and obedience, assisting others along it and encouraging them toward it (1) by every possible means—for example, by offering his child, family, or subjects money, praise, or anything else that encourages them to perform righteous deeds.
Allah Most High sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. He won people over to Islam and its ordinances by conferring benefits and wealth upon them, praised those who excelled in it—as he praised several of his Companions—and also prayed for those whose deeds merited such a prayer. Allah Most High said to him: “(102) Take charity from their wealth, thereby purifying and cleansing them, and pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is a source of reassurance for them” [al-Tawbah: 103]. The jurists therefore said that when the leader receives charity, he should pray for the person who gave it, saying, for example: “May Allah reward you for what you have given, bless what you have retained, and make it a means of purification for you” (2).
Likewise, one should mention the virtues of righteous deeds, their reward, and their benefits in this world and the Hereafter, for the Quran and sunnah are replete with this. In truth, this is more beneficial to those who respond to it (3) than fear of worldly punishment alone. Worldly punishment is resorted to only when people act unjustly by turning away from this approach (4), as Allah Most High says: “Do not dispute with the People of the Book except in the best manner—apart from those among them who act unjustly” [al-ʿAnkabūt: 46].