1277 – Abu Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever directs someone to a good deed will receive a reward equal to that of the one who performs it.” Recorded by Muslim (1).

Lessons derived from the ḥadith

1. A believer is meant to be a model and exemplar in doing good and performing righteous acts. The Exalted says: “And those who say, ‘Our Lord, grant us in our spouses and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us leaders of the God-fearing’” (Al-Furqān 25:74). He also says: “We made them leaders who guide by Our command” (Al-Anbiyāʾ 21:73). Muslim (1017) likewise records, in the narration of Jarīr ibn ʿAbd Allah, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever inaugurates a good practice in Islam will have its reward and the reward of all who act upon it after him, without their rewards being diminished in the least.”

2. This ḥadith shows that anyone who points another person to something good—whether of worldly benefit or benefit in the Hereafter—earns a reward identical to that of the one who actually performs the deed, with no reduction in the doer’s reward. The additional recompense comes solely because he served as a guide to goodness and an example in benevolence.

3. Among the finest righteous deeds whose benefit spreads and whose fruits endure is the dissemination of beneficial knowledge—the revealed law of Allah in both its fundamentals and its branches, along with all that aids in understanding it. Whoever spreads such knowledge secures a large share of exemplary conduct and of guiding others to the straight path. By Allah’s permission he brings people out of the darkness of ignorance into the light of knowledge, guidance, and right direction, thereby earning immense reward from Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said, “If Allah guides through you a single person, that is better for you than red camels.” Reported by al-Bukhārī (3009) and Muslim (2406).