Question

I know when we do good deeds like dhikr, salah etc we should be only doing them for Allah or to please Allah. What if your intention is to do good deeds to get rewards in Jannah?

Will Allah accept the good deeds if your doing to get rewards in Jannah?

Is there any Hadith about it.

 

Answer

In addition to having the motive of pleasing Allah Ta’ala, we are also taught and encouraged to have the intention of seeking reward.

This encouragement is widely found in the Quran as well as in the Hadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu ’alayhi wa sallam).

Examples from the Quran

“Indeed the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if only they knew.”

(Surah Nahl, verse: 41)

“Indeed the reward of the Hereafter is better for the believers and those who have taqwa.”

(Surah Yusuf, verse: 57)

In the above verses, Allah Ta’ala has mentioned the reward of the Hereafter as an incentive for doing good. Therefore, one is indeed encouraged to have such an intention.

Example from Hadith

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu ’anhu) reports that Nabi (sallallahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Whoever observes the fast of Ramadan with belief and expectation of reward, will be forgiven for all his/her past sins.”

(Sahih Bukhari, Hadith: 38)

Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) encouraged a particular tribe who would walk from a distance to attend the salah in Masjid Nabawi;

“O Bani Salimah! Do you not expect reward for your footsteps?!”

(Sahih Bukhari, Hadith: 655-656)

These Hadiths also teach us to have the motive of achieving rewards of the Hereafter for doing acts of virtue. Doing so is a sign of a person’s Iman and conviction of the Hereafter.

Conclusion

Similarly, those verses in Quran and Hadiths which promise particular forms of reward in the Hereafter also teach us to have such motives when doing those deeds.

For example, in some verses, Allah Ta’ala promises Gardens, rivers, exquisite clothing and jewellery for those who do good.

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) mentions that for every subhanallah that is recited, one is rewarded with a tree in Jannah.

One who does good with these motives will be acting on the mentioned verses of the Quran and the Hadith.

Thus it is explicitly clear that for a person to have the motive of achieving rewards for his/her good deeds, is perfectly correct and is actually a well encouraged practice in Islam.

Therefore, one should always have the intention of pleasing Allah, as well as to attain the rewards of Jannah.

 

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best,

Answered by: Mawlana Muhammad Abasoomar

Checked by: Mawlana Haroon Abasoomar