The Nature of Intention

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The Nature of Intention

Fromthe works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, and Imam Ghazali

The intention of a person is not his utterance of the words,"I intend to do so and so." It is an overflowing from the heart whichruns like conquests inspired by Allah. At times it is made easy, at othertimes, difficult. A person whose heart is overwhelmingly righteous finds iteasy to summon good intentions at most times. Such a person has a heartgenerally inclined to the roots of goodness which, most of the time, blossominto the manifestation of good actions. As for those whose hearts inclinetowards and are overwhelmed by worldy matters, they find this difficult toaccomplish and even obligatory acts of worship may become difficult andtiresome.

The Prophet (saw) said:

Actions are only by intention, and every man shall only have whathe intended. Thus he whose emigration  (hijrah) was for Allah andwas for Allah and His Messenger, his emigrationwas for Allah and HisMessenger, and he whose emigration was to achieve some worldly benefit or totake some woman in marriage, his emigrationwas for that for which hemade emigration.(1)

Imam ash-Shaf'i said: "This hadith is a third of allknowledge." The words, "actions are only by intention", meanthat deeds which are performed in accordance with the Sunnah are onlyacceptable and rewarded if the intentions behind them were sincere. It is likethe saying of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,"Actions depend upon their outcome."(2)

Likewise, the words, "every man shall only have what heintended", mean that the reward for an action depends upon the intentionbehind it. After stating this principle, the Prophet (saw) gave examples of itby saying, "thus he the Prophet (saw) gave examples of it by saying,"Thus he whose emigration (hijrah) was for Allah and His Messenger,his emigrationwas for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose emigrationwas to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, hisemigrationwas for that for which he made emigration." So deedswhich are apparently identical may differ, because the intentions behind themare different in degrees of goodness and badness, from one person to another.

Good intentions do not change the nature of forbidden actions. Theignorant should not misconstrue the meaning of the hadith and think that goodintentions could turn forbidden actions into acceptable ones. The above sayingof the Prophet (saw) specifically relates to acts of worship and permissibleactions, not to forbidden ones. Worship and permissible actions can be turnedinto forbidden ones because of the intentions behind them, and permissibleactions can become either good or bad deeds by intention; but wrong actionscannot become acts of worship, even with good intentions.(3)When bad intentions are accompanied by flaws in the actions themselves, thentheir gravity and punishment are multiplied.

Any praiseworthy act must be rooted in sound intentions; only thencould it be deemed worthy of reward. The fundamental principle should be thatthe act is intended for the worship of Allah alone. If our intention is to showoff, then these same acts of worship will in fact become acts of disobedience.As for permissible deeds, they all involve intentions -- which can potentiallyturn them into excellent acts which bring a man nearer to Allah and confer onhim the gift of closeness to Him.

The Excellence of Intention

Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

The best acts are doing what Allah has commanded, staying for awayfrom what Allah has forbidden, and having sincere intentions towards what-everAllah has required of us."(4)

Some of our predecessors said:

Many small actions are made great by the intentions behind them.Many great actions, on the other hand, are made small because the intentionsbehind them are lacking.

Yahya Ibn Abu Kathir said:

Learn about intentions, for their importance is greater than theimportance of actions.

Ibn Umar once heard a man who was putting on his ihram say:"O Allah! I intend to do the Hajj and Umrah." So he said to him:"Is it not in fact the people whom you are informing of your intention?Does not Allah already know what is in your heart?"(5) Itis because good intentions are exclusively the concern of the heart, that theyshould not be voiced during worship.

The Excellence of Knowledge andTeaching

There are many proofs in the Qur'an concerning the excellence ofknowledge and its transmission. Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, says:

"Allah will raise up to high ranks those of you who believeand those who have been given knowledge. (58:11)"

And also:

"Are those who know equal to those who do not know?(39:9)

Also , in the Hadith, the Prophet (saw) says, "When Allahdesires good for someone, He gives him understanding of the religion."(6) He(saw) also said, "Allah makes the way to the Garden easy for whoevertreads a path in search of knowledge."(7)

Traveling on the path to knowledge refers both to walking along anactual pathway, such as going on foot to the assemblies of the `ulama,as well as to following a metaphysical road, such as studying and memorizing.

The above saying of the Prophet (saw) probably means that Allahmakes learning the useful knowledge that is sought after easier for the seeker,clearing the way for him and smoothing his journey. Some of our predecessorsused to say: "Is there anyone seeking knowledge, so that we can assist himin finding it?"

This hadith also alludes to the road leading to the Garden on theDay of Judgement, which is the straight path and to what precedes it and whatcomes after it.

Knowledge is also the shortest path to Allah. Whoever travels theroad of knowledge reaches Allah and the Garden by the shortest route. Knowledgealso clears the way out of darkness, ignorance, doubt and scepticism. This iswhy Allah called His Book, "Light".

Al-Bukhari and Muslim have reported on the authority of Abdullahibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

Truly, Allah will not take away knowledge by snatching it awayfrom people, but by taking away the lives of the people of knowledge one by oneuntil none of them survive. Then the people will adopt ignorant ones as theirleaders. They will be asked to deliver judgments and they will give themwithout knowledge, with the result that they will go astray and lead othersastray.

When 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit was asked about this hadith he said: Ifyou want, I will tell you what the highest knowledge is, which raises people inrank: it is humility."

He said this because there are two types of knowledge.

The first produces its fruit in the heart. It is knowledge ofAllah, the Exalted - His Names, His Attributes, and His Acts - which commandsfear, respect, exaltation, love, supplication and reliance on Him. this is thebeneficial type of knowledge. As Ibn Mas'ud said: "they will recite theQur'an, but it will not go beyond their throats. The Qur'an is only beneficialwhen it reaches the heart and is firmly planted in it."

Al-Hasan said:

There are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge of the tongue, whichcan be a case against the son of Adam, as is mentioned in the hadith of theProphet (saw): 'The Qur'an is either a case for you or a case against you'(8),and knowledge of the heart, which is beneficial knowledge. The second kind isthe beneficial kind which raises people in rank; it is the inner knowledgewhich is absorbed by the heart and puts it right. The knowledge that is on thetongue is taken lightly by people: neither those who possess it, nor anyoneelse, act upon it, and then it vanishes when its owners vanish on the Day ofJudgment, when creation will be brought to account.

NOTES:

1. Al-Bukhari and Muslim

2. Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Qadar, 11/499.

3. This is illustrated in a hadithrecorded by Imam Muslim in his Sahih, in which it is related on theauthority of Abu Dharr that the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, "You will receive the reward for sadaqa even whenyou have sexual intercourse with your wives." The sahaba said, "Willwe really be rewarded for satisfying our physical desires?" He replied,"If you have forbidden intercourse, you will be committing a sin;similarly, if you have lawful intercourse, you will be rewarded." Imam an-Nawawisaid, "This hadith clearly shows that permissible actions become acts ofobedience if there is a good intention behind them; sexual intercourse becomesan act of worship if it is accompanied by any one of the following goodintentions: keeping company with your wife in kindness, as Allah ta'Ala hascommanded; hoping to have, as a result of intercourse, good and righteousoffspring; guarding your chastity and that of your wife; helping to prevent haramlustful glances or thoughts, or forbidden intercourse; and any other goodintention."

4. Tahdhib al'Asma' li-Nawawi,1/173. Abu Ishaq ash-Shirazi once entered the mosque to have something to eat,as was his custom, and then realized that he had dropped a dinar. He retracedhis steps and found it lying on the ground, but then left it where it was,saying, "Perhaps it is not mine; perhaps it belongs to somebodyelse."

5. Sahih, Ja'mi 'l-'Ulumwa'l-Hikam, p. 19.

6. Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

7. Muslim, 21/17.

8. Muslim, Kitab at-Tahara,3/99.

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