On the authority of Ibn Abbas (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhuma), from the Messenger of Allah (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam), from what he has related from his Lord is:
“Verily Allah has written down the good deeds and the evil deeds”, and then explained it [by saying]: “Whosoever intended to perform a good deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended to perform it and did perform it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds up to seven hundred fold, up to many times multiplied. And if he intended to perform an evil deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended it [i.e., the evil deed] and then performed it, then Allah writes it down as one evil deed.”
[Reported by Bukhari & Muslim]
Brief Commentary
- Any deed we do is automatically multiplied by ten. It depends on other factors for further multiplication
- Reasons for multiplication of deeds:
- Being a good Muslim and having a high status with Allah
- Sincerity
- Nature of the action e.g. for every step taken to the Masjid are many rewards
- One deed needed more than other e.g. if we are in a time where mujahideen are needed more than scholars, then doing jihad is greater, and vice versa
- Multiple benefits e.g. It benefits more people
- Presence of the heart e.g. the one who is more concentrating in his Salah will get more rewards
- Being rewarded for leaving a sin is only for the one who leaves it for the sake of Allah so it is not general as with good deeds
- Ibn Rajab said, “If he intended to do a sin and he didn’t do it out of fear of the people or out of showing of in front of them then he is punished for leaving it for this intention. This is because prioritising the fear of the creation over the fear of Allah is haram. Similarly, intending to show off in front of the people is haram, and when it is connected to leaving a sin for their sake then he is punished for leaving this sin”
- Al-Fudayl said, “Leaving an action for the sake of the people is showing off, and doing it for their sake is shirk”
- If he seeks to do it, but is presented by an external impediment, then he is sinful as the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said about the two Muslims who fight each other, “The killer and the killed are in Hellfire”[Reported by Bukhari & Muslim] as they intended to kill each other
- Ibn Rajab said, “As for the one who seeks to do the sin but fate stood in his way, then scholars mentioned he will be punished for it, due to the hadith of the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) when he said, “Allah has overlooked for my nation what their souls contemplate over, so long as they do not act on it or speak of it” [Reported by Bukhari & Muslim]. And whoever seeks to do the sin but is unable to, has acted on it
- By saying sins are not multiplied, it doesn’t mean they are of the same magnitude
- Reasons for the increase of magnitude of sins:
- Sanctity of time or place
- Nobility of the person, and their level of knowledge of Allah and closeness to Him. The more closer and knowledgeable they are with Allah, then the greater the magnification of the sin
- Looking down upon the sin
- Publicly announcing the sin
- When factors that encourage us to sin are weak
- Feeling good about it, as this is rebellion against Allah
- How is it therefore that a person goes to hellfire after understanding this hadith?
- This hadith should act as an encouragement as Allah has made the path to Jannah very easy for us
- It makes us realise the mercy of Allah is so great that we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to be good
- Ibn Mas’ud used to say, “Woe unto the one whose ones (sins) overcome his tens (good deeds)”
Benefits and Action points:
- Try to increase in the reasons for multiplication of deeds so that your deed is multiplied even further e.g. be more sincere, try to benefit others, make sure your hear is present
- Ensure you leave sins for the sake of Allah and not for the sake of the people
- Leaving out an action is an action, so ensure your leaving of actions is solely for Allah so that it is not considered as riyaa’, which is a minor shirk
- Avoid all of the reasons for magnification of sins
- Praise Allah for decreeing the contents of this hadith
Hadith Commentary 
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