Religious Incentives
Sayed Mustafa Al-Modarresi
Religious people have an advantage over the irreligious in the sense that religion provides incentives to its adherents that wouldn’t otherwise be granted to the irreligious.
In religion, the standard of morality stems from God, and therefore is fixed. Whereas, with the irreligious, you find that they don’t have a universally perfect standard of morality, but rather they obtain their moral standards from an ever-changing and evolving set of social perspectives. For example, public opinions on sexuality, dress code and birth control have changed over time. Public opinion is something that can be so manipulated nowadays, that external sources such as Hollywood incorporate subtle messages in the entertainment industry in order to shift public opinion about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.
The Quran says:
إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لاَنفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا
If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, [you do it] to yourselves.
[Surah Al-Isra 17; Verse 7]
(There is a far deeper meaning to the above verse. Delving into its essence, you will come to find that there is a governing system of the functionality of the universe. If you do good, you will reap the benefits of your good deeds; likewise for the bad).
In a hadith, it is said that if you utilise your status in society to assist a fellow mu’min(believer) with their need or request, Allah (swt) avows that your wishes will be fulfilled. Another hadith mentions that if you collect the crumbles of food that have fallen on the table/cloth, Allah (swt) will protect you and 7 generations after, from poverty. These examples are but a few of the incredible incentives granted by Allah (swt) which motivates us to engage in good deeds. Otherwise, what is the purpose if no rewards are to be granted.
The same law applies to the bad that we do. Our bad actions can come back to bite us at some point in the most intricate way. One prime example is backbiting. If you backbite, you will be backbit against. In a hadith it is said that if someone is backbiting in your presence and you take the chance to defend the accused, Allah (swt) will protect you from 1000 different types of miseries. This is yet another incentive to motivate us to forbid evil.
In one astounding hadith which pertains to the grandeur of praying for others, it is said that if you pray for another person, you will get three things:
An Angel will pray to Allah (swt) that you get double what you asked for the other.
Your sustenance will increase.
Your duas will be answered.
Moreover, it is said in a hadith that if you visit Imam Hussain (as), then Fatimah (as) herself will make dua to Allah (swt) for you. This shows how dear Hussain (as) was to Fatimah (as).