Hadith

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Nothing keeps away the decree (of Allah) except prayer, and nothing increases the life (of man) except goodness; and man is only denied the provisions (of life) because of sins upon which he falls." [Ibn Majah] "Almsgiving extinguishes the wrath of Allah." [Tirmidhi] Commentary: This hadith tells us many important things: 1. If we want to prevent misfortunes, accidents, and bad things in general from happening to us, we should make du'a. Dua alone has the power to stall some misfortune that was decreed to befall us. 2. If we want to live longer, then we should practice what Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) defines as goodness. 3. If we want our rizq/provisions to increase, we should not commit sins. 4. If we don't want to be punished by Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) for our sins, we should give sadaqa/charity. Research suggests that those who spend 4-6 hours in various voluntary activities weekly live 6-8 years longer than those who don't. This is one of the benefits of helping others that modern research has revealed. There are hundreds of other benefits. Make yourself useful so that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) may let you live a few more years to serve His creation. [30 Second Successories by Faiez H. Seyal]