روي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: من دعا إلى هدى كان له من الأجر مثل أجور من تبعه لا ينقص ذلك من أجورهم شيئا ومن دعا إلى ضلالة كان عليه من الإثم مثل آثام من تبعه لا ينقص ذلك من آثامهم شيئا.
وروي أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: من دل على خير فله مثل أجر فاعله.
It is narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: Whoever calls towards guidance he would get a share of the reward of all those who followed his guidance1 without depriving them of any part of their rewards2. On the contrary, whoever leads people astray will bear his share of the burden of the sins of all those who followed him without reducing any burden of the sins from them.
And it is narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: Whoever guides towards goodness, he will get a similar reward as the doer of that goodness3.
General Notes
1- It is obvious that calling towards goodness and guidance is a good deed in itself and entails great rewards. If God allows the call to be heard and gives it a following, then the person making the call will not only be rewarded for making the initial call but will also get a reward of the deeds resulting from his call.
2- This reward is not a transfer of reward from one account to another, as the person making the call is not getting the reward of another person’s deeds. On the contrary, it is only his own initial call towards guidance which is bearing fruit for him at every instance where his call is being followed.
3- When a person intends to do an act of goodness and is fully commited to doing it, yet cannot carry it out because of his circumstances or when a person is himself incapacitated in any way from carrying out an act of goodness, then his assisting others in carrying it out will not only render him deserving of the rewards of having the intention and commitment of the doing the good deed, but also that of guiding and assisting another person in carrying it out.
Notes on the Text of the Narrative:
The first narrative, with some variations, has been reported in Muslim, narrative no. 2674, Abu Dawood, narrative no. 4609, Ibn Maajah, narrative no. 205, 206, 207, 209 and 210; Tirmidhi’s narrative no. 2674; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, narrative no. 9149, Ibn Hibban, narrative no. 112, Darimiy, narrative no. 513, Maalik, narrative no. 509, Abu Ya`laa, narrative no. 6489; and Ibn Khuzaymah, narrative no. 2477.
The second narrative, with some variations, has been reported in Muslim, narrative no. 1893a and 1893b, Tirmidhi, narrative no. 2671, Abu Dawood, narrative no. 5129, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, narrative no. 17125, 17127, 22393 and 22405, Ibn Hibban, narrative no. 289, 1668, Bayhaqiy, narrative no. 17621 and 17622 and Abd al-Razzaq, narrative no. 20054.
Narrative no. 1
In some narratives, as for instance in Ibn Maajah, narrative no. 205, the words "من دعا إلى هدى" (i.e., ‘whoever calls towards guidance’) have been reported as "أيما داع دعا إلى هدى فأتبع" (i.e., ‘Indeed a caller towards guidance who is heard and followed’); while in Maalik, narrative no. 509, these words have been reported as " ما من داع يدعو إلى هدى" (i.e., ‘Everyone caller who calls towards guidance’).
In some narratives, as for instance in Ibn Maajah, narrative no. 205, the words "كان له من الأجر مثل أجور من تبعه" (i.e., ‘he would get a share of the reward of all those who followed his guidance’) have been reported as "فإن له مثل أجور من اتبعه" (i.e., ‘he will surely get a share of the reward from the reward of those who followed him’); in Ibn Maajah, narrative no. 206, these words have been reported as "كان له من الأجر مثل أجور من اتبعه" (i.e., ‘he will have a share of the reward similar to that of those who followed his guidance’); in Maalik, narrative no. 509, these words have been reported as "إلا كان له مثل أجر من أتبعه" (i.e., ‘he will surely get a reward similar to that of those who followed him’); In Tirmidhi’s narrative no. 2674, these words have synonymously been reported as "كان له من الأحر مثل أحور من يتبعه".
In some narratives, as for instance in Ibn Maajah, narrative no. 205, the words "لا ينقص ذلك من أجورهم شيئا" (i.e., ‘without depriving them of any part of their rewards’) have been reported as "ولا ينقص من أجورهم شيئا" (i.e., ‘and no part of their rewards will be reduced’); in Ibn Hibban, narrative no. 112, these words have been reported as "لا ينقص من أجورهم شئ" (i.e., ‘their reward will not reduce even a bit’);
In some narratives, as for instance in Ibn Maajah narrative no. 205, the words "من دعا إلى ضلالة" (i.e., ‘Whoever leads people astray’) have been reported as "أيما داع دعا إلى ضلالة فاتبع" (i.e., ‘Indeed a caller towards straying from the right path who is heard and followed’); in Maalik, narrative no. 509, these words have been reported as "ما من داع يدعو إلى ضلالة" (i.e., ‘every caller who calls people towards straying from the right path’);
In some narratives, as for instance in Daarimiy, narrative no. 513, the words "كان عليه من الإثم مثل آثام من تبعه" (i.e., ‘he will bear his share of the burden of the sins of all those who followed him’) have synonymously been reported as "كان عليه من الإثم مثل آثام من اتبعه"; in Ibn Maajah, narrative no. 205, these words have been reported as "فإن له مثل أوزار من اتبعه" (i.e., ‘he will indeed have an equivalent burden as those who followed him’); in Ibn Maajah narrative no. 206, these words have been reported as "فعليه من الإثم مثل آثام من اتبعه" (i.e., ‘upon him shall be the burden equivalent of the sins of those who followed him’); in Maalik, narrative no. 509, these words have been reported as "كان عليه مثل أوزارهم" (i.e., ‘upon him shall be the likes of their burdens’); In Tirmidhi’s narrative no. 2674, these words have synonymously been reported as "كان عليه من الإثم مثل آثام من يتبعه".
In some narratives, as for instance in Ibn Maajah narrative no. 205, the words "لا ينقص ذلك من آثامهم شيئا" (i.e., ‘this would not reduce the burden of the sins from them’) have been reported as "لا ينقص من أوزارهم شيئا" (i.e., ‘it would not reduce any part of their burden from them’); in Maalik, narrative no. 509, these words have synonymously been reported as "لا ينقص ذلك من أوزارهم شيئا".
Narrative no. 2
In some narratives, as for instance in Ahmad ibn Hanbal, narrative no. 22405, the words "مثل أجر فاعله" (i.e., ‘a similar reward as the doer of that goodness’) have also been synonymously reported as "مثل أجر عامله";
In Bayhaqiy, narrative no. 17621, the narrative has been reported as "من دل على خير فله أجر مثل غاعله" (i.e., ‘Whoever guides towards goodness, he will get a reward similar to that of the doer of that goodness’);
In most of the narratives, the referred saying of the Prophet (pbuh) has been reported as a part of an incident. The back ground of the narrative, as is reported in Abu Dawood, is reproduced below:
جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال يا رسول الله إني أبدع بي فاحملني قال لا أجد ما أحملك عليه ولكن ائت فلانا فلعله أن يحملك فأتاه فحمله فأتى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخبره فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من دل على خير فله مثل أجر فاعله.
‘A man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said: “O Prohet of God, I am in a dire state [and cannot go on the expedition], give me the weapons to carry [so I may be able to accompany you].” The Prophet (pbuh) replied: I do not find anything that I can give you, but you can go to such and such person, hopefully he would be in a position to load you with the necessary weapons.” He came to the person whom the Prophet (pbuh) had suggested. That person gave him the weapons. The he returned to the Prophet (pbuh) and informed him about it. At this, the Prophet (pbuh) said: The one who guides another person to goodness gets the reward of the doer of that goodness.’
(This write-up is prepared by the Hadith Cell of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi)
