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What is the difference in Islamic law between a deed being rendered void and a deed not being accepted?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

"The invalidation of deeds (hubut al-amal) and their non-acceptance both share the characteristic that the doer does not benefit from their deeds. Non-acceptance is specific to causes that occur either concurrently with the deed or prior to it, such as the doer not intending Allah's countenance, or their contravening the guidance of the Messenger. As for the invalidation of deeds (hubut al-amal), it can also be due to a subsequent cause, such as the giver of charity boasting about it or harming the recipient, which then invalidates the reward of their charity. Or by committing evil deeds that invalidate the reward of a previously accepted good deed. Or by apostasy and major shirk. Invalidation (hubut) is defined as the nullification of a deed and is divided into three types: worldly deeds that are of no benefit in the hereafter, deeds performed for the hereafter that were not intended for Allah's countenance, and righteous deeds that are met with evil deeds that diminish their weight."

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

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