. J; 1," (cont.)

2 In al-Yahsoobi, it states that a complete sin will be recorded for the person. ln al-Nawawi, Sharh sahih (Dar al-Marifah), this quote is recorded with the wording, "a second sin [will be recorded]." It seems that a second sin is not the correct wording. If that were the case, everyone who commits a sin would be held accountable for two sins: the intention behind it and the act of the sin itself. The intention and the act are usually treated together as one act. 3 Al-Yahsoobi, vol. I , pp. 522-523. Virtually, the exact same words may be found in al-Nawawi, Sharh sahih, vol. 2, pp. 1 501 5 1 . 4 Al-Yahsoobi, vol. 1 , p . 5 19. 1 1 12 Hadith #37: "Allah recorded the Good Deeds . . . " First, this interpretation is distorting the wording of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and choosing a lesser known usage for the word hamm. Second, the hadith is "symmetric" in that it states that if a person has hamm concerning a good deed, he will be rewarded for that. Certainly, al­ Baaqilaani and the others did not mean to imply that if a thought of a good deed simply appears to a person's mind and he does not even intend that deed, he will get the full reward of that deed for that fleeting thought. However, that is a necessary conclusion of their argument. If the necessary conclusion of an argument is false, then, in general, the argument itself must be considered false. Third, the hadith about the killer and the killed being in the Hell-fire is irrelevant to the discussion at hand here. In that example, the person was trying to fulfill his intention but he was not able to do so. It was not the case that he decided not to do a bad deed. If he wills to do an evil deed but is simply not able to do it, he will be held responsible for it. If he decides to do an evil and then changes his mind and decides not to do it for the sake of Allah, he will be rewarded for that. Fourth, there must be a difference between deciding to do an evil deed, due to some fleeting desire, and having a love and desire to that deed in the heart. The latter aspect one may be held responsible for but not the former. If a person, in his heart, continually has love for doing some evil deed and he likes that feeling in his heart, then he will be held responsible for that even if he never performed that evil deed. He will be held responsible for his continuance of that evil desire and love of something evil. This is consistent with how ibn al-Mubaarak is said to have explained Allah's saying, i/}._;;_M#Jt; ,\ iJfa=.! -f i).' .. ii:. jf R i l!I ¾ ..:J\j \· v ,,.. ; .....__.,; .. ,.. :) i q " iJ+l /j :ti 01 2)3\ 4;l ./) r Í;!)ϭ / _'_I:;. ะÝ "And those who, when they have committed illegal sexual intercourse or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sinsand none can forgive sins but Allah. And they do not persist in what [wrong] they have done while they know" (ali-Imraan 1 35). Allah also says, .  . . 1;·,::. \;-i-J ·1, E1; / -;,.,,, ,,,. ,..#,.,,, ,.. .... -;.. / / J ,,. Ǫ ,., ,..,..; _ ...- ಪ . ..:U I . j ৿I ো ுJI u_r.> Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi And Allah knows and you know not" (al-Noor 19). Allah also warns about having evil thoughts and evil intentions in the heart when He says, (_ J. ଖJUJ;.."G pt 9 G N: ,\ 0t 1; .. lc\j "And know that Allah knows what is in your souls, so be aware of Him" (al­ Baqara 235). Fifth, their interpretation runs counter to what is stated in another version of this hadith which is also found in Sahih al-Bukhari: "Allah says [to the angels,] 'If my servant wants (araai) to do an evil deed, do not record it against him until he does it. If he does it, record it as it is. If he leaves it for My sake, record it as a good deed. If he wants to do a good deed and he does not do it, record it as one good deed. And if he does it, record for him ten like it up to seven hundred fold." Ibn Rajab is one scholar whose conclusion agrees with this author's assessment. He says that the hamm is not simply a thought that occurs to one's mind and leaves.