Is the ignorant practitioner of religious innovation rewarded for his good intention?
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The questioner : Is the ignorant practitioner of religious innovation rewarded for his good intention?
The Shaykh : Yes, he is rewarded for his good intention, but the Sunnah must be made clear to him, and it is obligatory for him to follow it. The evidence that he is rewarded for his good intention is the story of the two men whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent. When the time for prayer came, they did not find water, so they performed dry ablution with clean earth and prayed. Then they found water within the time. One of them performed the ablution for prayer and repeated the prayer, while the other did not perform the ablution for prayer and did not repeat the prayer. When they reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and informed him, he said to the one who did not repeat the prayer: And he said to the other: So he ruled that the other was rewarded for the action of the first and the second, even though it was contrary to the Sunnah. And Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) says: [Al-Anbya 21:47] meaning justice, so a person is given according to his intention and his work. If he is ignorant and does something he believes to be worship, but it is not worship, he is rewarded for his intention. But when the Sunnah becomes clear to him, it is obligatory for him to follow it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.
The Shaykh : Yes, he is rewarded for his good intention, but the Sunnah must be made clear to him, and it is obligatory for him to follow it. The evidence that he is rewarded for his good intention is the story of the two men whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent. When the time for prayer came, they did not find water, so they performed dry ablution with clean earth and prayed. Then they found water within the time. One of them performed the ablution for prayer and repeated the prayer, while the other did not perform the ablution for prayer and did not repeat the prayer. When they reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and informed him, he said to the one who did not repeat the prayer:
You have hit upon the Sunnah
أصبت السنّةYou have two rewards
لك الأجر مرتينAnd We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection
وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِThe questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.