Every believer strives to fill their scales with good deeds — prayers offered on time, Quran recited faithfully, charity given generously. Yet Mufti Ismail Menk, in his powerful lecture delivered at Fanar – Qatar Islamic Cultural Center, issues a sobering reminder: doing good deeds is only half the battle. The greater challenge is protecting those deeds from the relentless assault of Shaytan, who has sworn since the beginning of creation to waylay mankind from every direction. As Mufti Menk warns, if you do not know the plan of the devil, you will certainly fall for it — and the tragedy is that many Muslims are losing their accumulated worship without ever realising it.
The Invisible Thief: How Shirk and Showing Off Hollow Out Your Worship
The gravest destroyer of good deeds is shirk — associating partners with Allah — and Mufti Menk stresses that its forms are far subtler than bowing to an idol. A person who slows their prayer posture the moment someone walks by, or who credits a doctor alone with their recovery while removing Allah from the equation, has already stepped into its shadow. The same applies to the one who chases wealth through disobedience, effectively placing material gain as a rival to Allah’s pleasure. The Quran and the authentic Sunnah are unambiguous: Allah will not forgive the one who dies upon shirk, and in a profound hadith qudsi, Allah declares that when a servant performs an act of worship for both Him and another, He withdraws entirely and leaves that act for the other. Riya — performing worship for the eyes of people — falls under this same category, silently erasing the reward of even years of devotion.
“If you don’t know the plan of the devil, you will certainly fall for it.” — Mufti Ismail Menk
- Shirk extends beyond idols — it includes showing off in prayer, attributing cure solely to a doctor, or worshipping wealth and status above Allah’s commands.
- Riya nullifies deeds in real time — adjusting your prayer posture to impress a passer-by is a form of hidden shirk that erases the reward of that act of worship.
- Allah withdraws from mixed intentions — if an act of worship is done for both Allah and another, He leaves it entirely for that other, granting no heavenly reward.
- Innovation (bid’ah) in worship is a trap — adding acts of worship not taught by the Prophet ﷺ does not increase spirituality; it invalidates the deed entirely.
- Secularism of the heart is shirk too — when a person’s own intellect becomes the final arbiter above divine revelation, they have, in the Quranic sense, taken their desires as a god.
The Bankrupt Worshipper: Oppression, Backbiting, and the Transfer of Deeds
One of the most haunting traditions of the Prophet ﷺ, the hadith of the “muflis” — the spiritually bankrupt person — describes a believer who arrives on the Day of Judgement carrying mountains of Salah, fasting, Quran recitation, and charity, only to find that same wealth redistributed to every person they backbit, slandered, cheated, or verbally abused in this world. When their good deeds run out, the sins of those they oppressed are transferred onto their record, until they are cast into the Fire. Mufti Menk places this alongside ingratitude (kufr al-ni’mah) — showing ungratefulness to Allah for His gifts is itself a form of disbelief that can scatter a lifetime of good deeds like dust. He reminds us that we are living in an age saturated with backbiting, where people freely speak truth about an absent person in a way that person would hate — which is precisely the definition the Prophet ﷺ gave for this major sin. Every SMS, every phone call, every social media comment that harms a fellow Muslim is an open door for Shaytan to reach into our book of deeds and remove what took years to accumulate.
“A true bankrupt person is he who comes on the Day of Judgement with a mountain of good deeds — Salah, fasting, charity, Hajj — yet he slandered this one, backbit that one, usurped another’s wealth, until his deeds are given away and the sins of the oppressed are loaded onto him.” — The Prophet ﷺ, as cited by Mufti Menk
- Backbiting transfers your Salah — speaking truth about someone in their absence in a way they would dislike is enough to hand your prayers over to them on the Day of Judgement.
- Oppression has a compounding debt — once good deeds run out, the sins of those you wronged are added to your account; the spiritual bankruptcy deepens beyond zero.
- Verbal abuse destroys the abuser — insulting employees, children, spouses, or parents is recorded and will be presented before the Almighty.
- Ingratitude is a form of disbelief — denying Allah’s blessings by living in disobedience while enjoying His gifts is the kufr that scatters deeds like scattered dust.
- Two conditions for meeting Allah — do only deeds taught by the Messenger ﷺ, and guard yourself from every form of associating partners with the Almighty.
The lesson Mufti Menk draws from this lecture is ultimately one of vigilance rooted in love — love for Allah, love for one’s faith, and love for the good deeds that represent a lifetime of striving. Just as a person carrying a diamond in a dangerous neighbourhood does not walk carelessly, the believer who understands the devil’s plan guards every act of worship with the same fierce protectiveness. The path forward is clear: purify the intention, follow the way of the Prophet ﷺ without addition or subtraction, treat every human being with justice and dignity, and never allow the tongue to become an instrument through which Shaytan drains the account of a lifetime. Islam is not difficult — it is we who complicate it by opening the door to innovation, heedlessness, and oppression. May Allah grant us the consciousness to recognise the devil’s plan in all its forms, to protect our deeds as we would protect the most precious thing we possess, and to arrive before our Maker with hearts and records both intact.
