Combining the Hadiths of Those Who Intend a Sin but Do Not Commit It

Question:
How do we reconcile the statement of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Abu Zuhrah al-Ghassani, which states that if a person intends to commit a sin, it is recorded against him even if he does not commit it, with the hadith of Ibn Abbas, which states that if a person intends to commit a sin and does not commit it, it is not recorded against him, and if he leaves it for the sake of Allah, a good deed is recorded for him? And likewise the hadith about the one who is cut off and the one who is reached in the Fire.

Answer:
Yes, I will point you to a reference on this, which is Ibn Rajab’s commentary on the Forty Hadiths, *Jami' al-‘Ulum wa al-Hikam*. When he discussed this hadith, “Indeed, Allah has written the good deeds and the bad deeds,” he mentioned good points. The summary is that if a person intends to commit a sin and leaves it out of fear of Allah, a good deed is recorded for him, because leaving it out of fear of Allah is an act of worship, and he is rewarded for it. However, if he intends to commit a sin and leaves it because he was unable to obtain it, and if he had been able to obtain it, he would have committed it, then the sin is recorded against him, because he intended the evil and only left it because he was incapable of it. This is what is recorded against him. The hadith, “When two Muslims meet with their swords, the killer and the killed are in the Fire,” is of this nature, because when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about that, they said, “O Messenger of Allah, this is the matter of…”