Teachers And Their Perpetual Reward

 عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: ‘When a man dies, his acts come to an end except for three: recurring charity, knowledge (by which people) benefit, and a pious son who prays for him.’

Narrated in Sahih Muslim, hadith no. 1631

Grade: Sahih (authentic)

Translation adapted from sunnah.com

Lessons:

1. Every Muslim is hopeful upon the good deeds done during his lifetime to be his witness in death and in the Hereafter.

2. There are three things left behind by a Muslim that will continue to gain him reward even after death: 

a. Charity given in the form of wakaf (endowments), donations, gifts, and others. The giver will continuously be rewarded for as long as his charity benefits the creation of Allah, i.e. human beings, animals, and/or plants. 

b. Knowledge, whether concerning the religious or the worldly sciences, that benefits life. This includes information from books, articles, and even electronic mediums such as social media. The one from whom knowledge originates will be rewarded for as long as what was conveyed is practiced and utilised.

c. The righteous among his children who always pray for his mercy and forgiveness.

Congratulations to all teachers. May Allah grant all that is good to educators, from those taking care of little ones in nurseries, to those who teach religion in mosques and madrasahs, to those who lecture in universities. May their efforts become the charity that brings them reward even after they have passed.