The ruling on one who intends an evil deed but does not commit it, or one who intends it and then commits it
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says: [Al-Hajj: 25], and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in what he narrated from his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) at the end of the hadith: (And if he intends an evil deed but does not commit it, Allah the Exalted records it with Him as a complete good deed) How do we reconcile the verse and the hadith?
Reconciling the verse and the hadith is from one of two approaches: The first approach: that His saying: [Al-Hajj: 25] means: one who intends and then acts, based on the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) in Surat al-An'am, which is a Meccan surah: [Al-An'am: 160] and He did not say: "And whoever intends,"Rather He said: [Al-An'am: 160] so the meaning is: one who intends therein to deviate with injustice and acts, and on this basis, there is no contradiction.
The second aspect: It can be said: that His saying: (And whoever intends an evil deed but does not commit it, it is recorded for him as a good deed) this is in other than Mecca, and Mecca is excluded from that,Meaning: that a person is held accountable for the intention there, but not in other places.
But here we ask: If he intends an evil deed and leaves it, is he rewarded in all cases? No.
He is rewarded if he leaves it for the sake of Allah,Therefore, the explanation of this hadith came: (For he only left it because of Me) meaning: for My sake; because the conditions of one who intends an evil deed and does not commit it vary: The first: if he intends an evil deed and leaves it for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), he is rewarded, and especially if this evil deed is one to which the soul strongly inclines, he is rewarded even more,And for this reason it came in the hadith: that one of the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His is (a man whom a woman of high status and beauty invited,So he said: I fear Allah) leaving the sin while having the ability to commit it out of fear of Allah.
Second: that he leaves the evil deed he intended out of shame before people, not out of fear of Allah, so he has no reward for that, rather he may even sin for it; because leaving -I mean: leaving the sin - is an act of worship, and worship is not for anyone but Allah.
Third: that he leaves it due to his inability to do it, so he is punished for his evil intention, and his lack of action does not benefit him; because he is not capable.
Fourth: that he leaves it due to his inability to do it, while performing the means that lead to it, so the sin of the doer is recorded against him,Due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions): (When two Muslims meet with their swords, both the killer and the killed are in the Fire! They said: O Messenger of Allah! This is the killer, what about the killed?He said: Because he was eager to kill his companion) .
So leaving the sin is divided into four categories: The first: that he leaves it out of fear of Allah, so he is rewarded.
The second: That he leaves it out of fear of people, so he sins.
The third: That he leaves it due to inability without performing the means that lead to it, so he also sins by his intention.
The fourth: That he leaves it due to inability while performing the means that lead to it; but his desire is not realized, so the sin of the doer is recorded against him.
As for one who did not intend an evil deed, and it did not occur to his mind, so he has no sin and no reward.
and [also] whoever intends [a deed] therein of deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing - We will make him taste of a painful punishment.
وَمَنْ يُرِدْ فِيهِ بِإِلْحَادٍ بِظُلْمٍ نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍReconciling the verse and the hadith is from one of two approaches: The first approach: that His saying:
and [also] whoever intends [a deed] therein of deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing
وَمَنْ يُرِدْ فِيهِ بِإِلْحَادٍ بِظُلْمٍand whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof
وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَاand whoever comes with an evil deed
وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِThe second aspect: It can be said: that His saying: (And whoever intends an evil deed but does not commit it, it is recorded for him as a good deed) this is in other than Mecca, and Mecca is excluded from that,Meaning: that a person is held accountable for the intention there, but not in other places.
But here we ask: If he intends an evil deed and leaves it, is he rewarded in all cases? No.
He is rewarded if he leaves it for the sake of Allah,Therefore, the explanation of this hadith came: (For he only left it because of Me) meaning: for My sake; because the conditions of one who intends an evil deed and does not commit it vary: The first: if he intends an evil deed and leaves it for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), he is rewarded, and especially if this evil deed is one to which the soul strongly inclines, he is rewarded even more,And for this reason it came in the hadith: that one of the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His is (a man whom a woman of high status and beauty invited,So he said: I fear Allah) leaving the sin while having the ability to commit it out of fear of Allah.
Second: that he leaves the evil deed he intended out of shame before people, not out of fear of Allah, so he has no reward for that, rather he may even sin for it; because leaving -I mean: leaving the sin - is an act of worship, and worship is not for anyone but Allah.
Third: that he leaves it due to his inability to do it, so he is punished for his evil intention, and his lack of action does not benefit him; because he is not capable.
Fourth: that he leaves it due to his inability to do it, while performing the means that lead to it, so the sin of the doer is recorded against him,Due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his companions): (When two Muslims meet with their swords, both the killer and the killed are in the Fire! They said: O Messenger of Allah! This is the killer, what about the killed?He said: Because he was eager to kill his companion) .
So leaving the sin is divided into four categories: The first: that he leaves it out of fear of Allah, so he is rewarded.
The second: That he leaves it out of fear of people, so he sins.
The third: That he leaves it due to inability without performing the means that lead to it, so he also sins by his intention.
The fourth: That he leaves it due to inability while performing the means that lead to it; but his desire is not realized, so the sin of the doer is recorded against him.
As for one who did not intend an evil deed, and it did not occur to his mind, so he has no sin and no reward.