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What is the Islamic legal evidence for the validity of the saying 'As you deal, so shall you be dealt with'?

2 min readAlso available in العربية

"As you deal, so shall you be dealt with" or "the recompense is of the same kind as the deed" is an eloquent wisdom confirmed by evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. It is a universal law meaning that you are recompensed for your actions and according to your deeds.

Evidence from the Quran: Allah punished the hypocrites by ridiculing them as a recompense for their ridicule, for He said: {Allah mocks at them} [Al-Baqarah: 15], and He said: {Allah has scoffed at them} [At-Tawbah: 79]. In the legal punishments (Hudud), the recompense was of the same kind as the deed; thus, the thief's hand is cut off. Allah Almighty said: {And the male [and female] thief, cut off their hands as recompense for what they earned} [Al-Ma'idah: 38]. And Allah promised the doers of good with good, saying: {Is the recompense for good anything but good?} [Ar-Rahman: 60]. He also ordained rewards that correspond to the actions, such as His saying: {And fulfill My covenant [with you] and I will fulfill your covenant [with Me]} [Al-Baqarah: 40], and {So remember Me; I will remember you} [Al-Baqarah: 152], and {If you support Allah, He will support you} [Muhammad: 7], and {and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you?} [An-Nur: 22].

Evidence from the Sunnah: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: «Have mercy on those on earth, and the One in the heaven will have mercy on you.» And «Guard Allah, and He will guard you.» And «Whoever is in the need of his brother, Allah will be in his need. And whoever relieves a Muslim of a distress, Allah will relieve him of a distress on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever conceals a Muslim, Allah will conceal him on the Day of Resurrection.» And the womb (ties of kinship) said to Allah: «Are you not pleased that I should keep connection with whoever connects with me, and cut off whoever cuts me off?» And among the warnings: «Whoever curses something that does not deserve it, the curse will return upon him.» And «Whoever harms [others], Allah will harm him.» And «Whoever is asked about knowledge and conceals it, will be bridled on the Day of Resurrection with a bridle of fire.»

Indeed, this law does not fail in revelation and history; it is part of Allah's justice and wisdom.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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