. J (cont.)

Then you shall compete in it as the people before you competed in it and it shall destroy you as it destroyed them." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) Furthermore, if a person is not using what Allah is giving him in the proper way, it may be a source of punishment for him and not a source of joy. He will be held responsible for all of the wealth that he gained and how he used it. It would be better for a person not to have wealth than to have wealth but to use it in an improper manner. The important question is who will enjoy the pleasures of the Hereafter. This is the concern of the true believers. The true believers, such as the Companions in this hadith, understand well the message of the following verses of the Quran directed toward those whose main concern is this life, ;t '' J ,,,. ,,,,,, ..,, J ,.,, " ,.,, J <> J T;'" ; ! ·. I ಸI / f ? i.,I @ -.?"' A .r:- B / ) C D ฏ(..)' B "You do not spend anything and desire by that Allah's pleasure except that you will be rewarded for it, even [the food] that you put in your wife's mouth."1 It seems that the reward for such permissible acts, such as fulfilling one's desire with one's wife, or obligatory acts, such as supporting one's family, is conditional upon the intention behind the act. If the intention is to do what is permissible instead of forbidden or to fulfill one's obligation as laid down by Allah, the act will be rewarded by Allah. However, if the act is performed with no such thoughts in one's mind, there may be no reward for the act and it would simply be a permissible act without any concurrent punishment or reward. This is ibn Rajab's and al-Haitami's conclusion and it seems to be supported by the particularizing hadith just mentioned above.2 lbn Rajab further supports his conclusion by referring to the verse in the Quran, мÙ jf Ƥ_,੊ jf ϗϘ ;r £ JN f;.J 2 .1ff=  Ǜ J / / ,, .... ǰ ,.,, ,,,. ,,, - ,,, ... ... .,. (_ - J 1;...1 9y Jj: "; 1I ..:;I/;,_;'.: ;1"੯1 C·? Ju.i 2j ifUI :£-! ,, ,, "There is no good in most of their secret talks save (in) him who orders charity or righteousness or conciliation between mankind; and he does this seeking the good pleasure of Allah. We shall give him a great reward" (al-Nisaa 1 14). In this verse, Allah refers to the act as good but restricts the reward by the condition that Allah's pleasure is sought by the act. This implies that the act would not be rewarded if there was no good intention or if the intention is bad. After making the above conclusion, ibn Rajab then presents the following interesting quote from Abu Sulaimaan al-Daaraani, "If a person does a good act without any intention in it, his intention to choose Islam over all other religions would be sufficient for him." In other words, the person will be rewarded even for those worldly acts without intention simply due to his willingly entering Islam and choosing to follow that proper way of life. Allah knows best. A Permissible Act may be Transformed into an Act Rewarded by Allah Al-Nawawi wrote, 1 Even though the maintaining of one's wife is obligatory upon the husband, if he fulfills that obligation seeking Allah's pleasure, he will be rewarded for it. 2 lbn Rajab, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 65; al-Haitami, Fath, p. 206. It is also al-Munaawi's conclusion in al-Munaawi, vol. 5, p. 2 1 . Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi [This hadith] contains evidence that permissible acts can become acts of obedience due to sound intentions. For example, sexual intercourse can become an act of worship if the person intended to fulfill the right of his wife and to treat her well as Allah has commanded him, or for the sake of seeking a pious son, or to keep himself chaste or his wife chaste, keeping them both from looking at what is forbidden, thinking about that or considering that or due to any other pious intention. 1 The same is true for eating, drinking and other permissible as well as necessary acts of life. If a person approaches them in the proper way, with the intention to do what is pure and legal and avoid what is forbidden, they may all be acts by which he may attain Allah's pleasure. Such is the great mercy of Allah that He may reward humans for doing what they need to do simply because they make sure that they do it in the proper, legal manner. Al-Haitami points out that such actions can even become acts of charity if their benefits accrue to others, as is the case described here.2 "They said, 'O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfills his desire, he will have a reward for that?' ...