Intention
/ɪnˈtɛnʃ(ə)n/ noun.
An aim or plan; a thing intended
An act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result
Assalamualaikum,
حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الأَنْصَارِيُّ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيُّ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنَ وَقَّاصٍ اللَّيْثِيَّ، يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ إِلَى امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ ".
Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."
I will begin by explaining the reason why the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said this beloved Hadith. According to some, the reason for this Hadith is that a person sent a proposal of marriage to a woman named Umm Qais (RA). She turned down the proposal and said that she would only accept if he emigrated to Madinah. Accordingly, he did so for this specific purpose, and the two were married there. On account of this event, the man came to be known among the Companions of Rasoolullah ﷺ as Muhajir Umm Qais.
The early jurists and scholars such as Imam Shafiʻi (RA), Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (RA), Abu Dawud (RA), Al-Daraqutni (RA), and Imam Tirmidhi (RA) agreed that this hadith encompasses one-third of Islam. Al-Bukhari chose to lead his collection of authentic traditions with it. Imam Shafiʻi (RA) also said that this hadith encompasses seventy topics of jurisprudence (fiqh), by which he meant a great many topics, and Ibn Mahdi (RA) encouraged authors to include it at the beginning of any work to advise their students to continually correct and renew their intentions. Right intentions, which is sincerity, is the foundation of everything else we do in Islam.
On the basis of this Hadith, 'Ulama' are of the unanimous opinion that the real basis of one's actions is Niyyah (intention). Everyone will be requited according to his Niyyah. It is true that Niyyah is founded in one's heart, that is to say, one has first to make up one's mind for what he intends to do, and he should not express it verbally. In fact, the latter is a Bid`ah (innovation in religion) because no proof of it is found in Shariah. The point which becomes evident from this Hadith is that Ikhlaas (sincerity) is a must for every action. In other words, in every righteous deed, one should seek only the Pleasure of Allah; otherwise, it will not be accepted by Allah.
I start my first post on this blog with this hadith as I want to affirm my intentions. I want to spread the ilm (knowledge) I have acquired during my years in daarul uloom with Ikhlaas and sincerity. The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad ﷺ says in a hadith:
" بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً، وَحَدِّثُوا عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلاَ حَرَجَ، وَمَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَىَّ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ ".
"Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence, and tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you), for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire."
This hadith simply means make da’wah. Da’wah is an Arabic term which means to invite or summon someone. This term is often used to describe when Muslims share their faith with others, in order to teach them more about Islam.
Intentions give importance to a person's action, motive or objective. Allah warns us in the Quran 70 times with the words 'في سبيل الله' (in the way of Allah) to ensure that actions and intentions be in the way of God, and not for the sake of other than God or carnal desires. Intentions are a necessary condition for the acceptance of a deed.
عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ الْبَاهِلِيِّ قَالَ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ أَرَأَيْتَ رَجُلًا غَزَا يَلْتَمِسُ الْأَجْرَ وَالذِّكْرَ مَالَهُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا شَيْءَ لَهُ فَأَعَادَهَا ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ يَقُولُ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا شَيْءَ لَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ "إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَقْبَلُ مِنْ الْعَمَلِ إِلَّا مَا كَانَ لَهُ خَالِصًا وَابْتُغِيَ بِهِ وَجْهُهُ"-
Abu Umamah reported:
"A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said, “If a man battles for the sake of reward and fame, what do you think he has?” The Prophet said, “He has nothing.” The man repeated his question three times and the Prophet said, “He has nothing.” Then the Prophet said, “Verily, Allah does not accept any good deeds unless they are done sincerely and in pursuit of his countenance”"
Sincerity is the life and soul of deeds, without which a deed in reality has no existence.On the Day of Judgement Allah will not even consider placing any deed performed without sincerity on the Scales, for such a deed will bear no weight whatsoever. On the other hand a small, yet sincere, deed will have substantial weight.
I will conclude this post with this quote:
"When our actions are based on good intentions, our soul has no regrets."
Wassalam,
P.S. Recommended video - The Right Intentions - Khutbah by Nouman Ali Khan