The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Whoever does good, it is for himself, and whoever does evil, it is against himself. And your Lord is not unjust to the servants.”

Among the benefits of this verse is the encouragement to do good deeds, based on His saying: Because when you know that your deed is for yourself, you will strive in it. Thus, it contains an encouragement to do good deeds.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is that any deed lacking sincerity is a harm to its doer and does not benefit him, because we have defined the good deed as that which combines two conditions: sincerity and following the Sunnah.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is that whoever performs an innovated deed, his deed is against him, not for him, because it does not fall under the category of good deeds. Now, our brothers! Many of those who engage in these innovations are found weeping, being humble, and their hearts become soft, and they have a degree of weeping that is not found among the sincere followers. So what do we say? Answer? We say: So do not be deceived by this thing that happens from them, because this is from the deception and delusion of Satan for them.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the reward of a good deed cannot reach another person, based on His saying: Most scholars adopted this and said: “The deceased does not benefit except from the deed of his child only, and not from anyone else” meaning, if you perform the lesser pilgrimage for a deceased friend or a living one who is unable to perform it, that does not benefit him. Why? Because whoever does good, it is for himself and does not extend to others. And what came in the Sunnah regarding a woman fasting a month’s vow for her mother, or performing Hajj for her father who cannot stay on the mount, this only occurred from the child. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the deed is from the earnings of the father and mother, and it is a part of his father, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He said this on the pulpit, and the one to whom peace and blessings be upon him pointed in this hadith—and it is a long hadith—pointed to the neck of Ali ibn Abi Talib and praised Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi', the husband of his daughter Zaynab, and said: And he criticized Ali, because it was said that he intended to marry the daughter of Abu Jahl. So the Messenger stood and addressed the people and said: And he spoke with harsh words, but the matter turned away from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) when he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affected in this manner, and that it is not possible to combine the daughter of the Prophet of Allah with the daughter of the enemy of Allah, because this would be a topic of discussion for people. In any case, we say that some scholars adopted what the apparent meaning of this verse implies and said: The deed does not benefit any person you intend it for, except the child. But many scholars said: Rather, the deceased benefits from his child, and there is no harm in him benefiting from others. And perhaps evidence is cited from the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man saying: Labbaik on behalf of Shubrumah. He said: He said: A brother of mine or a relative. He said: A brother or a relative, and he is in a state of ihram for him. They said: This indicates that it is permissible for a person to act as a proxy for another, and it is said: This is the proxy for another, and Hajj is also delivered to him. But what appears to me is that there is no difference between the child and others, and between Hajj and others. However, what we criticize is the extravagance of people now in deeds for the dead. You find him memorizing the Qur'an several times in Ramadan and saying: The first time is for my mother, the second for my father, the third for my grandmother, the fourth for my grandfather, the fifth for my brother, the sixth for my sister, the seventh for my uncle, and the eighth for my aunt. And Ramadan ends and he has no reward; he gave it all to people. This is a mistake; this is excess and is not from the guidance of the righteous predecessors. Likewise, some people are extravagant and contradict the Sunnah in their extravagance. You find him going to perform the lesser pilgrimage for the first time, and at the same time, while in Makkah, performing a second lesser pilgrimage for his mother and a third for his father, every day a lesser pilgrimage. If we estimate that he stays for ten days and has ten relatives: ten lesser pilgrimages. Yes, this is a mistake, not from the guidance of the predecessors and the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah is not according to taste or the inclination of the soul or desire. The Shari'ah is specific. Did it come from the predecessors that they repeat the lesser pilgrimage? No, not for themselves and not for others. It did not come at all. So the basis of repeating the lesser pilgrimage in one journey is not prescribed. For this reason, Ata ibn Abi Rabah, who was the scholar of Makkah in his time, said: “I do not know these people who go out to Taneem; are they committing a sin or are they safe?” Meaning, it implies that they have no reward because it did not come from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or from the Companions. Therefore, you students of knowledge must clarify this to people, even if they criticize you. We always warn against this in the Haram and say: This is a mistake and not prescribed. Then they come and go to some people and say: No, it does not contradict. The first day is for you, the second day for your mother, the third day for your father, it does not contradict. The scholar gave each person a lesser pilgrimage. And if your relatives are many and your days in Makkah are few, there is no harm in taking two lesser pilgrimages in one day; there is no preventer. And if they are more numerous and the days are fewer, make two lesser pilgrimages in the day and two in the night. There is no god but Allah! Who said this? But the problem is that some scholars are lax in these matters and do not ease the burden for the servants of Allah. You find a poor person in the days of the Hajj season incurring great expense in the crowding and hardship, and yet he insists on bringing a lesser pilgrimage for his father and mother, even though this is not from the guidance of the predecessors. And they restrict people; some people restrict others. So we ask Allah for guidance. Now, in any case, His saying: Some scholars cited this as evidence for what? That the good deed does not extend to others, meaning it does not extend beyond its doer. And we say: What came in the Sunnah is a specification for this, and the Sunnah explains and clarifies the Qur'an. Then, is it analogized? This is a matter of consideration, and I think there is no harm in analogizing with it, because what came is specific cases. So if they are specific cases, perhaps we say: And we analogize with this specific case what is similar to it. But what is condemned is extravagance and excess.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is that whoever does evil, he has done it against himself; it does not harm Allah in any way. But if someone were to say: Did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inform that whoever introduces a bad practice in Islam, he will bear its sin and the sin of whoever acts by it until the Day of Resurrection? Now, this person’s evil is upon him, and Allah says: Only against himself. It is said: The fact that he introduced this evil is his deed which people followed, and if he had not done what he did, people would not have acted except by following him. So this is in reality from his action, because he is the one who introduced this bad practice. For this reason, no one kills a soul intentionally without right except that a share of it is upon the first of Adam. Do you know? Who killed the first of the children of Adam? It was Qabil who killed Habil. He killed Habil out of envy without any wrongdoing to him. They brought offerings, so Allah accepted from Habil and did not accept from Qabil. So he said to him: I will surely kill you. Why? Out of envy, because Allah accepted from his companion and did not accept from him. So his companion guided him to what would lead to acceptance, saying: And the meaning of the verse is encouraging him to be God-conscious, and the meaning is not that he praises himself for being God-conscious and thus being accepted, but rather it is an encouragement to God-consciousness, as if he is saying: Fear Allah so that it may be accepted from you. Then he said to him: And perhaps this was not prescribed in their time for a person to defend himself, because in our Shari'ah, if someone intends to kill you, you must defend yourself, it is obligatory, even if you kill him, he is in the Fire, and if he kills you, you are a martyr. But perhaps in their time, that was not prescribed, and it is from the burdens that Allah imposed on those before us and saved us from, and so on. In any case, we say: Whoever introduces a bad practice, its introduction is from his deed, so the sin of whoever acts by it is upon him, because he is the one who introduced it.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the negation of injustice from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said: Is this from the attributes of negation or from the attributes of affirmation? It is from the attributes of negation. The attributes of Allah the Exalted are of two types: attributes of affirmation and attributes of negation. The attributes of affirmation are very numerous, and the attributes of negation are fewer. However, in reality, the attributes of negation are attributes of affirmation, because the intended meaning of the negation is the affirmation of its opposite. For example, the intended meaning is the affirmation of the perfection of His justice and that His justice contains no injustice in any way. Pay attention. So take this broad rule: there is no pure negation in the attributes of Allah, ever. Every negation in the attributes of Allah is an affirmation. An affirmation of what? An affirmation of the negation or an affirmation of its opposite? An affirmation of its opposite. So it is as if He (Mighty and Majestic) says: He is the most just of judges, and there is no injustice in His judgment whatsoever. Clear? Good. Is this from the attributes of negation or affirmation? It is from the attributes of negation, but to affirm the perfection of His knowledge and that due to the perfection of His knowledge, forgetfulness does not befall Him in any way. Our knowledge is subject to forgetfulness, and it is also attained after prior ignorance. So our knowledge is actually defective in ways, not just two:
The first way is that it is preceded by ignorance. The second is that it is followed by forgetfulness. The third is that it is not comprehensive and general.
In any case, we say that this negation in the attribute of Allah is not intended as pure negation, but it is in reality an affirmation. Because the intended meaning is? What is it, you?
The student: The affirmation of the perfection of its opposite.

The Shaykh : The affirmation of the perfection of its opposite. That is, He is just, and there is no injustice in His justice whatsoever.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the affirmation of justice in its highest station. How? Where He said: meaning, for His servants. This is more eloquent if I said to you: "You do not oppress your slaves." It is more eloquent than if I said: "You do not oppress people." Why? Because not oppressing people is because you have no control over them. But if you do not oppress your slaves, this is more eloquent in affirming justice. If you do not oppress those over whom you have authority, then not oppressing those over whom you have no authority is all the more so. So compare with the saying of the one who says: "So-and-so does not oppress people." Which is more eloquent? The first one. Because if he does not oppress his slaves, even though they are his slaves and he does with them what he wishes, then not oppressing others is all the more so. But this is on the basis of hypothesis; otherwise, everyone in the heavens and the earth is a servant of the Most Merciful.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the refutation of the Jabriyyah. The Jabriyyah say: Injustice in the case of Allah is impossible. And the negation of the impossible is not praise. I tell you now: the negation of the impossible is not praise.
The student: .....

The Shaykh : No, why? Because the impossible cannot exist by its own nature, and even if a person intended it, it would not exist, because it is impossible. But the negation of the possible, if the negation is praise, then it is praise. Here, Does the verse imply that injustice in His case is possible? Yes, it implies that it is possible, but due to the perfection of His justice, it cannot happen. So injustice is not impossible by its own nature in the case of Allah, but it is impossible due to the perfection of the justice of Allah. Do you understand or not? And by this, the praise is realized: the praise of Allah the Exalted by the negation of injustice from Him. But if it were something impossible that cannot happen, the impossible is not praised with.
Shall we continue or is the time up?