Agreement on a reward for memorizing the Qur'an
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
If one agrees with a brother to set a specific period, and if he memorizes a specific amount of the Qur'an during that time by the grace of Allah, he will reward him for it, and if he does not, he will pay him a specific sum of money which he will donate to charitable causes. Is this permissible or not?
The Shaykh:
What?
The questioner:
He says: I agreed with one of the brothers to set a specific period. If I memorize a specific amount of the Qur'an during that time, he will reward me for it, and if I do not, I will pay him a specific sum of money which he will donate to charitable causes. Donating. Donating to charitable causes. Donating.
The Shaykh:
Or donate it.
The questioner:
Is such an agreement permissible or not? And what is appropriate in such a case?
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible; this is not permissible. If he agrees with him to memorize a known amount of the Qur'an, and if he does, he gives him the reward, and if not, he does not give him anything in return, this is not permissible. However, if he agrees with him that if he memorizes a portion of the Qur'an, he will be rewarded with such-and-such, and if he memorizes two portions, he will be rewarded, there is no harm in that. This is assistance in good, like the known prizes. But if you say, "I will give you such-and-such, or otherwise I must give you such-and-such," this is not permissible. You must give me such-and-such. Yes.
If one agrees with a brother to set a specific period, and if he memorizes a specific amount of the Qur'an during that time by the grace of Allah, he will reward him for it, and if he does not, he will pay him a specific sum of money which he will donate to charitable causes. Is this permissible or not?
The Shaykh:
What?
The questioner:
He says: I agreed with one of the brothers to set a specific period. If I memorize a specific amount of the Qur'an during that time, he will reward me for it, and if I do not, I will pay him a specific sum of money which he will donate to charitable causes. Donating. Donating to charitable causes. Donating.
The Shaykh:
Or donate it.
The questioner:
Is such an agreement permissible or not? And what is appropriate in such a case?
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible; this is not permissible. If he agrees with him to memorize a known amount of the Qur'an, and if he does, he gives him the reward, and if not, he does not give him anything in return, this is not permissible. However, if he agrees with him that if he memorizes a portion of the Qur'an, he will be rewarded with such-and-such, and if he memorizes two portions, he will be rewarded, there is no harm in that. This is assistance in good, like the known prizes. But if you say, "I will give you such-and-such, or otherwise I must give you such-and-such," this is not permissible. You must give me such-and-such. Yes.
Source
واجب الرجل والمرأة — islamhouse.com (56:21)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.