Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) once mentioned the following:
To think that merely liking a good work is equal to doing the good work is a great deception (of the nafs and shaitaan). This is one way of shaitaan tricking a person and leading him astray, that he makes him feel that liking the good work is sufficient for him (even though he does not do it).
In other words, by a person saying that I like a deeni effort, it does not include him among those who participate in it. It is only when one gets involved and takes part in the deeni effort that one will fulfil the right of the effort (and receive the full benefit).
However, the way that shaitaan deceives many people is that he makes them feel that their verbal acknowledgement that a certain deeni effort is very good causes them to be equal to those who are actually doing the deeni effort (whereas this is not the case). Hence, this is a great trap and deception of shaitaan.
(Malfoozaat Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) pg. 119-120)
