Surah An-Najm (53) — Ayah 39

39. And that man will have nothing except what he strives for [28].

[28]
Clauses of the Law of Reward and Punishment:

In these scriptures, Allah Almighty had fully explained His law of reward and punishment, regarding which Allah asked the polytheists whether the news of this law had not reached them. And the clauses of this law are those mentioned in these two verses.
(1) The law of reward and punishment is non-transferable. It is not possible that Zaid takes upon himself the sins of Bakr and thus Bakr is freed, as the polytheists had made an agreement. Rather, everyone will have to bear the punishment for their own crimes, and it is also not possible that Allah Himself gives Bakr the punishment of Zaid and Zaid is saved, because no form of injustice is possible from Allah Almighty.
(2) Every person will certainly receive the reward or punishment for what he has done, and only as much as he himself has acted. Not more than that. However, it is also proven from the Book and Sunnah that the effects of a person's deeds are not limited to his lifetime. Rather, there are some deeds whose effects remain even after a person's life, and their reward or punishment continues to be given to him, and their reward is written in his book of deeds.
As is clear from the following hadiths:
1. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "When a person dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: ongoing charity, knowledge from which people benefit, and a righteous child who prays for him." [مسلم، كتاب الوصية، باب ما يلحق الانسان من الثواب بعد وفاته]
2. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever is killed unjustly, a portion of his sin is placed upon the son of Adam (the first murderer, Qabil)," and in another narration: "A portion of the sin of his blood, because he established the practice of unjust bloodshed on the earth." [بخاري، كتاب الاعتصام، باب اثم من دعا الي سن سنة سيئة]
3. Mundhir bin Jarir says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever establishes a good practice in Islam, he will have the reward of his own action and the reward of those who act upon it after him, without their reward being diminished in the least. And whoever establishes a bad practice in Islam, he will bear the burden of his own action and the burden of those who act upon it after him, without their burden being diminished in the least." [مسلم، كتاب الزكوٰة، باب الحث على الصدقة]
4.
Deeds Whose Reward or Punishment Continues After Death:

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما says that the Prophet ﷺ said that the deceased is punished because of the lamentation and wailing of his family. And Imam Bukhari has clarified in the chapter heading that "when lamentation is a custom of the deceased's family." [بخاري، كتاب الجنائز۔ باب قول النبى يعذب الميت ببعض بكاء اهله عليه اذا كان النوح من سنتهٖ]
That is, when lamentation is a custom of the deceased's family and he did not prohibit it, then he becomes deserving of punishment. From the aforementioned hadiths, it is known that there are some good or bad deeds of a person whose effects remain even after his death, and he continues to receive reward or punishment for them. Now consider the following hadiths:
5. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنهما says that during the Farewell Pilgrimage, a woman from the tribe of Khath'am came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "Allah has made Hajj obligatory upon His servants at a time when my father has become very old. He cannot sit firmly on a camel. Can I perform Hajj on his behalf?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes." [بخاري، كتاب المناسك، باب وجوب الحج]
6. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنهما says that a woman from the tribe of Juhaina came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "My mother had vowed to perform Hajj, but she died before performing Hajj. Can I perform Hajj on her behalf?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes, you can. Tell me, if your mother had a debt, would you not pay it? Allah is more deserving of repayment." [بخاري، كتاب المناسك ابواب العمرة باب الحج و النذور عن الميت]
7. Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها says that a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "My mother died suddenly, and I think that if she could have spoken, she would have given charity. If I give charity on her behalf, will she receive the reward?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes." And in another narration, it is mentioned that the man asked: "If I give charity on her behalf, will I receive the reward?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes." [مسلم، كتاب الوصية، باب وصول ثواب الصدقات الي الميت]
8.
The Issue of Transferring Reward (Isal-e-Thawab):

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that a man said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "My father has died and left wealth, but he did not make a will. If I give charity on his behalf, will his sins be forgiven?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes." [مسلم، كتاب الوصية، باب وصول ثواب الصدقات الي الميت]
In the above four hadiths, such deeds are mentioned with which the deceased has no connection, rather, they were performed by his heirs. From these very hadiths, the well-known issue of Isal-e-Thawab (transferring reward) is derived, as is also clear from the chapter heading of Imam Muslim. The following points are known from these hadiths:
1. All four hadiths are related to wealth and property.
2. Matters related to obligations or duties must be fulfilled by the heirs of the deceased, such as paying the deceased's debts, performing Hajj if it was obligatory on him and he could not perform it, fulfilling any vows, and making up for missed fasts or other expiations, and these can be fulfilled by others.
3. If these matters are related only to voluntary charity, then giving charity on behalf of the deceased is recommended, not obligatory, and its reward reaches the deceased, such as giving charity and alms on behalf of the deceased to convey reward to him.
4. The reward of such voluntary charity reaches both the deceased and the one who gives charity, i.e., both receive it.

Definition of Bid'ah (Innovation):

It should be clear that the majority of scholars hold the view that Isal-e-Thawab is only possible in financial and obligatory acts of worship, not in physical and voluntary acts of worship. Because deputation (niyabah) is only possible in financial matters, not in physical ones. They give the example that, for instance, 'A' owes a debt to 'B', and if someone else, say 'C', pays 'B' the debt of 'A', then the debt is paid. But if 'A' is hungry, his hunger can only be satisfied if he himself eats; someone else's eating will never satisfy 'A's hunger. Therefore, Isal-e-Thawab is only possible in those matters where deputation is possible. And according to some scholars, missed fasts can also be made up and expiations can be paid, meaning this is also both a financial and physical act of worship like Hajj. However, missed prayers cannot be made up, nor is there any expiation for them, and this is purely a physical act of worship. As for the issue of Isal-e-Thawab, it is limited to financial acts of worship, i.e., charity, sacrifice, etc. The concept of Isal-e-Thawab through prayers, voluntary fasts, or voluntary Hajj and Umrah is not correct. Similarly, the custom of Quran recitation, or the customs of Qul, Teja, Panchwan, Daswan, or Chaliswan are all invalid customs and innovations. The justification usually presented for them is that these are all good deeds, either Quran is recited or charity is given on behalf of the deceased, so their reward should also reach the deceased. The answer to this is that all acts of innovation are started considering them as good deeds. No one has ever started an innovation thinking it to be bad. One should only see whether this act was done in the time of the Prophet or the Companions or not? Also, was there any obstacle in doing this act at that time? Then, if there was no obstacle in that era and yet the Companions did not do that act, if it is made a part of religion or a means of reward, then it is certainly an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance and its end is Hell.

Types of Bid'ah (Innovation):

Then some people have made the same five types of innovation as there are of legal obligations, i.e., some innovations are obligatory, some recommended, some permissible, some disliked, and some forbidden. And some people have made only two types: good innovation and bad innovation. Whereas the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not mention any division of innovation and said absolutely that every kind of innovation is misguidance. These people give the example of good or obligatory innovation that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not compile the Quran, but later Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ compiled it, and the example of recommended innovation is the congregational prayer of Tarawih, which Sayyiduna Umar ؓ started, and upon seeing the congregation of Tarawih, he said ﴿نعم البدعة هذهٖ﴾. The answer to this is that the acts which were established by consensus in the time of the Companions cannot be called innovation at all, and the detail is that compiling the Quran was done to prevent misguidance, as is proven by authentic hadiths, and such a necessity is called istislah, not a good or obligatory innovation. And the origin of congregational Tarawih prayer is established in the Prophetic era, both the Tarawih prayer and its congregation; the Prophet ﷺ led it for three days. And when Sayyiduna Umar ؓ called it an innovation, it was in the literal sense, not in the technical religious sense. The religious definition of innovation is: ﴿مَنْ اَحْدَثَ فِي اَمْرِنَا هٰذَا مَا لَيْسَ مِنْه، فَهُوَرَدّ﴾ [مسلم، کتاب الاقضیہ۔ باب نقض الاحکام الباطلۃ ورد محدثات الامور]
(i.e., whoever introduces something new in our religious matters which is not part of it, it is rejected.) In this blessed statement, the Prophet ﷺ included his Companions as well. Therefore, innovation applies to an act which is not found in the era of the Companions, and there was no obstacle in doing it, and it is done considering it as a religious or rewarding act. Some people of innovation also create confusion by saying that in the time of the Prophet or the Companions, there were no clocks in mosques, nor carpets, mats, bulbs, tubes, or prayer mats, and these are done considering them as religious and rewarding acts, so are these innovations? The answer is that these things are related to inventions, not to Shariah, and these things did not exist in that era. And the definition of innovation is that something which could have been done in that era, but despite that, neither the Prophet nor the Companions did it, that is innovation.