Am I Sinful If I Intend to Do Something Haram but Then Refrain from It?
Answered by Sheikh Muhammad Fayez Awad
Question
Am I sinful if I intend to do something haram but then refrain from it?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and his companions. As for what follows:
One is not held accountable for contemplating sin if it is merely thoughts and inner dialogue it. However, contemplation accompanied by a firm resolve to act is a sin.
Refraining from Sin out of Fear of Allah
If one refrains from what he contemplated out of fear of Allah, a good deed is recorded for him. If he refrains due to some external factor, he is not held accountable for the act but is accountable for his resolve, as it is a sin.
Intending to Sin, but Being Prevented from It
Whoever contemplates a bad deed and then is prevented from doing it by something beyond his control, after having exerted his effort to do it, there is no doubt that he is sinful and deserving of punishment. Scholars have differed: is he like one who actually committed the bad deed, or is his sin less, thus deserving less punishment than one who committed the act?
In any case, it is obligatory for one who contemplates a sin and is then prevented from it to sincerely repent to Allah for what he contemplated. Allah, the Most Forgiving and Merciful, accepts repentance from His servants and forgives misdeeds.
A Foundational Hadith on the Topic
Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who reported from his Lord, the Exalted and Glorious: “Indeed, Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones.” Then He clarified it by saying: “Whoever intends to perform a good deed but does not do it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. If he intends to perform it and does so, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds up to seven hundred times, or many times over. And whoever intends a bad deed and does not do it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. If he intends it and then does it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” [Bukhari, Muslim]
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Allah has forgiven my community for what their souls have spoken to them, as long as they do not act or speak.” [Bukhari, Muslim]
Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“These texts contain four types: recording of good deeds and bad deeds, and the contemplation of good and bad deeds. These are four types…”
Then he said: “The third type: contemplating good deeds, it is written as a complete good deed, even if not acted upon, as in the hadith of Ibn Abbas and others…”
Khuraim ibn Fatik narrates: ”Whoever contemplates a good deed but does not do it, yet Allah knows that he has urged his heart to it and was keen on it, then it is written for him as a good deed.” [Ahmad] This indicates that the intended contemplation here is the firm resolve accompanied by an eagerness to act, not just a fleeting thought without resolve or determination.
Abu al-Darda said, “Whoever goes to his bed intending to pray at night but is overcome by sleep until morning, then what he intended is written for him…”
It is narrated from Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib that he said, “Whoever intends to pray, fast, perform Hajj, ‘Umra, or Jihad, but is prevented from doing so, then Allah the Exalted will grant him what he intended.”
When the intention is accompanied by speech or effort, the reward is confirmed, and that person is equated with the one who does the action.
Abu Kabshah narrates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), “The world is for four kinds of people: A slave whom Allah has given wealth and knowledge, so he fears his Lord in it, maintains kinship with it, and acknowledges the rights of Allah in it—this is in the best of positions; a slave whom Allah has given knowledge but no wealth, and he is truthful in his intention, saying: ‘If I had wealth, I would act like so-and-so,’ and so he is rewarded by his intention, and their rewards are equal; a slave whom Allah has given wealth but not knowledge—he flounders in his wealth without knowledge, not fearing his Lord in it, nor maintaining kinship, nor acknowledging the rights of Allah in it—this is in the worst of positions; and a slave whom Allah has not given wealth or knowledge, and he says, ‘If I had wealth, I would act like so-and-so,’ and so he is with his intention, and their sins are equal.” [Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, Ahmad]
Understanding the Equality of One Who Does and One Who Only Intends
Their equality in reward is understood to refer to the basic reward for the deed, not its multiplication. The multiplication is exclusive to those who actually perform the deed, not to those who merely intend it without doing it.
If they were equal in every way, then whoever contemplates a good deed and does not do it would have ten good deeds written for him, which contradicts all texts.
This is indicated by the verse: “Allah has elevated in rank those who strive with their wealth and their lives above those who stay behind ˹with valid excuses˺. Allah has promised each a fine reward, but those who strive will receive a far better reward than others— far superior ranks.” [Quran, 4:95] Ibn Abbas and others said that “those who stay behind,” over whom the strivers are elevated in rank, are those who sit due to valid excuses, and those whom the strivers are preferred over by multiple degrees are those who sit without valid excuses.
Contemplating Sin without Acting upon It
Then Ibn Rajab (Allah have mercy on him), said:
“The fourth type is Contemplating sins without acting upon them. In the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas: It is written as a complete good deed; likewise in the hadiths of Abu Huraira, Anas, and others, it is written as a good deed.
In the hadith of Abu Huraira, it says: “He only left it because of My Sake,” [Muslim] meaning, for Allah. This indicates that what is meant is when one is able to do what he contemplated of sin but leaves it for Allah the Almighty, and there is no doubt that a good deed is written for him for that; leaving the sin with this intention is a righteous act.
But if he contemplated a sin and then left it due to some fear of Allah’s creation or to show off to them, it has been said that he is punishable for leaving it with this intention because prioritizing the fear of creatures over the fear of Allah is forbidden. Likewise, intending to show off to creatures is forbidden. So, if he refrains from the sin for such reasons, he is punished for this refrainment…”
Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad said: “They used to say that abstaining from an act for the sake of people is showing off, and doing it for them is associating partners with Allah.”
If one strives to commit a sin as much as he can, but then is prevented by destiny, some scholars have mentioned that he is then punished for it based on the hadith: “Unless it is spoken or acted upon.” Whoever strives to commit a sin to his utmost, but then is incapable of it, has indeed acted upon it.
Simlarly understood is the saying of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), ”When two Muslims meet each other with their swords, both the killer and the killed are in the fire.” They asked: “Messenger of Allah, such is the killer, but what about the killed?” He said: “He was keen to kill his companion.” [Bukhari, Muslim]
His saying: “Unless it is spoken or acted upon” indicates that if one verbally expresses what he contemplates of sin, he is then punished for the contemplation because he has committed a sin with his organs: speaking with the tongue.
This is also indicated by the previously mentioned hadith wherein the man said: “If I had wealth, I would have acted in it as so-and-so acts,” referring to the one who disobeys Allah with his wealth. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “So they are equal in sin.”
Is One Punished for Losing Interest in Committing a Sin?
Then Ibn Rajab (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Regarding the question of whether one is punished if his intention dissipates and his resolve weakens without his doing, this is of two types:
The first: If the contemplation of sin is a passing thought, not entertained or settled in the heart, rather disliked and repelled, then it is forgiven. This is like the evil whispers about which the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked, and he said: “That is clear Iman” [Muslim]
Upon the revelation of the verse: “Whether you reveal what is in your hearts or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. He forgives whoever He wills, and punishes whoever He wills,” it was difficult for the Muslims. They thought that it included such thoughts. But then the following verse was revealed, stating: “Do not burden us with what we cannot bear,” [Quran, 2:284-286] clarifying that what they have no strength to bear, they are not held accountable for, nor obligated with…, and clarified that the first verse refers to firm resolves. [Muslim]
The second type is the firm resolve that settles in the soul, persists, and is entertained by its owner. This too has two kinds:
The first is independent acts of the heart, like doubting monotheism, prophethood, the resurrection, or others from disbelief and hypocrisy, or believing in the denial of that. The servant is punishable for all of this, thus becoming an infidel and a hypocrite. This category includes all sins related to the heart, like loving what Allah hates, hating what Allah loves, arrogance, vanity…
The second type includes those that are not from the acts of the heart but from the acts of the limbs, like adultery, theft, drinking alcohol, murder, slander, etc. If the servant insists on intending them and resolves on them, without any external manifestation at all. There are two well-known opinions among scholars regarding being held accountable for them:
- The first opinion is that he is held accountable for it. Ibn al-Mubarak asked Sufyan al-Thawri: “Is a servant held accountable for his resolve?” He replied: “If it is a firm resolve, he is taken to account.” This opinion is favored by many jurists, hadith scholars, and theologians, both from our companions and others, and they based their view on similar statements by Allah – Glorious and Exalted – such as: “Know that Allah is aware of what is in your hearts, so beware of Him,” [Quran, 2:235] and “but he will hold you accountable for what you intended in your hearts.” [Quran, 2:225] This is also based on the saying of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace): “Sin is what creates doubt in your heart and you hate for people to find out about it” [Muslim]. Those in favor of this position interpreted the hadith, “Allah has excused my nation for what their souls have thought, as long as they do not speak or act upon it” as referring to fleeting thoughts. They say: Whatever the servant settles in his heart and is determined upon, that becomes his deed and action, hence it is not forgiven…
- The second opinion is that one is not held accountable merely for the intention, regardless of its nature. This view is attributed to the text of Imam Shafi‘i. ‘Awfi reported from Ibn Abbas something that indicates a similar opinion.
In conclusion:
- Whoever contemplates a good and virtuous deed and settles his heart and determination upon it, it is written for him as what he intended, even if he does not perform it, although the reward of the doer is better and higher.
- Whoever contemplates a sin, then leaves it for the sake of Allah, a complete good deed is written for him.
- Whoever contemplates a sin and then leaves it for the sake of people, or strives towards it but is prevented by destiny, a sin is written against him.
- Whoever contemplates a sin, and then his determination dissipates after having intended it: if it was just a fleeting thought in his heart, he is not held accountable for it; but if it was an act of the heart, with no involvement of the limbs, he is held accountable for it. If it was an act of the limbs and he persisted in it and was resolute in his intention to commit it, most scholars agree that he is held accountable for it.
Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him), after transmitting the opinion of accountability from Baqillani, said:
“Qadi ‘Iyad (Allah have mercy on him) stated that the majority of the predecessors and scholars among jurists and hadith scholars adhere to the opinion of Qadi Abu Bakr [al-Baqillani] regarding being held accountable for the actions of the heart based on the hadiths that indicate accountability for heart‘s actions.
“However, they said that this resolve [itself] is written as a sin, and the sin he intended is not because he did not perform it and was stopped by something other than the fear of Allah (the Exalted) and turning to Him. But the persistence and resolve itself is a sin, and it is written as such; if he performs it, a second sin is written. If he leaves it out of fear of Allah Almighty, a good deed is written, as in the hadith ‘He only left it for My sake,’ thus leaving it out of fear of Allah Almighty and struggling against his soul inclined to evil in that matter and disobeying his desires is a good deed.
“As for the contemplation that is not written, it includes fleeting thoughts that the soul does not settle upon, nor are accompanied by a decision, intention, or resolve.” [Sharh Sahih Muslim]
Ibn Rajab (Allah have mercy on him) chose the opinion that “a sin is written only as it is, without multiplication, so the punishment is for the sin, and the contemplation of it is not added to it. If contemplation were added to the sin, then one would be punished twice for the act of sinning, which is not the case. It cannot be said that the same applies to the performance of a good deed, for if one performs it after contemplating it, he is rewarded for the good deed, not for the contemplation. This is incorrect, as performing a good deed is written tenfold, and it is possible that some of these tenfold rewards are for contemplating the good deed. And Allah knows best.”
Allah knows best.
