Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

If we do work for the sake of Allah due to which we get some kind of benefit in terms of duniya does it reduce our reward ?

For example: I had build a site for an Islamic institution where they asked me to put my link on the website and through which I will get work inquiries and unintentional credit and claim.

Will this reduce the reward? And one of the brother of the institute had given a reference for a paid project so I am confused if I take benefit out of it then it is wrong? And if not wrong will it effect the deed?

(There are may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Do islamic site & get paid

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

It is reported in an authentic narration that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, “Spread my Message, even if it is one word!”

Allah says in the Holy Quran: Chapter 16, Surah An-Nahl Ayat 125:

Invite to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and excellent admonition and argue with people in the best manner. Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Way and who is Rightly guided.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 110:

You (muslims) are the best community which has been raised for the guidance of mankind. You enjoin what is right, forbid what is evil, and you all believe in Allah Alone.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 103 Surah Al-Asr verses 2-3:

2 Verily (every single) man is in loss!

3 Except such as have faith and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of the Truth, and of patience and constancy.

Such is the importance and significance the Lord Most High has laid on inviting their fellow brethren to the Truth of Al-Islam, that He has Declared propagation of His Truth to mankind amongst the four criteria for eternal success and salvation!

1. Belief
2. Righteous deeds
3. to join or invite others to the Truth
4. to enjoin patience and constancy.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 164:

164 When some of them said: "why do ye preach to a people whom Allah will destroy or visit with a terrible punishment?" Said the preachers: "to discharge our duty to our Lord and perchance they may fear Him."

Hadrat Sahl bin Saad (r.a.) reported: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to Hadrat Ali (r.a.) ibn Abi Taalib: "By Allah, if a single person is guided by Allah through you, it will be better for you than a whole lot of red camels.''

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

Now to answer your specific questions:

If we do work for the sake of Allah due to which we get some kind of benefit in terms of duniya does it reduce our reward ?

Hadrat Umar bin Al-Khattab (r.a.) reported: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Messenger, his emigration will be for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration would be for what he emigrated for".

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

The one and only ‘barometer’ one has with oneself to determine whether the act or deed one does is purely for the Sake of Allah Subhanah or for any purpose other than that is the intention one makes before the deed! If the intention for doing the deed is for the Sake of, or to earn the Pleasure and Good Will of their Lord….then that deed is for Allah Subhanah; and if the intention for doing that deed is for any purpose other than that, then the deed will be for that purpose and one would have no reward for their that deed, however good it may seemingly be, in the Presence of their Lord All-Knowing, All-Wise, Most Majestic, Most Supreme.

If you are doing any work in the way of Allah swt, and your intention is to only receive ajr from Him alone then your reward from Allah swt will not diminish if you get any other benefit from the work done.

But if your intention of doing this work included receiving some monetary or other benefits then also InshaAllah you will receive ajr from Allah swt for doing His work but obviously the ajr of doing the work solely for Allah's swt sake will be greater.

For example: I had build a site for an Islamic institution where they asked me to put my link on the website and through which I will get work inquiries and unintentional credit and claim.

Provided that the deed one intended to do was for Allah Subhanah, and then the Shaytaan whispers some thoughts into one’s mind that the deed might earn some worldly praise, etc., one should not pay attention to such thoughts…for the Shaytaan will always try to dissuade the believers from doing anything that will bring them closer to their Lord.

Will this reduce the reward? And one of the brother of the institute had given a reference for a paid project so I am confused if I take benefit out of it then it is wrong? And if not wrong will it effect the deed?

My dear beloved sister in Islam, what is of paramount importance is that one determines ones intention before one initiates a good deed; and if the inspiration to do the good deed was to earn the Pleasure and Good Will of the Lord Most Gracious, then that deed would be acceptable to Allah Subhanah.

In conclusion, I would like to end with these glad tidings from the authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws) whereby he (saws) declared the rewards of those who strive to seek, learn, acquire and gain this knowledge of the Truth from the Quran and the Sunnah:

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 218         Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.’

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 256         Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas

Acquiring knowledge in company for an hour in the night is better than spending the whole night in (supererogatory) prayer.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 249         Narrated by Al-Hasan al-Basri

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘He whom death overtakes while he is engaged in acquiring knowledge with a view to reviving Islam with the help of it, there will be one degree between him and the Prophets in Paradise.’

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6518     Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘He who alleviates the suffering of a brother from the affections of the world, Allah will alleviate his affections from the sufferings of the Day of Resurrection. He who finds relief for one who is hard pressed, Allah will make things easy for him in the Hereafter, and he who conceals (the faults) of a Muslim, Allah would conceal his faults in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah is at the back of a servant so long as the servant is at the back of his brother.  He who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah will make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him and those persons who assemble in one of the houses of Allah (mosques), recite the Book of Allah and learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves). There will descend upon them tranquillity, mercy will cover them, the Angels will surround them and Allah will mention them in the presence of those near Him.’

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is only ones. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

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