Chapter on the command to maintain what one has accustomed oneself to of good: Allah the Exalted said: "Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves."

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: "Chapter on the Command to Maintain What One Has Customarily Done of Good:
Allah the Exalted said:

Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves

إن الله لا يُغير ما بقوم حتى يغيروا ما بأنفسهم

[Ar-Ra'd 13:11]

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And He the Exalted said:

And do not be like she who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong

ولا تكونوا كالتي نقضت غَزلها من بعد قوة أنكاثا

[An-Nahl 16:92]

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And He said:

And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened

ولا يكونوا كالذين أوتوا الكتاب مِن قبل فطال عليهم الأمد فقست قلوبهم

[Al-Hadid 57:16]

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And He said, the Exalted:

But they did not observe it with due observance

فما رَعوها حق رِعايتها

[Al-Hadid 57:27]

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And as for the hadiths: From Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said:

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "O 'Abdullah! Do not be like so-and-so; he used to get up at night for optional prayer but abandoned it later."

قال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: يا عبد الله، لا تكن مثل فلان، كان يقوم الليل فترك قيام الليل

Riyad as-Salihin 691

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim " .

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author al-Nawawi -may Allah have mercy on him- said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on the Command to Maintain What One Has Customarily Done of Good": This means that if a person has made it a habit to do good, he should persist in it. For example, if he has made it a habit not to leave the *rawatib*, meaning the voluntary prayers that follow the five obligatory prayers, let him maintain that. If he stands in night prayer, let him maintain that. If he prays two rak'ahs of the *Dhuha* prayer, let him maintain that. Everything of good that he has made a habit of, he should maintain it. : This means he should persist in it if he performs an act and establishes it without changing it. This is because if a person makes a habit of good and acts upon it, then abandons it, this leads to turning away from good, because returning after advancing is worse than not advancing in the first place. That is, if you had not done the good, it would have been easier than if you did it and then abandoned it. This is something observed and experienced.
The author -may Allah have mercy on him- mentioned several verses from the Qur'an, all of which indicate that a person should maintain what he has customarily done of good. Among them is His saying, the Exalted: : This means do not be like the woman who spins wool, and then when she has spun it and perfected it, she unravels it into *ankath* and tears it apart. Rather, persist in what you have been doing.
Among them is His saying, the Exalted: Meaning: They used to do righteous deeds, but time passed for them, so their hearts hardened, and they abandoned the deeds. So do not be like them.