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Is teaching people to seek forgiveness and pray upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, considered a cause for the teacher to receive worldly good, or is the reward limited to the Hereafter only?

2 min readAlso available in العربية

We have not come across any statements from scholars regarding the obtainment of immediate worldly reward for the one who guides to good.

However, scholars discuss the reward of the one who guides to good: Is it exactly like the reward of the doer? Or does the one who guides receive a reward similar to the doer's, but without multiplication? Or does he receive a reward, just as the doer receives a reward, and it is not necessary for the amount of their rewards to be equal? Imam Al-Nawawi stated in his commentary on Sahih Muslim that what is meant by "like the reward of its doer" is that he receives a reward for that action, just as the doer receives a reward, and it is not necessary for the amount of their rewards to be equal.

Al-Qurtubi said in Al-Mufhim: The apparent meaning of the Prophet’s saying (peace be upon him): "Whoever guides to good, will have a reward like that of its doer" is that the one who guides receives a reward equal to that of the doer. This is possible because reward is a grace from Allah, and intention is the origin of deeds. So, if the intention is sound and one is unable to act due to an impediment, there is no impossibility in the reward of the incapacitated person being equal to the reward of the doer.

This is supported by the hadith: "The world is for four types of people," in which it states: "And a man whom Allah has given knowledge but not wealth, so he says: 'If I had wealth, I would do with it what so-and-so does.' He is with his intention, so their rewards are equal."

Some imams have held the view that the "likeness" mentioned in these hadiths is without multiplication.

In summary, Allah's grace is vast, and a Muslim should hasten to spread good and guide to it, sincerely for Allah, hoping for His mercy, and having a good opinion of Him, the Exalted.

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

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