Nawawi's 40 Hadith -- Intention

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate 

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam

Some people think that Islam is all about robotically performing religious rituals. These erroneous perceptions of Islam don’t do justice to the religion’s beautiful simplicity and sound reasoning.

A Sahih Hadith in Bukhari and Muslim informs us that Allah judges all deeds by their intentions. He will reward everyone for their actions based on their intentions. If one migrates to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger. This is perfectly in line with the person’s noble motive for migration. On the other hand, one may migrate to attain some worldly gain, or perhaps for marrying a wife. In this case, his migration is to what he migrated for and not to Allah and His Messenger.

It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Mu'minin, Abu Hafs 'Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) who said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) say: "Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated."  [Bukhari & Muslim]

This hadith clearly demonstrates the necessity for every Muslim to have the correct intention when performing an action. Indeed, the acceptance of one’s faith and deeds by Allah is dependent on one’s intentions. The same applies to one’s general day to day actions.

The comprehensive nature of Islam means that one’s whole life can be an act of worship, as long as one’s sole aim in life is to please Allah. Thus, ordinary daily activities can become acts of worship if one performs them with pure intentions while seeking Allah’s pleasure through them.

There are certain conditions for everyday acts to be worthy of reward from Allah. Firstly, the action should be permissible. If it’s something that is forbidden, the doer is deserving of punishment. Secondly, Islamic law must not be violated in any way. One’s action should be free of any deceit, persecution, and injustice. Finally, the action should not be something that obstructs one from fulfilling his or her religious duties.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam. 

And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all. 

Wassalaam