Skip to content
قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

Reward (Jaza) الْجَزَاء

In review — pending scholar verification

The Quran's comprehensive term for recompense — encompassing the reward of believers in Paradise, the punishment of disbelievers in Hell, and the principle that every action receives its just measure.

Overview

Jazāʾ (Arabic: الْجَزَاء) is the Quran's comprehensive term for recompense — encompassing both the reward (thawāb) of the righteous in Paradise and the punishment (ʿiqāb) of wrongdoers in Hell. The word can also denote the act of recompense itself: a positive jazāʾ for the muttaqīn, a negative jazāʾ for the wrongdoers. The principle — every action receives its just measure — is one of the foundational theological propositions of the Quran.

Quranic references

  • Surah An-Naba 78:36 — "As reward (jazāʾ) from your Lord, an account computed."
  • Surah As-Sajdah 32:17 — "No soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for the eyes as a reward (jazāʾan) for what they used to do."
  • Surah Al-Ḥaqqah 69:34 — "Indeed, this is reward for you, and your effort has been appreciated."
  • Surah Az-Zumar 39:34 — "They will have whatever they wish with their Lord. That is the reward of the doers of good."
  • Surah Az-Zalzalah 99:7–8 — atom's-weight precision in jazāʾ.
  • Surah Al-Qari'ah 101:6–11 — the scales determine the jazāʾ.

Hadith

Abu Hurayra reported the Prophet ﷺ said, narrating from his Lord: "I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what has not occurred to the human heart." — Sahih al-Bukhari 4779; Sahih Muslim 2824 (Hadith Qudsi)
Abu Hurayra reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah, the Most High, says: When My servant's good deed pleases him, I record it as ten the like of it; and when his evil deed displeases him and he abandons it, it is recorded as a single sin or erased." — Sahih Muslim 129

Significance

Jazāʾ is precise and individualised — Surah Az-Zalzalah 99 emphasises atom's-weight measurement. It is also asymmetric: a single good deed multiplies tenfold; a single evil deed does not. This asymmetry is one of the Quran's testimonies to divine mercy.

See also

References

  1. The Quran (Sahih International translation): Surahs As-Sajdah 32:17; Az-Zumar 39:34; Al-Ḥāqqah 69:34; An-Naba 78:36; Az-Zalzalah 99:7–8; Al-Qari'ah 101:6–11.
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 4779; Sahih Muslim 129, 2824.
  3. Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, on the cited verses.
  4. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm wa-l-Ḥikam, on hadith of recompense.