Bismillah

1. Fulfil our Obligatory duties unto Allah: There is NO doubt that we must fulfill our obligations unto Allah before anything else.

We cannot expect to get closer to Allah and gain high ranks of Jannah without fulfilling our obligatory duties unto him.

It is stated according to Hadith Qudsi: "Whoever draws near to Me among those drawn near by fulfilling what I have made obligatory on them.

You do not draw near to Allah except by fulfilling the obligatory duties which Allah has made obligatory on you; (that is) the obligatory duties from the obligatory duties (Fard) such as Prayers, Zakat (obligatory charity), and Hajj, and Fasting, e.t.c. All these obligatory duties on you draw you near to Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted and to also abstain from that which Allah and his messenger have forbidden us from.

2. Doing Everything We Can To Please Allah: We must do EVERYTHING in our daily life that pleases Allah and stay away from anything that angers or displeases him.

Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported regarding the saying of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam): "If I forbid you to do something, then keep away from it. And if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can." (Al-Bukhaari).

3. Striving to get closer to Allah:
Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu Anhu reports that the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) in a Hadith Qudsi narrated that Allah says:

"I treat My slaves according to his expectations from Me. I am with him when he remembers Me; and if he remembers Me in his heart, I remember him in My heart;

and if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a better and nobler gathering (of angels).

If he comes closer to Me by one span, I go closer to him an arm's length;

if he comes towards Me an arm's length, I go towards him two arm's length; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running. (Bukhari)

So when a person strives to get closer to Allah through good deeds, then Allah turns towards His slave with much more attention, mercy, and help.

4. Maintaining Iman (faith):
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said: " Faith wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allaah to renew the faith in your hearts." (Reported by al-Haakim, al-Tabaraani)

If we want to gain high ranks of Jannah we need to keep our Imaan topped up.

This is because Imaan fluctuates and needs to be maintained otherwise it may fall dangerously low resulting in us losing our way and opening a path for Shaythan to misguide us.

Our Imaan can only be constantly high if we maintain it by doing good actions and everything that pleases Allah.

Without making an effort our Imaan will fall low and we will be vulnerable to attack.

5. Being thankful to Allah
We should always ask Allah to make us appreciative and thankful.

We should constantly think of the favours that Allah has done for us and know that even if we spent our whole lives worshipping Allah then we would NEVER be able to repay him for even one blessing he has given us.

Therefore we should be thankful to him and never be ungrateful:

"Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, And be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me." [Qur'an 2:152].

6. Being constant in Repentance:
Allah loves repentance and loves those who turn to him in repentance:

Truly Allah loves those who turn [to Him] in repentance, and He loves those who keep themselves in purity. (Qur'an 2:222).

7. Best Manners, Character & Conduct
We should strive to be of those with the best of characters and manners as that is what will elevate us in the hereafter:

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alahi wasallam) used to say:
The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character. (Related by al-Bukhari)

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said:

There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character, (Hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud).

The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:

"The best loved by me and the nearest to me on the seats on the Day of Resurrection are those who have the best manners and conduct amongst you, who are intimate, are on good terms with others and are humble, and the most hated by me and who will be on the furthest seats from me are those who are talkative and arrogant." (Tirmidhi)

So let us strive to perfect our manners, character, and conduct and know that these good deeds will be of the heaviest on the scales and will enable us to reach the highest ranks of Jannah. Ameen.

8. Reading & implementing Qur'an into our daily life
Ibn Kathir says regarding tafsir of [Soorah al-A'raf (7): 179]: The similitude of the one, who memorizes the Qur'an but does not act in accordance to it, is like a donkey, which carries a load of books, but does not understand!

Therefore we must not be of those who read the Qur'an but do not aim to understand it.

We should read and study the deeper meanings of the Qur'an and act upon everything we read as this is what the Sahaaba did.

Some of the Sahaaba took a very long time to finish the Qur'an because they wanted to implement everything they read before moving on to the rest of the Qur'an.

9. Knowing Allah by His attributes:
Ibn al-Qayyim (RA) said: "There does not exist a need of the souls that is greater than their need for the knowledge of their Maker and Originator, and for possessing the love of Him, mentioning Him, being delighted at Him, and for seeking a means and position with Him

However, there is no route to this except by way of knowledge of His characteristics and names.

Thus, the more knowledgeable the servant is of these names and attributes, the more knowledgeable he will be of Allah, the more will be the pursuit of His Pleasure, and the nearer he will be to Him.

Likewise, the more averse he is to the names and attributes, the greater ignorance he will have of Allah, the more will be his dislike for Him and the further away he will be from His.

Allah affords the servant a status with Him that is per the status that the servant gives to Allah with himself..." ['al-Kafiyah ash-Shafiyah' p. 3-4]

Therefore, we should try to know Allah by his names and his attributes.

We should contemplate and ponder over his majesty and greatness. By knowing Allah by his names and attributes we will feel ever closer to him and do everything to please him.

10. Fearing Allah
"Surely, Allah loves al - al-Muttaqun (God-fearing)." [At-Tawba: 4]

The fear of Allah is the source of pure soul - it is borne out of love and obedience.

Thus a pious person is constantly driven to do good only and guard against evil. He/She is humble and does not flaunt his/her piety in front of others.

The fear of Allah beautifies the Iman and is the origin of all good as one strives to do only what pleases Allah and stay away from the things that would displease Him.

Piety is an internal quality as the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, "Taqwa is here" whilst pointing to his chest ( Muslim) and it is a quality that puts us above others in the sight of Allah.

So, to be raised in the highest of positions in the hereafter we need to fear Allah and be aware that he is watching us at all times.

11. Memorising the Qur'an
Ibn 'Amr reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said:

"It will be said to the companion of the Qur'an after he has entered Paradise, 'Recite, and rise!'

For every verse he recites he will rise one level (in Paradise), until he recites the last verse with him (i.e., in his memory)." (Aboo Dawood)

Therefore we should memorise as much of the Qur'an as possible to elevate our position in the hereafter.

NB:I haven't memorized that many chapters myself. May Allah make it easy for us.

12. Concentrating on Salah
Abu l-Aas (RA) reported that he said, "O Messenger of Allaah, the Shaytaan interrupts me when I pray, and I get confused in my recitation."

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "That is a Shaytaan whose name is Khanzab. If you sense his presence, seek refuge with Allaah from him, and spit [dry spitting] towards your left three times."

[Abu'l-'Aas] said: "I did that and Allaah took him away from me." (Reported by Muslim, no. 2203)

Salaah is the best and most important of all our worship so we must ensure that we pray our Salaah as perfectly as possible as our Salaah is being scrutinized every time we pray and if we do not pray our Salaah properly and lack concentration then we will not gain the full benefits of our Salaah and instead it will feel like a burden upon us.

Therefore we should strive to try and concentrate on our Salaah as much as possible imagining that Allah is watching our every movement in prayer.

13. Men praying Fard Salaah in the Masjid
The Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said,

"I had considered ordering for the prayer to be established, then I would order every man to pray and set loose men who have with them logs of wood upon a people who did not come to the prayer and I would burn their houses with the fire." (Bukhari, Muslim)

This indicates that there is no excuse for men to make a congregation at home if they have a Masjid near them and it is possible for them to pray in one.

Honorable place in Jannah
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said:

"Whoever goes to the mosque in the morning and evening, Allaah will prepare for him an honorable place in Paradise every time he goes and comes." (Bukhaari, 631; Muslim, 669)

Therefore, it is clear that men should establish a close connection with the house of Allah, and pray all of our Salaah on time and our fards in the Masjid.

Note: This does not apply to females. Females get the same rewards for praying at home.

14. Doing Voluntary Prayers & Fasts Voluntary prayers:l

Allah says in Hadith Qudsi:
....and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary deeds) until I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My Protection, I will protect him..." (Bukhari)

A Source of Elevation
The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: "Ask (anything)."

Rabi'ah said: "I ask of you to be your companion in paradise."

The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: "Anything else?"

Rabi'ah said: "That is it."

The Prophet( Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said to him:

"Then help me by making many prostrations (i.e., supererogatory prayers)." (Muslim)

Therefore we should pray all of the voluntary prayers as the more prostrations we do the closer we will get to Allah and the more chance we have of being in the company of Rasulullah (SallAllahu alayhi wasallam) in Jannah:

Voluntary fasting
Abu Hurairah reported that the most the Prophet, (salla Allahu alaihi wa salam) would fast be Monday and Thursday.

He was asked about that and he said:
"The deeds of people are presented to Allah every Monday and Thursday. Allah forgives every Muslim except for those who are deserting each other.

He says: "leave them for later." (Ahmad; Hasan)

Fasting the white days (3 days in the lunar month, 13th, 14th & 15th):

Abu Tharr Al-Ghefari said:

"The Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said;

"O Abu Tharr! If you fast three days of every month, then fast the 13th, the 14th, and the 15th [these are called the Ayyām al-Bīḍ (the white days]".

(Ahmad, an-Nasaa'i and at-Tirmithi; Sahih)

Intercession for those who fast:

" Fasting and the Qur'an will intercede for the slave on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: 'O My Rabb! I prevented him from food and desires, so accept my intercession for him.''

And the Qur'an will say: 'I prevented him from sleep during the night, so accept my intercession for him.'

He (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

'And they will (be allowed to) intercede.'' ( Ahmad, at-Tabarani, Al-Hakim, Sahih)

So let us get closer to Allah by trying to fast on Mondays & Thursdays or 3 days every lunar month on the 13th,14th, and 15th. If we leave something for the pleasure of Allah then we will get much more in return.