money?
So, Allah 'Azza wa Jall said:
"O you who believe, do not invalidate your sadaqah."
So, this is al-mann—to remind that person that you have given—to remind them of this money that you have given them.
Do not remind them.
Actually, it is better if they forget about it, and you forget about it.
You have done it for the sake of Allah.
A sign of ikhlas (sincerity) is that you forget, and they forget.
It's written for you in your Book of Deeds, and insha'Allah, you'll find the reward on the Day of Judgment.
Actually, you might find some of the blessings of the sadaqah in this world.
But the main point is: Forget about it.
Do not remind yourself, and whatever you do, never remind that person that you have given them.
So let's say, for example, you give him some money, and then one month later, he's needy again...
He's asking someone else—you don’t go and tell him in front of the people:
"Hey, did you forget I gave you an amount of money last month?"
You're hurting his feelings in front of all the people.
This is definitely something bad. And this, as Allah Azza wa Jal has mentioned, invalidates or puts your good deeds at real risk of being nullified.
So, this is mann.
What about adha?
Mann—we have just explained it.
What is adha?
Harming them.
Any harm—whether it's a statement, a word, or physical harm—any harm done to them.
What's the point of giving them sadaqah and then harming them?
You give a poor person some money, and then you push him aside.
You remove your hand and don't let him touch you.
SubhanAllah! Did you do this for the sake of Allah, and then you're harming them?
What's the point of giving them sadaqah?
This is arrogance.
This is not the way of a worshipper of Allah.
A person who truly worships—the true worshippers—they do good deeds, and they fear that Allah may not accept them.
But those who are arrogant, they give money for the sake of: "I'm better than you, and look, I did you a favor, so get out of my sight!"
This shows that there is arrogance in the heart.
This shows that there is arrogance in the heart.
SubhanAllah! A person should be lenient with his brothers—even if he was a non-Muslim.
At the end of the day, you gave him money, asking Allah to accept it as an act of worship.
So, you should not show any sign that you are better than that person.
Okay?
So, this definitely invalidates the charity.
And then, Allah Azza wa Jal, not only that—He further explains that this definitely invalidates your deeds, just like…
Just like the example—so, you're invalidating your deeds just like the person who spends, who is what?
A shuwaf, a murāʾī.
Who is the murāʾī?
A murāʾī is someone who shows off in worship.
You know, he prays to show the people that he's praying.
He gives sadaqah to show the people that he's giving sadaqah.
And this is undisputed—this person has invalidated that good deed.
Especially if that intention to show off was there at the start of the worship, there is no dispute about it.
This form—this form of riya—there is no dispute that it is definitely invalidated, it is nullified.
And Allah Azza wa Jal is saying:
So, a person who follows his charity with mann—which is reminding the person of this good deed—or adha, which is harm—this invalidates the good deed just like riya invalidates the good deed.
So, this is the example that we wanted from this verse.
Are there any more verses that talk about this—that good deeds are invalidated?
Yes.
And it's even more clear, more evident than these two verses.
SubhanAllah! More evident?
Yes.
Let's look at Surah Al-Baqarah.
And by the way, this verse is also in Surah Al-Baqarah—the one we mentioned earlier.
So, the next verse is also in Surah Al-Baqarah, where Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:
...
Does one of you want a garden filled with palm trees and grapevines...
...
... Having rivers underneath, flowing...
...
Therein, he has all types of fruits.
SubhanAllah!
What kind of a garden—filled with fruits and grapevines and palm trees...
But then—he had this garden, filled with all these fruits—and then he was struck with old age.
...
He has, you know, needy children.
...
So, what happened?
So, the example is: this person has this garden, filled with all types of khayr—with fruits.
And SubhanAllah, he's eating and benefiting from it.
But when does he need it the most?
When he's old.
He cannot work anymore.
So now, he's dependent on that garden that he has.
He has absolutely no other wealth except this.
And he cannot go and find another job or engage in any other business.
This is his only source of living.
His only wealth.
So now, when he's desperate and he's in need of this garden—
What happens?
...
He was struck with old age.
Now, he's old.
And not only that—he has people who are depending on him—his children.
...
...
...
It was all burned.
SubhanAllah!
This is an example.
So, who is Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala talking about here?
In Sahih al-Bukhari, the discussion between Umar ibn al-Khattab and Ibn Abbas regarding this verse...
Umar ibn al-Khattab said at the end of the discussion:
"This is the example of a person who has done a lot of good deeds."
Allah Azza wa Jal has described it as good deeds.
You know—palm trees, grapevines, gardens with rivers flowing underneath them—all types of fruits.
These are definitely good deeds that were accepted.
They were valid good deeds.
They were done with sincerity.
And they were done following the Messenger.
So, definitely valid good deeds.
But then, what happened?
...
...
And then, SubhanAllah—the devil was sent to him, and he started doing a lot of sins.
So, he burned his garden of good deeds with these sins.
Did you get the example?
So, this garden of fruits is his good deeds.
And just before death, what did he do?
He started engaging in sins.
Nifaq (hypocrisy) was not mentioned.
You cannot say that he was a hypocrite—because these were good deeds that were accepted.
And you cannot say it was disbelief.
Okay?
Because the example that Umar ibn al-Khattab mentioned is a general example.
He said: "He started doing sins."
If it was disbelief, disbelief is one sin that will invalidate all other good deeds.
So, what's the other option?
We only have one other option, SubhanAllah.
One other possibility.
So, what is meant here is that this person started doing a lot of sins—and he did not repent.
So, what happened then?
Ya Allah!
He did a lot of sins at the end of his life.
At the end of his time—
He invalidated all of these deeds.
Just like this whirlwind—that had a flame in it—burned down this garden of good deeds.
So, this is something very scary.
For those people...
I'm talking to those people who did a lot of Qiyam...
You fasted Ramadan...
He's asking someone else, and you don't go and tell him in front of the people, "Hey, did you forget I gave you an amount of money last month?" You're hurting his feelings in front of everyone. This is definitely something bad, and as Allah (عز وجل) has mentioned, it invalidates or puts your good deeds at real risk of being nullified.
So, this is mann (reminding others of favors). What about adha?
We have just explained it—what is adha? Harming them. Any harm, whether through words or physical harm, is adha. What's the point of giving them sadaqah and then harming them? You give a poor person some money, and then you push him aside. You remove your hand and don't touch them—SubhanAllah. Did you do this for the sake of Allah, and then you harm them? What's the point of giving sadaqah if you're going to ruin it with arrogance?
This is not the behavior of a true worshipper of Allah. True worshippers give, and they fear that Allah may not accept it. But those who are arrogant give money with the attitude of "I'm better than you" and "I did you a favor, so get out of my sight."
This shows arrogance in the heart—SubhanAllah. A person should be lenient towards his brothers, or even if he is not a Muslim. At the end of the day, you gave him money, asking Allah to accept it as an act of worship, so you should not show any sign of superiority over that person.
So, this definitely invalidates the charity.
And then, Allah (عز وجل) not only warns about this but further explains that this invalidates your deeds, just like the example of a person who spends but is what? A shuwaf, a murai (a person who shows off).
Who is the murai? He is the one who shows off his worship—he prays to impress others, gives sadaqah so people can see. And this is undisputed: if the intention of showing off was present at the start of the worship, then that act is nullified.
This form of riya (showing off) has no dispute—it is definitely invalidated. And Allah (عز وجل) says:
"O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with reminders [of it] or injury, as does one who spends his wealth to be seen by the people and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day..." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:264)
So, a person who follows his charity with mann (reminders of favors) or adha (harm) invalidates his good deed, just like riya invalidates the good deed.
This is the example we wanted from this verse.
Are there other verses that talk about good deeds being invalidated?
Yes. And some are even more evident than the previous ones.
Let's look at another verse in Surah Al-Baqarah, where Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) says:
"Would any of you like to have a garden of palm trees and grapevines, with rivers flowing beneath it, where he has all kinds of fruits, but then he grows old while his children are weak (and dependent), and then it is struck with a whirlwind containing fire and is completely burned?" (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:266)
SubhanAllah, what kind of example is this?
This person had a garden filled with all kinds of fruits, benefiting from it. But when does he need it the most? When he is old and unable to work. He has no other wealth and cannot find another source of income.
Now, when he is desperate and in need of this garden, what happens?
"...Then it is struck with a whirlwind containing fire and is completely burned."
SubhanAllah.
Who is Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) talking about here?
In Sahih al-Bukhari, there is a discussion between Umar ibn al-Khattab and Ibn Abbas regarding this verse. Umar ibn al-Khattab said at the end of the discussion:
"This is the example of a person who has done a lot of good deeds."
Allah (عز وجل) described it as a garden filled with fruits, rivers, and palm trees—all of these represent good deeds that were valid, sincere, and in accordance with the Sunnah.
But then what happened?
"...And then the devil was sent to him, and he started doing many sins."
So, he burned his garden of good deeds with these sins.
Did you get the example?
This garden of fruits is his good deeds. And just before death, he started engaging in sins.
This verse does not mention nifaq (hypocrisy), meaning he was not a hypocrite. These were valid good deeds. And it does not mention disbelief (kufr), because if it were kufr, all good deeds would be nullified immediately.
So what is the only other explanation?
That this person started committing many sins and did not repent.
So, at the end of his life, his sins invalidated all of his deeds—just like that whirlwind with fire burned down his garden of good deeds.
This is a terrifying reality
Some people do a lot of Qiyam (night prayer). They fast Ramadan. They perform Hajj. They give charity.
Do they really want to burn all of these good deeds through sins?
Especially ghibah (backbiting)—talking about people, especially on YouTube, mocking certain shuyukh or scholars, or ridiculing their brothers behind their backs.
Nowadays, social media makes it even easier. Many people don’t realize these are major sins that put their good deeds at risk.
And don’t say, "We're refuting innovators."
Refuting innovators is a task for scholars and those with the right knowledge. And even then, it is only permitted within the scope of exposing their bid'ah (innovation). It does not mean we can insult them or their families—this is not allowed.
If you're not qualified, or if you're afraid of transgressing, then stay silent. Leave it to the specialists.
Do not invalidate your deeds.
Something even scarier
The Prophet ﷺ said that on the Day of Judgment, there will be people with mountains of good deeds—fasting, Hajj, Qiyam al-Layl, obligatory prayers.
But they insulted others. They harmed others. They belittled others.
On that day, those people will demand compensation. And what is the currency of the Day of Judgment? Only good deeds and sins.
So, those people will take from his good deeds—maybe his Qiyam, his Hajj, his charity.
But what happens when his good deeds run out?
He will begin carrying their sins.
He didn’t commit those sins, but he insulted them, so he will now bear their burdens.
And once he has only sins left, he will be thrown into Hellfire.
May Allah protect us.
A final lesson
We should always remind ourselves—it's not worth it.
Protect your good deeds from sins, especially those related to harming others.
Even a single word against someone can ruin your Akhirah.
Our righteous scholars were extremely cautious about this. One scholar once joked about a student's name while taking attendance. After realizing what he had done, he repented, and when the student returned, he begged for forgiveness. He even brought him expensive books as a gift to ensure he was forgiven.
Why?
Because they know what will happen on the Day of Judgment.
Brothers and sisters, many people are preoccupied with good deeds—but they are packaging those deeds for others.
So beware.
Hadha waAllahu a'lam. Wa sallallahu 'ala nabiyyina Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallam. Jazakum Allahu khayran.
