So tell me: did any one of those Companions ever dedicate a single righteous deed to the Messenger? Never—and the same is true of the Followers and the leading jurists: Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, al-Shāfiʿī, Mālik, and Abū Ḥanīfah. None of them did such a thing. What secret knowledge have you discovered that escaped them? Who do you think you are? The idea itself is mistaken and a deviation in religion. Every good deed you perform—even when you intend its reward for yourself—brings the Messenger ﷺ an identical reward without your having to utter a word. Whatever the act, even praying two rakʿahs, the reward is written for you and an equal reward for the Messenger, with nothing taken from your share. What, then, is the benefit of redirecting your devotional acts to him? You only deprive yourself of the reward, while the Messenger ﷺ still receives a reward equal to yours, whether you “gift” it to him or not, because he said, “Whoever calls people to guidance will have a reward equal to that of all who follow him, without their rewards being diminished in the least.” There is simply no need for such gifting.

This ḥadith therefore highlights the superiority of knowledge, for it is knowledge that points people to guidance and urges them toward piety. Knowledge is far better than wealth—no matter how great the amount you might give in charity, acquiring and disseminating knowledge is worth more. Consider an example: in the time of Abū Hurayrah there were caliphs and kings who ruled vast domains; in Imām Aḥmad’s era there were wealthy men who possessed immense fortunes and gave generously in charity and endowments; and in the generations after them—during the lifetimes of Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim—there were rich benefactors who likewise gave, spent, and endowed. Where is all that money now? Where are the sums they disbursed, the endowments they established? They have vanished, leaving hardly a trace. Yet the ḥadiths transmitted by Abū Hurayrah are recited day and night, and their reward continually reaches him. The same is true of the imams: their knowledge and jurisprudence remain widespread among the ummah, and the reward keeps flowing to them—and likewise to Shaykh al-Islām.