10 easy ways to earn sawab in a minute

Sometimes it all boils down to the minutes of the day. The minute you zone out during a class lecture, the minute it takes for you to walk from your office cubicle to your car, the minute it takes for you to wait for that 10:00 AM meeting when it’s only 9:55 AM, the minute you waste looking at walls and procrastinating when there’s work to be done. And yet, you find yourself having ‘no time’ for the remembrance of Allah throughout the day because of your busy schedules and house chores. So what if one utilizes the minutes that go by without us ever noticing and put them to good use? Here’s a list of little things you can do in under a minute to add to your book of good deeds and make those minutes count in not only this world but in your hereafter as well.


1. Take a minute and praise the Almighty for all His glory and magnificence, say “Subhaan Allahi wa bi hamdihi “(Glory and praise be to Allah (SWT)) a hundred times over in under a minute. It is believed that those who recite it enough times every day, their sins will be washed away like the ‘foam of the sea’.


2. You can recite Surah Fatihah thrice in a minute. By reciting Surah Fatihah, one gains more than 600 hasanat (blessings), hence, by reciting it thrice, one will achieve three times the amount of blessings- inshaAllah.
 
3. It is never too late to seek forgiveness from Allah (SWT) for the wrongs in our life, for Allah (SWT) blesses us with endless opportunities to seek His mercy and good favor. So say “Astaghfir-Allah” (I seek the forgiveness of Allah (SWT)) as many times as you can in a minute and seek Allah’s (SWT) mercy and forgiveness. If said with sincerity, it incurs goodness and blessings in this life and the hereafter.

4. In a minute, you can recite Surah Ikhlaas around twenty times. Reciting Surah Ikhlaas once is equal to the reward of reciting 1/3rd of the Holy Quran. And if recited twenty times, it will equal the reward of reciting the Quran seven times.

5. Remember our beloved Prophet (PBUH) in that one minute and send blessings on him by saying the following, “Sal-Allahu ‘alayhi wa Salam” (May Allah (SWT) bless him and grant him peace). Allah (SWT) will, in turn, shower you with double the blessings to the number of times you recite it.
 
6. If you find yourself in need of strength and patience to deal with daily afflictions, recite “Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah” (there is no strength and no power except with Allah (SWT)) more than forty times, be it in a minute or spread over a day. This verse is considered to be one of the jewels of Jannah. It serves as a means of overcoming life’s obstacles and achieving success.
 
7. If you are walking and you see something harmful in your path, take a minute and remove it, so it can no longer be a source of harm or inconvenience to someone else. It is considered a form of charity in Islam and a Sunnah. The Prophet (PBUH) said:
 

“Remove harmful things from the roads of the Muslims.” (Sahih Muslim, 2618)

8. Take a minute, ponder upon the blessings Allah (SWT) has bestowed on you, and sincerely thank Him for His kindness and generosity. Take that moment and let yourself feel that gratitude with every bone in your body, for nothing in your life could have been possible without Him. And as humans, we tend to take His blessings for granted. So consciously, make an effort to recollect and thank Allah (SWT) for all that is good in your life.

9. If you see someone in distress or in need of help, do not hesitate, for it can take only a minute. Do whatever you can to alleviate someone’s pain and be a source of comfort to your fellow brothers and sisters, for Allah (SWT) adores those who take care of those around him/her. According to the Prophet (PBUH):

"A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection." (Sahih Bukhari, Book 43, Number 622).

10. Lastly, one of the most beautiful ways of earning glad tidings in under a minute is by reciting “Laa ilaha ill-Allah” (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah (SWT)) fifty times or more. These words, in essence, are the basis of a Muslim’s faith; it is Tawhid, a testament to the oneness of Allah (SWT). If the last words that fall from a person’s lips are “Laa ilaha ill-Allah”, he/she will surely enter Jannah.

So make use of those unnoticed moments of your day that silently pass you by, and make an effort to earn Allah’s (SWT) pleasure and boundless blessings.