“The Solution for Efficiency of Connections Without the Intention of Proximity through the Order of Reward”

In Islamic teachings, reward as a recompense for good deeds holds a central position. The vast majority of scholars have conditioned the attribution of reward to non-obligatory acts on the presence of the intention for divine proximity. In contrast, a minority have rejected this condition and believed in the attribution of reward to non-obligatory acts without the intention for divine proximity. This issue plays a significant role in the effectiveness of non-obligatory rulings. This research investigates the role of the intention for divine proximity in the attribution of reward to non-obligatory acts and evaluates the arguments of both sides. This study aims to carefully examine this issue and explain the correct viewpoint. To achieve this goal, the author of this research-oriented study has gathered the necessary information through library research and has analyzed the issue and its branches through rational and textual, comparative, and critical analysis. In this research, after examining the concept of reward, its criteria, and the standards for attributing reward, the viewpoints and arguments of both sides of the debate have been examined and analyzed. The findings of the research indicate that the truth and nature of reward, its criteria and standards, as well as the distinction between natural reward and conventional reward play a key role in resolving this issue. Based on these findings, a new viewpoint is presented according to which conventional reward is not attributed to non-obligatory acts lacking the intention for divine proximity; however, this does not mean the absence of a reward for these types of good deeds, and these deeds are rewarded in a form other than reward and in a necessary and obligatory manner, which plays a fundamental role in the effectiveness of non-obligatory acts. Moreover, non-obligatory acts have a natural reward.