5 Good Deeds to Do in Ramadan to Earn the Greatest Reward
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Which good deeds carry the most weight in Ramadan? Many Muslims ask it as the month approaches, usually while trying to fit more worship into weeks already full of work, school runs and family. The Quran and the Prophet's sayings answer it in practical terms, pointing repeatedly to a handful of acts: fasting with care, praying at night, reciting the Quran, feeding people and giving in ways that last. Only God knows the full weight of any deed, but these five appear again and again in scripture alongside promises of great reward.
Good deeds in Ramadan don't require adding hours to every day. Choose a small practice you can sustain, and make room for one act of care for someone else. Each deed comes with a source worth reading for yourself.
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5 Good Deeds to Increase Your Rewards During Ramadan:
1. Fast With Care, Not Only Hunger
Most good deeds come with a known measure of reward, but fasting is described differently. In a hadith recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 1904, God says that every deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting, which is for God, who will reward it Himself. The same narration calls fasting a shield and tells anyone insulted while fasting to reply simply, "I am fasting." That short sentence is a good deed of its own, whether the quarrel starts in traffic, at work or in a family group chat.
In practice, that might mean muting a heated thread until after iftar, or choosing silence over a sharp comeback at the office. The fast then shapes conversations as well as meals. Small, deliberate choices like these are easy to repeat across the month.
2. Stand in Prayer at Night
Ramadan nights carry their own promise. A narration in Sahih al-Bukhari 37 records that whoever prays at night during Ramadan with faith and seeking God's reward will have their past sins forgiven. The hadith asks for faith and sincerity rather than long recitation, and a small, steady routine is often easier to keep across thirty nights than one exhausting effort.
If it suits your household, you could pray a few units at home after the children are asleep, or join the congregation at a local mosque. In the final ten nights, many mosques extend their prayers late, and some stay open for people who want to spend the night in worship. On busier nights, a fixed time before suhoor can still hold a few units and supplication.
3. Recite the Quran, Letter by Letter
The reward for recitation is counted in unusually fine detail. A hadith in Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2910 states that whoever recites a letter of the Quran earns a good deed, multiplied tenfold, and the Prophet added that Alif, Lam and Mim are three letters, not one. For anyone who reads Arabic slowly or is still learning, that is quietly encouraging, since the reward is tied to each letter rather than to speed.
Try reading a few verses after Iftar, even if you are still learning Arabic or need to read slowly. You can then listen to the same passage and revisit its meaning in translation. The hadith specifically describes the reward for recitation, while listening and reflecting provide other opportunities to engage with the Quran. A fixed ten minutes each evening can help make this practice part of your routine.
4. Feed the Needy and Care for Orphans
The Quran describes the righteous as people who give food, despite their own love for it, to the needy, the orphan and the captive (76:8 to 9), seeking only God's pleasure and wanting no thanks in return. Orphans hold a special place in that teaching.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also encouraged feeding those who fast. In Jami' at-Tirmidhi 807, he taught that whoever provides food for a fasting person to break their fast receives a reward like theirs, without reducing the fasting person's reward. This makes sharing Iftar a meaningful way to turn Ramadan worship into practical care for others.
In Sahih al-Bukhari 5304, the Prophet held up his index and middle fingers and said that he and the one who looks after an orphan will be like this in Paradise. In practice, that can mean a family food basket or sponsoring an orphaned child's food and schooling.
Feeding someone does not have to be grand. Inviting a new Muslim, an international student or a lonely neighbor to break the fast belongs to the same tradition, as does leaving a meal at the door of a family going through illness or loss. For orphans, the most valuable help is often steady rather than seasonal, which is why many givers commit to support that lasts beyond Ramadan.
5. Give Charity That Keeps Working
Ramadan is when many Muslims settle their Zakat and add Sadaqah, and the month closes with its own charity. A hadith in Sunan Abi Dawud 1609 describes Zakat al-Fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle and obscene talk and as food for the poor, accepted as Zakat when paid before the Eid prayer. Some charity keeps rewarding the giver for years. In Sahih Muslim 1631, the Prophet named ongoing charity, sadaqah jariyah, as one of three deeds whose reward continues after death, which is why wells, mosques and Quran schools are popular Ramadan gifts.
For larger projects such as a well, relatives sometimes pool their giving, with siblings or friends sharing both the cost and the hope of reward. Before giving, check which fund a gift is going into, since Zakat, Zakat al-Fitr and Sadaqah are each handled separately. Charities that accept all three usually label each option clearly when you donate.
>> Related Post: How to Help Orphans in Africa & Give Vulnerable Children a Better Future
Give This Ramadan
Doing Good Deeds in Ramadan Through ARCD
For U.S. Muslims who want their Ramadan giving to support communities across Africa, the Ramadan for Africa campaign from Africa Relief and Community Development (ARCD) focuses on food, orphan care and longer-term community projects. ARCD works across 32 African countries, from Senegal in the west to Tanzania in the east. The table below lists giving options for the charitable acts in this guide.
Each Walima feeds about 50 people at a single iftar. Across the month, the campaign aims to sponsor 250 of them alongside 10,000 food baskets, reaching an estimated 50,000 people in about 10 countries.
Where These Deeds Already Reach
ARCD's Ramadan and year-round programs support food assistance, orphan care, health, water and education in the countries where it works. The basket figures below are for Ramadan 2026, and the other totals run to date as of August 2026.
- 9,050 — Ramadan Food Baskets Distributed in 2026
- 63,350 — People Reached Through Those Baskets
- 39,000+ — Orphans Sponsored
- 2,969+ — Water Wells Built
- 262+ — Educational Centers Established
- 7,000+ — Cataract Surgeries Performed
>> Choose your Ramadan good deed and let it reach a family in Africa before Eid.
FAQs
1. Which good deed should come first in Ramadan?
Obligations come before voluntary acts. In a hadith qudsi from Sahih al-Bukhari 6502, God says that nothing brings a servant closer to Him than the duties He has made obligatory, with voluntary deeds drawing the servant nearer after that. In Ramadan, that means the five daily prayers, the fast itself and Zakat when it is due, with night prayer, extra recitation and Sadaqah built on top.
2. Does a small good deed still count?
Yes. The Quran says that whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it (99:7), which leaves no deed too small to matter. A single date shared at sunset, a short supplication for someone else or a modest gift given sincerely all count. Small deeds done regularly are also easier to carry beyond the month.
3. What good deeds can I do if I am unable to fast?
Plenty remain open. Supplication, remembrance of God, charity, helping prepare iftar for others and caring for older relatives all carry reward. Depending on why someone missed a fast, they may need to make it up later or pay Fidyah if they meet the relevant conditions. The rules vary, so ask a qualified scholar about your situation.
4. Is it better to give early in Ramadan or in the last ten nights?
Both have value, but they follow different timelines. Zakat has its own annual due date, and when that date arrives it should be paid rather than held back for the end of Ramadan. Voluntary giving is different and can be scheduled across the month, and many donors set aside a gift for each of the final nights, hoping one of them falls on the Night of Decree.
