Anyone leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah shall compensate him a better one

Praise be to Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner with Him. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.

It was reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "Anyone leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah shall compensate him a better one for that."

This Hadith is Da`if (a Hadith that fails to reach the status of Hasan, due to a weakness in the chain of narration or one of the narrators) and was not authentically reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) by these wordings even if it is well known to many people. The Hadith was authentically reported by another wording from the Hadith of Abu Qatadah and Abu Ad-Dahma' who said: We came to a man from the people of the desert and asked him: Did you hear a Hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)? He said: I heard him saying: “You will never leave something for the sake of Allah, but Allah will give you something better in return.”[1]

This great Hadith includes three matters:

The first is his saying: "You will never leave something." This is a general statement that includes everything which man leaves for the sake of Allah (Exalted be He).

The second is his saying: "For Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted)." In this sentence the Prophet (peace be upon him) explained that leaving something should be for the sake of Allah and not for fear of an authority, shyness from a human being, or inability to obtain it or something else.

The third is his saying: "Allah shall give him something better in return." This sentence contains the retribution for the one who fulfils this condition, which is the compensation that Allah prepared for those who leave something for His Sake. Allah's Compensation may be from the same kind of the thing that the person leaves or from another kind. Of these kinds of compensations is to be close to Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted), attain His Love, gain the comfort of the heart, and the expansion of the chest and that will be in the world as well as in the Hereafter. Allah (Glory be to Him) taught the believers to supplicate Him saying: "Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!" [Surat Al Baqarah: 201].

Qatadah As-Sadusy said: A person will not leave something forbidden after he had desired it for fear of Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted), but Allah will give him reward or compensation in this world before the Hereafter.

It was reported by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "If My slave intends to do a bad deed then (O Angels) do not write it unless he does it; if he does it, then write it as it is, but if he refrains from doing it for My Sake, then write it as a good deed (in his account). (On the other hand) if he intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, then write a good deed (in his account), and if he does it, then write it for him (in his account) as ten good deeds up to seven-hundred times."[2]

The examples that explain the great compensation of Allah (Glory be to Him) to His Servants are numerous and of which are the following:

The story that Allah narrated about prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) in Surat Sad. The summary of the story is: Solomon loved Jihad for the sake of Allah, so, he had many horses and used to love them greatly. One day he missed the `Asr (Afternoon) Salah because of those horses. The sun had set before he could offer the Salah, as a result he commanded his servants to bring them all and stroke their necks with a sword because he preferred the love of Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) to his horses and that matter was permissible in their Shari`ah.

Thereupon, Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) compensated him and gave him something better which was the wind that ran by his command to bring goodness where he wished. That wind was traveling two-months faster than anything else.

Here are the Ayahs, see them and consider: Allah (Exalted be He) says: "And to Dâwûd (David) We gave Sulaimân (Solomon). How excellent a slave! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in repentance (to Us)! * When there were displayed before him, in the afternoon, well trained horses of the highest breed [for Jihâd (holy fighting in Allâh’s Cause)]. * He said: “I did love the good (these horses) instead of remembering my Lord (in my ‘Asr prayer)” till the time was over, and (the sun) had hidden in the veil (of night). * Then he said “Bring them (horses) back to me.” Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks (till the end of the display). * And indeed, We did try Sulaimân (Solomon) and We placed on his throne Jasad (a devil, so he lost his kingdom for a while) and he did return (to Allâh with obedience and in repentance, and to his throne and kingdom by the Grace of Allâh). * He said: “My Lord! Forgive me, and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me: Verily, You are the Bestower.” So, We subjected to him the wind; it blew gently by his order whithersoever he willed." [Surat Sad: 30-36].

The second example is: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions migrated, left their homes, and gave their funds for the sake of Allah (Exalted be He), Allah compensated them. He made them leaders in this world, governors of the earth, opened for them the treasures of Chosroes and Caesar, and made them victorious over the kings and the tyrants, in addition to the bliss that they shall have in the Hereafter.

They thanked, believed, were modest, and judged between the people justly. Allah (Exalted be He) says: “Allâh has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islâm). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieves after this, they are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh).” [Surat An-Nur: 55].

Look at the story of Suhayb, one of the migrants, (may Allah be pleased with him). `Ikrimah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When Suhayb migrated from Makkah, the people of Makkah followed him, then he got out forty arrows from his quiver and said: “You will not reach me until I shoot each one of you with an arrow. When my arrows are over, I will grab my sword and fight you until you know that I am a real man. I left two female singers in Makkah you may take them.” Thereupon, the following Ayah was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): “And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the Pleasure of Allâh. And Allâh is full of Kindness to (His) slaves.” When the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw Suhayb, he said: “O father of Abu Yahya, your bargain is successful, then he recited the Ayah.”[3]

The third example is: Yusuf, the prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) to whom the temptations of the world were exposed, but he sought refuge in Allah and Allah protected him. He left those temptations for the sake of Allah, thereby Allah made him one of devotees and suffered because of that. He preferred prison to the reprehensible action they invited him to. He observed patience and chose the reward of Allah, therefore, Allah compensated him with something better that He made him supervisor over the treasures of the earth and taught him the interpretations of dreams. How great is the Giver! How great is the gifted person! How great the gift was!

Allah (Exalted be He) says: “He said: “O my Lord! Prison is dearer to me than that to which they invite me. Unless You turn away their plot from me, I will feel inclined towards them and be one (of those who commit sin and deserve blame or those who do deeds) of the ignorant. * So his Lord answered his invocation, and turned away from him their plot. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” [Surat Yusuf: 33-34].

Allah (Exalted be He) says: “Thus did We give full authority to Yûsuf (Joseph) in the land, to take possession therein, when or where he likes. We bestow of Our Mercy on whom We will, and We make not to be lost the reward of Al Muhsinûn (the good doers?).” [Surat Yusuf: 56].

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. May Allah send His peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.