How to earn hasanat (good deeds) during Ramadan

Ramadan is the month in which Muslims try harder than ever to multiply their good deeds. People often speak of “earning hasanat”: behind that phrase lies a central idea of Islam, that of a generous Lord who rewards good far beyond its worth. Here is what the word means, what makes Ramadan so special, and a series of practical steps, from the great acts of worship of the month to small everyday kindnesses, each one grounded in the Quran or an authentic hadith.

What are hasanat?

The word comes from the Arabic ḥasanāt, the plural of ḥasana: a “beautiful deed”, and by extension the reward attached to it. In everyday language, earning hasanat means building up good deeds with Allah that will weigh in the balance on the Day of Judgement. The Quran sets out the principle: “Whoever comes with a good deed will have ten times the like thereof, and whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof” (Quran 6:160).

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described this divine generosity in a hadith narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas:

“Allah has written down good deeds and bad deeds, then He made it clear: whoever intends a good deed but does not do it, Allah records it with Him as one complete good deed; if he intends it and does it, Allah records it as ten good deeds, up to seven hundred times, and many times more. Whoever intends a bad deed but does not do it, Allah records it as one complete good deed; and if he intends it and does it, Allah records it as a single bad deed.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6491; Sahih Muslim 131)

Three lessons follow. A sincere intention already counts: simply wanting to do good is rewarded. Good that is done is multiplied, while wrong is counted only once. And “good deeds do away with misdeeds” (Quran 11:114): nothing is lost, for “whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it” (Quran 99:7).

One condition runs through the whole tradition: sincerity. “Deeds are judged by intentions, and every person will have only what they intended” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1; Sahih Muslim 1907). Hasanat are not cold bookkeeping: it is Allah who “multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills” (Quran 2:261). We act out of love for Him and in hope of His grace, without ever keeping the accounts in His place.

Why Ramadan is a special time

Fasting holds a unique place among good deeds. In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Every good deed of the son of Adam is multiplied, from ten to seven hundred times. Allah, Exalted and Majestic, said: except fasting, for it is for Me and I shall reward it; he gives up his desires and his food for My sake” (Sahih Muslim 1151). The reward for fasting is not given a number: it is left to Allah’s generosity.

Ramadan also brings forgiveness: “Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and in hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven” (Sahih al-Bukhari 38; Sahih Muslim 760). It brings together in a single month fasting, night prayers, the Night of Decree, generosity and the recitation of the Quran, which makes it an exceptional season for doing good.

One clarification is needed. A text that circulates widely as the month approaches claims that a voluntary deed performed in Ramadan is worth an obligatory one, and an obligatory deed worth seventy, or that the month is divided into a third of mercy, a third of forgiveness and a third of freedom from the Fire. This long sermon attributed to the Prophet ﷺ, narrated from Salman al-Farisi, has been judged weak, and even munkar (unacceptable), by hadith specialists from Abu Hatim al-Razi to al-Albani. There is no need to rely on it: the authentic texts quoted here are more than enough to show the value of the month.

The great acts of worship of Ramadan

Fasting with faith, and protecting your fast

The fast itself is the first source of hasanat, provided it involves more than the stomach. The Prophet ﷺ warned: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up his food and drink” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1903). And if someone insults you or tries to pick a quarrel, the instruction is simple: reply “I am fasting, I am fasting” (Sahih Muslim 1151). Controlling your tongue and your temper is part and parcel of the fast.

Night prayers (tarawih)

“Whoever stands in prayer during the nights of Ramadan out of faith and in hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven” (Sahih al-Bukhari 37). Praying tarawih at the mosque has an added benefit: “Whoever prays with the imam until he finishes, it is recorded for him as if he had prayed the whole night” (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 806, graded hasan sahih by al-Tirmidhi). If you cannot get to the mosque, a few units of prayer at home, however short, keep their full value. For prayer times, see our Ramadan calendar.

Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Decree

The Quran describes it in these words: “The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months” (Quran 97:3), which is more than eighty-three years of worship (see Surah al-Qadr). “Whoever spends it in prayer out of faith and in hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1901). Its exact date is unknown: “Seek it in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2017). When those ten nights began, the Prophet ﷺ would redouble his efforts, stay up through the night and wake his family (Sahih al-Bukhari 2024). When ‘A’ishah asked him what she should say if she recognised that night, he taught her: Allāhumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuḥibbu l-‘afwa fa‘fu ‘annī, “O Allah, You are the One who pardons, You love to pardon, so pardon me” (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 3513, graded sahih).

I‘tikaf, the retreat in the mosque

“The Prophet ﷺ used to observe i‘tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan until Allah took him, and then his wives observed i‘tikaf after him” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2026; Sahih Muslim 1172). I‘tikaf means staying in the mosque to devote yourself to prayer, the Quran and supplication. The schools of law differ on its minimum length, so ask your mosque or a scholar if you cannot give it the full ten days.

Feeding someone who is fasting

“Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast will have a reward like his, without the fasting person’s reward being reduced in the slightest” (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 807, graded hasan sahih by al-Tirmidhi and sahih by al-Albani). Inviting neighbours or students to iftar, helping with a mosque’s or a charity’s community meals, handing out a few dates and some water: every meal you give doubles the reward.

Generosity, sadaqah and zakat al-fitr

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most generous of people, and he was at his most generous in Ramadan when Gabriel (Jibril) met him […] more generous than the wind that is sent forth” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6). The Quran likens charity to “a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains” (Quran 2:261). At the end of the month, every Muslim who can afford it also pays zakat al-fitr for themselves and their dependants before the Eid prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 1503): it purifies the fasting person from idle talk and feeds the poor (Sunan Abi Dawud 1609, graded hasan). The practical details are on our page about zakat.

Umrah in Ramadan

To a woman of the Ansar who had been unable to perform the pilgrimage, the Prophet ﷺ said: “When Ramadan comes, perform Umrah, for Umrah in Ramadan is equal to Hajj” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1782; Sahih Muslim 1256). Scholars explain that this is an equivalence in reward: Umrah does not release anyone who is able from the obligatory Hajj. To find out more, read our guide to the pilgrimage.

Dhikr and supplication

Remembering Allah (dhikr) is probably the easiest way to earn hasanat. The Prophet ﷺ once asked his Companions: “Is any one of you unable to earn a thousand good deeds every day?” He explained: “Let him say Subḥān Allāh (glory be to Allah) a hundred times: a thousand good deeds will be recorded for him, or a thousand sins erased” (Sahih Muslim 2698). And of two phrases he said: “Light on the tongue, heavy in the balance, beloved to the Most Merciful: Subḥān Allāhi wa bi-ḥamdihi, Subḥān Allāhi l-‘Aẓīm” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6406). Supplication (du‘a) has its place too: right in the middle of the verses on fasting, Allah says: “Indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me” (Quran 2:186). The end of the night, at suhoor time, is a particularly good moment: it is the last third of the night, when Allah says: “Who is calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me, that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1145; Sahih Muslim 758).

Earning hasanat with the Quran

Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed (Quran 2:185), and it offers many ways to multiply good through it.

Read it, even slowly. “Whoever reads a letter of the Book of Allah earns a good deed, and a good deed is multiplied by ten. I do not say that Alif-Lām-Mīm is a letter; rather Alif is a letter, Lām is a letter and Mīm is a letter” (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 2910, graded sahih). And whoever reads it with difficulty, stumbling over the words, receives a double reward (Sahih al-Bukhari 4937; Sahih Muslim 798).
Listen to it attentively. “So when the Quran is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy” (Quran 7:204). Our advice on listening to the Quran in Ramadan offers a plan and a selection of reciters.
Teach a verse or a supplication. “The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5027). Every time that person recites what you taught them, you share in the reward, for “whoever guides someone to good will have a reward like that of the one who does it” (Sahih Muslim 1893).
Help children learn. Supporting a child as they memorise a surah or learn tajwid, paying for their lessons, encouraging them: this is a form of beneficial knowledge that goes on benefiting after you.
Give a copy of the Quran or recitations. A mushaf, a translation, a link to good-quality recitations: the Prophet ﷺ taught that at death a person’s deeds come to an end except three, among them “ongoing charity” and “knowledge from which benefit is derived” (Sahih Muslim 1631). Scholars readily count the gift of a copy of the Quran as ongoing charity.
Read together. Organise a group reading with your family or at the mosque: “No people gather in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it together, without tranquillity descending upon them and mercy covering them” (Sahih Muslim 2699).

Everyday deeds

Support a mosque. “Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build for him a similar house in Paradise” (Sahih al-Bukhari 450; Sahih Muslim 533). Everyone can take part according to their means: building work, upkeep, heating, copies of the Quran for the prayer hall.
Go to the mosque. “Whoever goes to the mosque in the morning and the evening, Allah prepares for him a place of honour in Paradise for every going” (Sahih al-Bukhari 662; Sahih Muslim 669).
Say “Bismillah” before eating. The Prophet ﷺ taught a young boy: “Mention the name of Allah, eat with your right hand and eat from what is in front of you” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5376; Sahih Muslim 2022). Beginning every important action in the name of Allah turns an ordinary gesture into an act of worship.
Give food and drink. The Prophet ﷺ told the story of a man who was forgiven for giving water to a thirsty dog, then added: “There is a reward for serving every living creature” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2363; Sahih Muslim 2244). A bottle of water handed out, a meal left at an elderly neighbour’s door: nothing is too small.
Smile and help out. “Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity”, as are showing someone the way or removing an obstacle from the road (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 1956, graded hasan). “Every act of goodness is charity” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6021).
Share what is beneficial. Passing an authentic reminder, such as this article, to someone who will benefit from it is guiding them to good, with the reward promised in the hadith of Muslim quoted above. Just check the source of whatever you share.

Keeping your good deeds after Ramadan

Earning hasanat is of little use if you squander them straight away through backbiting, arguments or injustice: protecting your fast also means protecting the good you have built up. Scholars also point out that a deed is accepted only if it is sincere and in keeping with the teaching of the Prophet ﷺ (Sahih al-Bukhari 2697).

Finally, the spirit of Ramadan is not meant to fade with Eid. “The deed most beloved to Allah is the most regular, even if it is small” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6464). Keeping one simple habit after the month, a page of Quran a day, a weekly donation, a few supplications morning and evening, is better than dropping everything. Fasting six days of Shawwal also carries the momentum forward: “Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he had fasted perpetually” (Sahih Muslim 1164). To explore the meaning and the rules of the fast further, see our guide to Ramadan.