Discuss the Issue of Al-Hasan(Good) and Al-Qubh(Bad

Discuss the issue of al-hasan(good) and al-qubh(bad) as discussed by Islamic scholars.

In Islam, the first and foremost requirement, above everything else, is to acquire sound knowledge. The foundation of all knowledge is to know Allah. Allah says in the Qur’an, (So know that there is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for your sin, and for the believing men and women, Allah knows your movements and your resting-place) (Muhammad 47:19).

As Imam Al-Bukhari says in his authentic hadith, “Knowledge precedes both speech and action.” In other words, for our actions to be valid, we must first ascertain that it is acceptable to Allah. Imam Fudayl ibn `Iyad said, “In order for an act to be valid, it must fulfill two conditions: First, it must be in sound agreement with the laws of Allah; second, it must be done with pure intention of serving Allah.”

Actions that are not based on sound knowledge are neither beneficial nor productive. The perfect example are the fanatical sectarians in Islamic history known as Khawarij or Kharijites; although they had been extremely pious and had done lot of good works, because they were lacking sound knowledge, their actions were more destructive than beneficial. It was in reference to such people that the pious caliph `Umar ibn `Abdul-`Aziz said, “Those working without sound knowledge will do more harm than benefit.”

Once we have attained sound knowledge, and discovered that the act is good and approved by Allah, then we must also make sure that it is done with the purest of intentions. The Prophet said, “Actions are reckoned by their intentions; everyone will be judged according to his intention; thus, if anyone emigrates for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, his emigration will be reckoned accordingly; if, on the other hand, anyone emigrated for some worldly gain or for marrying a woman, that is his portion of the hijrah.”

Now let us come more precisely to describing good deeds:

1. It should be common knowledge for...