Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 160

(Ayah 160) ➊ { مَنْ جَآءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهٗ عَشْرُ اَمْثَالِهَا …… :} Allah Almighty, along with warning, also continues the series of glad tidings. Now, Allah Almighty’s statement about His grace upon those who do good and His justice upon those who do evil. The minimum increase in the good deeds of those who do good is tenfold; otherwise, it is increased from seven hundred times up to countless times, as Allah Almighty has mentioned regarding the example of spending in the way of Allah, that a single grain is increased up to seven hundred grains, and with His will, even more than that. See Surah Al-Baqarah (261) for the example of the ear of grain, and to understand its relation to jihad, see Surah Al-Baqarah (273) and Surah At-Tawbah (60). In addition to jihad, the reward for other good deeds being increased beyond seven hundred times is also mentioned in the Qur’an, as He said: «اِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصّٰبِرُوْنَ اَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ » [ الزمر : ۱۰ ] “Only those who are patient will be given their reward in full without measure.”

➋ { وَ هُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُوْنَ:} That is, the recompense for a single evil will not be given more than one.

➌ Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reported from Allah Almighty: “Whoever intends to do a good deed but does not do it, one good deed is written for him; if he does it, it is written from ten to seven hundred times, or even more. And whoever intends to do an evil deed but does not do it, a complete good deed is written for him; and if he intends evil and does it, Allah writes only one evil for him, or Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, erases it as well. And none is destroyed with Allah except one who is bent on destruction.” [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب إذا ھم العبد بحسنۃ …… :۱۳۱۔ بخاری : ۶۴۹۱ ] At this point, Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) has written a fine point: the one who refrains from evil and does not do it is of three types. Sometimes he leaves it for the sake of Allah Almighty; for this, one good deed is written, because refraining from evil for Allah’s sake is both an action and an intention, as is mentioned in some Sahih hadiths: “He left it for My sake.” Sometimes, due to heedlessness or forgetfulness, he does not do the evil; for this, there is neither sin nor reward, because his intention was neither for good nor for evil. And sometimes, despite his full effort, he is unable to do it; this is like the one who actually did the evil, as in the Sahih hadith: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When two Muslims meet each other with their swords, both the killer and the killed are in the Fire.” The people asked, “O Messenger of Allah! This is the killer, but what about the one who was killed?” He said, “He too was eager to kill his companion.” [ بخاری، الإیمان، باب : «و إن طائفتان من المؤمنين اقتتلوا …… » : ۳۱۔ مسلم : ۲۸۸۸ ]

160. 1 This is a statement of Allah’s grace and favor that He will bestow upon the believers: for one good deed, He will grant a reward equal to ten good deeds. This is the minimum reward. Otherwise, it is established from both the Quran and Hadith that the reward for some good deeds is multiplied by several hundred times, even up to a thousand times.

160. 2 That is, for those sins for which no prescribed punishment is set, and after committing them, the person has not repented, or his good deeds have not outweighed his bad deeds, or Allah, out of His special grace, has not forgiven him. for in those cases (of pardon), the law of recompense would not be applied. Then Allah will give the punishment for such an evil deed, and He will give only its equivalent.

160. Whoever brings a good deed before Allah will receive ten times its reward, and whoever brings an evil deed will be recompensed only with its like [183], and they will not be wronged.

[183] How great is Allah's favor and mercy that for a good deed, He does not give only an equal reward, but grants much more reward and recompense than that. However, for an evil deed, He gives only as much punishment as the evil committed. This is further clarified by the following hadith:

The Reward for a Good Deed is Tenfold:

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ reports that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah Almighty says—and His word is true—that when My servant intends to do a good deed, (O angels!) write down one good deed for him. Then if he actually does it, write down ten good deeds for him. And if he intends to do an evil deed, do not write anything. And if he actually does it, write down only one evil deed. And if he does not do it, then write down one good deed for him." Then the Prophet ﷺ recited this very verse. [ترمذي۔ ابواب التفسير] And in Bukhari, the narration from Abdullah ibn Abbas ؓ states that when a person, after intending a good deed, actually performs it, Allah grants him from ten up to seven hundred good deeds. [بخاري۔ كتاب الرقاق۔ باب من هم بحسنة اوسيئة]