by Asma bint Shameem
When someone does us a favor, obviously we should thank them.
That's part of good manners and as Muslims, that's the least we can do.
However, a lot of people respond to a favor by saying only the words ‘Jazaak Allaah’, without adding the word “Khair”.
But is that correct?
Is saying just 'Jazaak Allaah' enough?
Or should we be adding the word “khair” and say Jazaak Allaah Khair?
🌷Let's see what our Deen says about that.
The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
"Whoever has a favor done for him and says to the one who did it,
'JAZAAK ALLAAHU KHAIRAN,' has done enough to thank him."
(al-Tirmidhi--saheeh by al-Albaani)
How clear the words are, Subhaan Allaah!
The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam is very clearly and unambiguously telling us EXACTLY what to say when someone does us a favor.
And that is to say “Jazak Allaahu Khairan” and NOT just ‘Jazak Allaah’ by itself without the word ‘Khair’.
🌷What did the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam HIMSELF say?
When the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam wanted to himself thank someone and make Dua for them, he would say Jazaak Allaahu Khairan, and NOT just 'Jazaak Allaah'.
In a lengthy hadeeth, when he was praising the Ansaar, he Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
"You are the Ansaar, may Allaah reward you with good (Jazaakum Allaahu KHAIRAN), for you are decent and patient."
(Ibn Hibbaan and al-Haakim ---saheeh by al-Albaani)
🌷What did the Sahaabah say?
Just like the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam, the noble Sahaabah also said the words “Jazak Allaah 'khair' when thanking someone.
'Umar ibn al-Khattaab radhi Allaahu anhu said:
"If one of you knew what there is in his saying to his brother, 'Jazaak Allaahu khairan', you would say it a great deal to one another."
And Usayd ibn al-Hudayr said to 'Aa'ishah radhi Allaahu anhumaa:
"May Allaah reward you with good (O 'Aa'ishah), (Jazaak Allaahu KHAIRAN) for by Allaah, you never have any problem but Allaah grants you a way out and makes it a blessing for the Muslims."
[(al-Bukhaari (336) and Muslim (367)]
🌷No one says Jazak Allaah alone, by itself, without the word “Khair” except
NON-Arabs.
It's part of the Arabic language, to add and include the word 'khairan' (or ‘Khair’ for short) to the phrase 'Jazaak Allaah'.
Saying “Jazak Allaah” only WITHOUT the word “Khair” (or “Khairan”) added to it, is NOT ENOUGH.
Without it, the phrase is INCOMPLETE in meaning.
It's an EMPTY dua and that's why you find that the only people saying 'Jazaak Allaah', by itself, without adding the word 'khairan', are those who don't know Arabic and don't understand it.
Had they known Arabic, they would never use this term by itself.
🌷IS there really a difference? Why such a big deal?
We won't realize the difference between the two expressions until we understand what the word Jazaa' means.
You see, the word "Jazaa' " means RECOMPENSE.
And recompense could either be good OR bad.
When we look at the Qur'aan, we'll realize that Allaah Subhaanahu Wa Ta'ala uses the word Jazaa', for recompense which could be BOTH, reward, as well as punishment, depending on the situation.
For example, in the following ayah Allaah uses the word jazaa' for punishment in HellFire.
May Allaah protect us.
Allaah says:
قَالَ اذْهَبْ فَمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ فَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ جَزَاؤُكُمْ جَزَاءً مَّوْفُورًا
"He (Allaah) said: Be gone (Iblees)! For whoever of them will follow you, then surely Hell is your recompense (Jazaa’ukum), a full recompense (Jazaa’)."
(Surah Israa': 63)
As we can see from the above ayah, jazaa' could be in a GOOD sense OR BAD.
And there are many, many ayaat in the Qur'aan that use the word jazaa' like that.
So when we say 'Jazaak Allaah' ONLY, without adding the word ‘KHAIR’ to it, in other words, we're just saying to the person "May Allaah recompense you".
We are not SPECIFYING that we want the person to be recompensed with GOOD.
We are FAILING to mention whether we wish for that person to be recompensed with good or bad.
On the other hand, the term 'Jazaak Allaahu KHAIRAN, is the COMPLETE phrase, and means
'May Allaah recompense you with a great deal of GOOD'.
🌷It's a Dua you're making for the other person.
The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
"Whoever does you a favor, then reciprocate, and if you cannot find anything with which to reciprocate, then pray for him until you think that you have reciprocated him."
(Abu Dawood --saheeh by al-Albaani)
Obviously, if someone does us a favor, what better way to reciprocate and respond than to ask Allaah, the Owner of Goodness, to recompense him with a lot of good?
Adding the word 'Khairan' to 'Jazaak Allaah' is thus, the BEST form of recompense as it is a Duaa we're making for that person to Allaah.
In other words, we're implying that not only do we appreciate your help and favor, but also that we are weak and our capacities are limited, and thus we don't believe we can ever repay you for your favor; but the One Who is ash-Shakoor can reward you with such immense bounty and beneficence that no one can even come close to.
🌷But my intention is good. What difference will one word make?
Sure, I know that those who say only 'Jazaak Allaah' by itself, have GOOD intentions and they actually appreciate what the other person has done for them.
They don't mean anything bad when they say just 'Jazaak Allaah', by itself.
But, my dear brother/sister, let's ask ourselves this..... if this was good enough, wouldn't the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam or the Sahaabah have said 'Jazaak Allaah' only?
Why would they have added the word 'khairan' to it?
Obviously there's IS a difference in the words.
Otherwise they wouldn’t have used it that way, and they would have skipped the word 'khairan' from the phrase.
Besides, when we want to thank someone and show our appreciation, we have to express ourselves, don't we?
We have to SAY the words of appreciation.
We can't just keep it in our heart only, without saying a word to the person and then say 'our intention is good'.
How does the person know what's in our heart, unless we TELL them, right?
So ADD the word ‘KHAIRAN’ to “Jazak Allaah” and make the phrase COMPLETE.
🌷Can I just say "Shukran" or "Thank you" instead of Jazaak Allaahu khairan?
Sure there's nothing wrong with saying thank you or shukran etc in response to a favor.
But you're missing out on a special chance to make duaa for your fellow Muslim that will be of way more benefit and barakah to him than just a simple 'thank you'.
Someone put the same question to Shaikh Ahmad bin Yahyaa bin Muhammad an-Najmee.
He said:
"Whoever does that, has left off (something) more excellent (or bountiful), and that is....the statement "Jazaakallaahu khairan"!
🌷What should I say in RESPONSE to Jazak Allaahu khairan?
The specific phrase of "jazaak Allaahu khayran" is part of our Deen, but the reply is left up to us.
We can respond in WHATEVER way we want to answer, as long as it is good.
However, it is good to respond in a likewise manner.
When our Mother Aa'ishah, radhi Allaahu anhaa had heard the duaas of those who received some charity, saying, "Baarak Allaahu feekum" she replied "wa feehim baarak Allaah".
And she used to reply to their supplications in a way similar to how the people worded their supplication.
(Saheeh Al-Waabilis-Sayyib)
So we can say
wa Jazaak, (and to you, the same reward)
or wa iyyaak (and to you)
or wa iyyaak kathaalik (and to you the same)
Wa Antum Fa Jazakumullahu khayran. (And you too; May Allah reward you too with good)
or wa iyyaanaa ajma'een (and to all of us)
Or we can say Ameen, as Jazaak Allaahu khairan is a Duaa and it's good to say Ameen after a Duaa.
We can use these words, any combination of these words or any OTHER words that reciprocate the Duaa the other person just made for us, when they said Jazaak Allaahu khairan, whether it's in English or any other language.
🌷Another important point:
When we say to some people, "Jazaak Allaahu Khairan brother/sister", they say "Oh no, no, please, it was nothing. I was just doing my duty!" Or something like that.
Subhaan Allaah! We're making Duaa for them and asking Allaah to reward them, yet they're saying "No, no please!"
I think the reason why they're saying "no no please" is because they think we're saying "thank you" to them, although "thank you" is no where even close to the Duaa "Jazaak Allaahu khairan".
'Thank you' is just an expression of gratitude coming from another fellow human being, while Jazaak Allaahu khairan is a beautiful Duaa, the compensation of which comes from no other than Allaah Subhaanahu Wa Ta'ala!
No comparison!
So when someone says Jazaak Allaahu khairan to you, realize that it's a Duaa that your muslim brother/sister is making for you, don’t say ‘No No.
Rather, accept it gracefully and say Ameen.
And then reciprocate accordingly.
🌷What about writing JZK? Or JAK?
When we write JZK, or JAK it means exactly THAT.... the three letters J and Z and K, put together, or the letters
J, and A and K put together...which means nothing!
JZK or JAK or any of these ‘short forms’ could be an abbreviation for anything.
In fact, when you 'google' JZK or JAK, a lot of results come up, showing what it stands for, including names of people, organizations, and even songs!
Subhaan Allaah!
Try it yourself and see!
Muslim scholars dislike using abbreviations in place of the proper words of Islaamic expressions like when invoking blessing on the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam etc.
And saying any of the other Islamic expressions in an abbreviated form also falls under this same category.
Shaikh Ibn Baaz said:
“We should not write the blessing on the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam
in short form such as writing (S) or (SAWS) etc, or other forms that some writers use, because that is going against the command of Allaah in His Book (al-Ahzaab 33:56)
And that (writing it in abbreviated form) does not serve that purpose and is devoid of the virtue of writing “salla Allaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam (May Allaah send blessings and peace upon him)” in FULL FORM.”
It's basically pure laziness to use certain abbreviated letters when writing, instead of the full Islamic expression.
Besides, JZK or JAK or any other abbreviation does NOT convey the true meaning of the Duaa that you're intending for the person.
So write out the whole phrase Jazak Allaahu khairan instead of JZK or JAK.
(hint: you can have your phone write out the full expression, if you type a 'shortcut' to the phrase, in the ‘settings’, whether it’s an iPhone, Galaxy or whatever)
🌷Conclusion
Saying 'Jazaak Allaah' by itself is INCOMPLETE in meaning, and it is NOT the proper way of thanking someone.
Saying Jazaak Allaahu KHAIRAN is the CORRECT way of responding and appreciating a favor someone does for us and is a form of Duaa that we make to Allaah for that person.
It was the practice of the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam himself as well as the Sahaabah and all goodness lies in following their ways, using the words they used and doing the deeds they did.
May Allaah enable us to truly follow the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam in word and deed and make us better Muslims. Ameen.
And Allaah knows best.
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