How do we reconcile the verse "And whoever intends therein deviation with injustice, We will make him taste a painful punishment" with the hadith "And whoever intends an evil deed and does not do it, it is recorded for him as a good deed"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says:[Al-Hajj 22:25] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in what he narrated from Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, at the end of the hadith: Sahih Muslim 131a How do we reconcile the verse and the hadith?
The Shaykh : Yes, the reconciliation between the verse and the hadith is from two angles, or from one angle. The first angle is that His saying[Al-Hajj 22:25] means that the one who intends it actually does it, based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in Surat al-An'am, which is a Meccan surah: [Al-An'am 6:160] He did not say "and whoever intends," but rather He said [Al-An'am 6:160]. So the meaning is [Al-Hajj 22:25] and he does it. On this basis, there is no contradiction.
The second angle is to say that His saying applies to other than Mecca, and Mecca is excluded from that. That is, a person is held accountable for the intention in Mecca, but not in other places.
But here we ask: if he intends the evil deed and leaves it, is he rewarded in all cases? No, he is rewarded if he leaves it for the sake of Allah. This is why the explanation of this hadith came asSahih Muslim 129 meaning for My sake.
Because the conditions of the one who intends an evil deed and does not do it vary. If he intends the evil deed and leaves it for the sake of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, he is rewarded, especially if this evil deed is one to which the soul strongly inclines; then he is rewarded even more. This is why it came in the hadith that among the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His areSahih Muslim 1031a. He leaves the sin while having the ability to commit it, out of fear of Allah.
The second is that he leaves the evil deed he intended out of shame before people, not out of fear of Allah. In this case, he has no reward; rather, he may commit a sin for that, because this leaving, meaning leaving the sin, is an act of worship, and worship is not for anyone but Allah.
The third is that he leaves it due to his inability to do it. In this case, he is punished for his evil intention, and his not doing it does not benefit him because he is unable.
The fourth is that he leaves it due to his inability to do it, while performing the means that lead to it. In this case, the sin of the doer is recorded against him, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Mishkat al-Masabih 3538 They said: O Messenger of Allah, what about the one who was killed? He said: Sahih al-Bukhari 6875.
So now, leaving the sin is divided into these four categories. The first, here is the answer for you: he leaves it out of fear of Allah, so he is rewarded. The second: he leaves it out of fear of people, so he commits a sin. The third: he leaves it due to inability without performing the means that lead to it, so he also commits a sin by his intention. The fourth: 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 the one who did not intend the evil deed and it did not occur to his mind, he has no sin and no reward. Yes.
The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says:
and [also] whoever intends [a deed] therein of deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing - We will make him taste of a painful punishment.
ومن يرد فيه بإلحاد بظلم نذقه من عذاب أليمBut it he intended evil, but did not commit it, Allah wrote down full one good in his favour.
وإن هم بسيئة فلم يعملها كتبها الله تعالى عنده حسنة كاملةThe Shaykh : Yes, the reconciliation between the verse and the hadith is from two angles, or from one angle. The first angle is that His saying
whoever intends [a deed] therein of deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing
من يرد فيه بإلحاد بظلمand whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof
ومن جاء بالسيئة فلا يجزى إلا مثلهاwhoever comes with an evil deed
من جاء بالسيئةwhoever intends [a deed] therein of deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing
من يرد فيه بإلحاد بظلمThe second angle is to say that His saying
And if he intends an evil deed and does not do it, a good deed is recorded.
ومن هم بسيئة فلم يعلمها كتبت حسنةBut here we ask: if he intends the evil deed and leaves it, is he rewarded in all cases? No, he is rewarded if he leaves it for the sake of Allah. This is why the explanation of this hadith came as
for he desisted from doing it for My sake
فإنه إنما تركها من جرائيBecause the conditions of the one who intends an evil deed and does not do it vary. If he intends the evil deed and leaves it for the sake of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, he is rewarded, especially if this evil deed is one to which the soul strongly inclines; then he is rewarded even more. This is why it came in the hadith that among the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His are
a man whom a beautiful woman of high rank seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer by saying):" I fear Allah"
رجل دعته امرأة ذات منصب وجمال فقال إني أخاف اللهThe second is that he leaves the evil deed he intended out of shame before people, not out of fear of Allah. In this case, he has no reward; rather, he may commit a sin for that, because this leaving, meaning leaving the sin, is an act of worship, and worship is not for anyone but Allah.
The third is that he leaves it due to his inability to do it. In this case, he is punished for his evil intention, and his not doing it does not benefit him because he is unable.
The fourth is that he leaves it due to his inability to do it, while performing the means that lead to it. In this case, the sin of the doer is recorded against him, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
When two Muslims meet with their swords, the one who kills and the one who is killed will go to hell.
إذا التقى المسلمان بسيفهما فالقاتل والمقتول في النارThe killed one was eager to kill his opponent.
لأنه كان حريصا على قتل صاحبهSo now, leaving the sin is divided into these four categories. The first, here is the answer for you: he leaves it out of fear of Allah, so he is rewarded. The second: he leaves it out of fear of people, so he commits a sin. The third: he leaves it due to inability without performing the means that lead to it, so he also commits a sin by his intention. The fourth: 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 the one who did not intend the evil deed and it did not occur to his mind, he has no sin and no reward. Yes.