Fatwa: # 19795
Category: Misc. Fiqh
Country: United States
Date: 28th February 2012

Title

Would a person(who does a good deed without knowing its virtues) get less reward than those who not only does the good deed but also knows its virtues?

Question

My question is regarding the ihtisaab(knowing the virtue of doing good deed). Would a person(who does a good deed without knowing its virtues) get less reward than those who not only does the good deed but also knows its virtues. For example, a person might pray 5 times salat as an order of Allah S.W.T but not necessarily know the virtues of praying 5 times will get less reward than a person who prays 5 times and knows about its virtues. Is it correct to say that the virtues(Fazail) are only for the motivation purposes? jazakallah khair!

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu `alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

In principle a person is rewarded according to his level of sincerity (ikhlass) and devotion in performance of a deed. That reward is best known by Allah Suhana WaTa’ala. However, if a person knows the reward of doing certain deed, that knowledge would further motivates him in doing the deed with more sincerity and thereby increase his reward. [i]

And Allah knows best.

 

Mawlana Saeed Ahmed Golaub
Westmoreland, Jamaica, West Indies
Student Darul Iftaa

 

Checked and Approved
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
daruliftaa.net


[i]  796- حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ بَكْرٍ يَعْنِي ابْنَ مُضَرَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَجْلَانَ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ، عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَنَمَةَ الْمُزَنِيِّ، عَنْ عَمَّارِ بْنِ يَاسِرٍ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَنْصَرِفُ وَمَا كُتِبَ لَهُ إِلَّا عُشْرُ صَلَاتِهِ تُسْعُهَا ثُمْنُهَا سُبْعُهَا سُدْسُهَا خُمْسُهَا رُبْعُهَا ثُلُثُهَا نِصْفُهَا»(سنن ابى داود –ج1- ص 211)

 

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