40 Hadith #58: Righteous Deeds Explained

Read by our brother Abu Arwa Ali

Summary 

• What is the reward for the one who intends a good deed and carries it out?
• What if you intend a good deed but was unable to do it?
• What if someone intends an evil deed but did not do it? What happens to him or her?
• What about the one who does an evil deed?

Hadith 37 (Righteous Deeds Explained)

• From Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā), from the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam), from that which he narrates from His Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, that He said, “Allāh has written down the good deeds and the bad deeds.” Then he explained it [by saying that], “He who considered doing a good deed and has not done it, Allāh writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he considered doing it and has done it, Allāh writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he considered doing a bad deed and has not done it, Allāh writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he considered doing it and has done it, Allāh writes it down as one bad deed.” [Related by al-Bukhārī, Muslim]
• The explanation to this hadith is split into 4 parts

Part 1: Concerning the statement of  Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) “Allāh has written down the good deeds and the bad deeds…”

• The meaning behind this statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) can be of two forms:
  • Allah has written and decreed that deeds will occur and they will have consequences and results
  • It could also be in reference to the Angels that write down our good deeds and bad deeds. What is the evidence for this?
• Both of these explanations are carried by the hadith, the two meanings are not contradictory but rather both are accurate and true

Part 2: Concerning the statement of  Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) “He who considered doing a good deed and has not done it, Allāh writes it down with Himself as a full good deed…”

• This part can be broken down into four points:
  • 1. Allah, The Most High, is emphasising that if you intend a good deed but you don’t do it, then you still get a complete reward for one good deed and this is written down for you. What is the importance of this?
  • 2. Allah clarifies and highlights to us that if you intend to carry out a good deed, and you carry it out, then your reward is multiplied to ten times, or to much much more than that. This is indeed from the favour of Allah, our Lord.
  • 3. The multiplication of a person’s reward is when he or she acts upon the intention of doing the good deed.
  • 4. There is a hadeeth which states that intention is greater than action, this is weak
• Some detail from Shaykh Al-Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him):
  • The intention behind doing a good deed is not just a mere thought, rather it is the thought and the determination to do it that establishes intention
  • The one who genuinely intended to do a good deed but then did not do it for some reason, then these people are of 3 categories:
    • 1. A person intended to do a good deed, he strove and took the means, but he was unable to do it, then he gets rewarded as if he had actually fully completed that good deed (i.e full reward).
    • 2. A person who intended to do it, he strove but then he leave doing that good deed in order to perform a deed which is better than the first deed. He will be rewarded for doing the better deed, but he is also rewarded for intending the first deed (one deed). What is an example?
    • 3. A person who intends to do a good deed, but he does not do it due to laziness. What is an example? Is he or she still rewarded for this intention?

Part 3: Concerning the statement of  Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) “But if he considered doing a bad deed and has not done it…”

• The explanation to this part can be broken down into 3 points:
  • 1. An evil deed which is intended, but then it is left off, then it is rewarded as one full, complete, good deed. What is the importance of this?
  • 2. Doing an evil deed will be written down as one evil deed. Why has this been  mentioned in the hadith?
  • 3. If you intended an evil deed and you did not do it, then you are only rewarded for it if you left it for the sake of Allah. However what about a person who wants to do the evil deed but he is unable to do it for some other reason?
• Statement of Ibnu Kathir (from his tafseer): 
• You should know that one who intends an evil deed but does not do it is of 3 types
  • 1. The person who leaves doing an evil deed for the sake of Allah. What is his or her reward? What is the result?
  • 2. The person who leaves doing an evil due to forgetfulness or laziness. What is the result here?
  • 3. The one who stops doing an evil deed due to inability, if he could do it he would. What is the outcome here? Is he still sinful for this? What is the proof?