Chapter: Legal Rulings on juʿālah (contingent reward)

It is also called juʿl or jaʿīlah. The term refers to a sum offered to anyone who performs a specified task, as when someone says, “Whoever does such-and-such will receive such-and-such an amount,” thereby assigning an agreed payment for completing a known piece of work, such as building a wall.

Its permissibility is established by the Almighty’s words: “Whoever brings it shall have a camel-load, and I myself guarantee it” (Q 12:72). That is, whoever directs them to the thief of the king’s goblet is promised a camel-load, which is a clear instance of juʿālah; thus the verse affirms its lawfulness.

The Sunnah likewise attests to it in the hadith of the man who had been stung, related in both Ṣaḥīḥs and elsewhere from Abū Saʿīd. A group of Companions camped near an Arab tribe and asked for hospitality, but the tribe refused. Later the chief of that tribe was stung, and after trying every remedy they came to the Companions and said, “Does anyone among you have something that might help?” One of them replied, “I do perform ruqyah (therapeutic recitation), but by Allah we asked you for hospitality and you refused, so I will not treat him unless you set a reward for us.” They agreed on a flock of sheep. He approached the patient, blew upon him while reciting, “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds,” and the man rose as though freed from bonds. They paid the agreed reward, and when the party later came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him of what had happened, he said, “You have acted rightly…"