Yaman Omran

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

My dear brothers and sisters, our Prophet ﷺ taught us a very important concept that desperately needs to be understood by every believer in our time and age, in our time and place. And that is the concept of the intention. Umar ibn al-Khattab r.a narrates that he heard the Prophet ﷺ say that verily actions are exclusively by their intentions.

And this is a very common hadith that we hear and we might have heard before. But let's spend some time with the Prophet ﷺ and reflect on his words. Our scholars like Imam al-Nawawi r.a when they recorded this hadith, they recorded this hadith as the introductory hadith.

In his works like Al-Arba'een al-Nawawi and Riyad al-Saliheen, this is the very first hadith that introduces us to the work. Because our scholars understood that if we were to imagine all of our actions that we do, everything that we do, religious and non-religious, if we were to imagine our actions being like a structure of some sort, like a building or a home, if we can imagine our actions to be that structure, then the foundation is the intention. If the foundation is right, the rest of the structure is right.

And the rest of the structure will stand tall and will last. But if the intention is corrupted, if there are cracks in the intention, there are cracks in the foundation of our faith. And the structure of our faith can very well collapse.

The Foundation of Our Actions

So just like our scholars, may Allah be pleased with them all, just like they opened their works and began their works with this hadith of the intention, of understanding the niyyah, the power and the importance of the intention, similarly, we have to begin our actions, we have to begin our days, we have to begin everything we do with the right intention that constantly needs to be renewed and focused on.

So if we were to define the intention very briefly, we would say that the intention is simply being present and being mindful of what we're doing. That whenever we're doing anything, that we have this internal dialogue within ourselves, we tell ourselves what is it that we're doing and why we're doing it. Simply answering the what and the why.

And this is so monumental, it's so important that it's a pillar in the practice of our religion that many of the acts that we do, like the ritual washing before the prayer, the wudu, a pillar of the wudu, in order for the wudu to be valid, is to have the right intention. In order for the salah to be accepted, it has to have the right intention.

Because we have prayers that are identical, like the four-unit prayers of Dhuhr and Isha that are identical in every way. And it's not just the timing that separates them. But when we come to them, we have to have the right intention. Otherwise, that can affect the validity of our prayer.

Even when we give zakah versus giving any other donation, we have to give it with the right intention for it to be valid, for it to count. And it has to be done in the time of giving it. It cannot be done retroactively. That a previous transaction becomes zakah even though it was not given with that intention. This is the monumental importance of the intention, the right niyyah.

Our Salvation Depends on Intention

And our salvation, our very salvation depends on the niyyah. And it would be a mistake for us to do all of our actions mindlessly. This is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and His Prophet ﷺ do not want us to become. He does not want us to become just drones who just mindlessly do things. Because when we do things mindlessly, it loses meaning. And when it loses meaning, it loses impact. And it becomes all for nothing.

In surah al-Bayyinah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us the dangers of a bad intention. And He also tells us that it's obligated. How it's obligated for us when we do anything to have the sincere intention to do whatever we do for the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

That there were people who were given guidance. They were given divine truth. But only after they received the guidance did they fall apart. Did they fight with each other. Did the community completely fall apart and they began bickering with each other, trying to dominate each other. And they fell into disunity after guidance came. And that's because of the wrong intention. That it's possible for us as Muslims to have divine truth in our hands, to have guidance, but with the wrong intention it can actually lead to destruction from that wrong intention.

They weren't ordered to do this. They weren't ordered to use the guidance as a weapon against each other, to dominate each other, to beat over each other's heads with this truth, to establish some sort of worldly authority and get some sort of material gain. This is not what the truth is for. Our role here is to worship Allah, مُخْلِصِينَ, is to be as sincere as we can to worship Allah and to do everything for His pleasure and His pleasure only.

Imam Al-Ghazali, رحمه الله, said that, إخلاص, in this case, that sincerity comes from the heart and it comes from صدق النية. إخلاص comes from صدق النية. Sincerity comes from purity of intention. That's the inception point. That's where all goodness emanates from.

The Danger of Corrupt Intentions

And for our salvation as well, our Prophet ﷺ educated us on the dangers of the corrupt intention that he ﷺ told us that on the last day, on the day of judgment, the first to be held to account and thrown into the hellfire isn't the disbeliever. It's actually those who purportedly were believers. And they'll be brought in front of Allah and they will have all these good deeds shown to them.

And Allah ﷻ will ask them, why did you do these good deeds? He will bring those who learned in the path of Allah and taught in the path of Allah seemingly. He will bring those who fought and died in the path of Allah and left that impression on people in this world that they were sincere. He will also bring the ones who donated generously for the cause of Allah as the perception was in this world of the people.

So Allah will ask them, why did you do all these deeds? And they will say, we did it for your sake, ya Allah. But Allah will respond to them and will say, you lie. You did not do this for my sake. You did this, you did all these good deeds in order for people to say, so-and-so was knowledgeable, so-and-so was generous, so-and-so was courageous and brave. That's why you did it.

And Allah ﷻ will tell them two words we seek His protection from. We never want to hear these words. Allah will say, وَقَدْ قِيلَ that you wanted people to say this and it was said. وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَىٰ Everyone will get what they intend for.

If we intend for popularity, if we intend for prestige in this world, if we intend for some sort of worldly authority, worldly power or just YouTube views and Facebook hits, if that's what we want, that's what we'll get. Allah ﷻ is fair in His justice. He will reward good deeds from anybody. But the reward will be based on the intention. And it's possible that to get the reward in this world and to have nothing to show for it in the hereafter. And we seek Allah's protection from that.

Actions and Intentions Are Inseparable

So we understand the obligation of the niyyah that it's necessary and foundational for our salvation. So let's reflect on the words of Rasulullah ﷺ when he said, إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ. Our linguists have commented that a single letter in just these three words إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ. This بَا here has tremendous implication and meaning. And this is the power of the Arabic language. That one single letter can mean so much.

And this letter is called بَا المُلَاصَقَة. And what this means is actions and intentions don't just depend on each other or are peripherally connected somehow. They are fused together. They're inseparable. They're mutual and they're exclusive to each other. And they're reciprocal as well.

So what does that mean? That first and foremost, whatever action we do, whether Allah will accept our action or reject our action, solely depends on the intention. And it does not depend on the results. The acceptance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala of our deeds to Him, His acceptance of our deeds depends on our intentions, not the results.

Our Prophet ﷺ told us, that if the day of judgment is upon you and I and there is a seed in our hands, then we should plant the seed. And this seems counterintuitive on the face of it. That why would we do something and we know we're not gonna see the fruits of it. If the day of judgment is upon us, that means the universe is about to be obliterated. It's about to all come to an end. So why do something knowing we won't see the results?

Why try to help the people of Palestine, the people of Burma, when the results aren't really in our hands geopolitically? Why try to feed the homeless when the problem is so bad and we might not necessarily see the results? Why do all these good deeds and we won't see the results? Because it doesn't matter about the results.

Doing something and knowing you won't see the results of it, like in this example, like Muhammad ﷺ taught us, is the ultimate act of sincerity. Knowing for sure that the world will end and you won't see the fruits of it, but you still do it, is the ultimate act of sincerity that can save you on the day of judgment. That that act by itself can weigh so heavily in your scale of good deeds that it earns you the mercy of Allah ﷻ. That's what matters. That's what matters in the end.

The People of Paradise and Pure Intention

In Surah Al-Insan, Allah describes the people of paradise and He describes what they did in this world.

Allah describes the people of paradise and what they did in this world and He says that they set out and they feed the poor against the love of their wealth and for the love of the poor. So what is their intention here? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala highlights the intention and in this case the intention is actually greater than the action in and of itself.

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ We only feed you because we want to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and this is not a spoken dialogue this is an internal dialogue that they're saying in and of themselves they're not telling the people whom they're serving this they're saying this to themselves that internal dialogue that purity of intention that we're doing this only for وَجْهِ اللَّهِ we want to please Allah we want to see the face of Allah in paradise the ultimate gift to the believers we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us from them the ultimate gift is the pleasure of Allah and to see the face of Allah in Jannah that's why we're doing it.

So how does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala respond to that?

Allah says we saved them from the evil of the day of judgment from whatever bad was going to happen on the day of judgment we saved them from it. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks in the past tense even though these people are in this world doing the deed. Allah is saying because of that purity of intention that was greater than the action itself it's as if it's a done deal they're saved they're good to go because they got it right they got the foundation right the foundation is solid that we do things solely for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Example of Musa (Peace Be Upon Him)

And one of the best examples of this is Musa alayhis salam, Moses peace be upon him, in surah al-qasas. Allah highlights a part of Musa's story where he had to flee from Egypt. Musa had to flee from Egypt as a fugitive and he went to a town called Median and we have to understand the situation of Musa here. Musa was homeless, penniless, jobless, and he was an immigrant in a new land. He had nothing with him.

And he came across two women who had their flock with them their flock of sheep and they were struggling with their flock of sheep holding them back because they had to take them to a well but all the other men were at the well so they were waiting for their turn so Musa alayhis salam noticed them struggling and he walks up to them and says what's going on and they explain to them and the women explain to Musa alayhis salam of what they're doing and that our father because he's elderly we have to work.

So Musa takes the flock and goes and feeds the sheep for them and brings it back and their work is done and Allah documents something amazing here he documents Musa's behavior that Musa did the good deed and then he turned away completely from them and sought shelter in the shade of a tree and made a sincere dua to Allah ya Allah whatever you can give me in this situation is khair anything you give me is good.

Allah says that he turned away completely and this is a sign of sincerity this is a part of prophetic character of perfect character that when we do a good deed we don't stick around for the accolades and for the thank yous and for the congratulations even though there's nothing necessarily wrong with that the prophet also taught us whoever doesn't thank people doesn't thank Allah we have to give people their dues at times to give them the proper thanks and to show them your appreciation.

But the ultimate act of sincerity when you help someone who needed to be helped is to turn away from them and our scholars have commented here that this is a part of prophetic character that we don't want any slight reward not even a thank you not even to see the bashfulness on the face of whomever you've helped because when you help somebody they feel out of disadvantage they feel like they were the ones who were in need and as if they owe you something.

So that bashfulness might be on their face that embarrassment might be on their face and they might feel obliged to thank you and say how can I repay you but the ultimate act of sincerity isn't to stick around, interview them see how they feel none of that it's to turn away completely where you don't even want to embarrass them and this is a part of helping people in our religion that when we help people we don't make them feel like we're doing them a favor we should make them feel like they're doing us a favor and that we don't need anything from them at all no thanks, nothing we should actually be thanking them for the opportunity and this is the ultimate act of sincerity.

And what happened to Musa? when he did this sincere act this relatively small sincere act and then he made that simple dua the women came back and brought him to their father because Musa heard they told Musa that he was Shaykh Kabir so Musa could have taken that and said oh if he's a big Shaykh if he might be a known personality in the community maybe he can help me no, it's absolute and full dependence on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that I'm not going to get anything out of this good deed I'm just going to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So he was brought to the father of the women. The father tells Musa after Musa told him قَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْقَصَصِ he told him his stories and his stories were plenty of how he arrived in this situation the father says you've been saved from the oppressors نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ.

SubhanAllah how many times do we make this dua اللَّهُمَّ نَجِّنَا مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ ya Allah save us from the oppressors we see the situation in Al-Quds we see the situation with the Muslims worldwide and we make dua oh Allah save us from the oppressors what does Allah highlight here it might very well be a sincere act that we do without seeking any sort of accolades done in secret and it could be a sincere dua that brings the help of Allah that brings the blessings of Allah showering upon us.

The moment we make dua for our brothers and sisters in Al-Quds for Al-Quds because Al-Quds belongs to all Muslims and we ask Allah to liberate Al-Quds from the oppressors the moment we make dua for our brothers and sisters worldwide with the sincerity of the parent who makes dua for their child who's sick in the hospital the willingness to get up in the last third of the night and shed those tears of sincerity of pain the moment we're making that kind of dua for our ummah that will be the test of sincerity that is what's going to bring the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Intention in All Our Actions

And also what we note here is the general language that the Prophet ﷺ used in the hadith إنما الأعمال بالنيات he didn't specify this for just religious acts this is for all actions.

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

He ﷺ also told us that no type of exhaustion or fatigue or worry or depression or sadness afflicts the believer even the prick of a thorn except that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgives his sins from that.

And we might unfortunately have this incorrect perception of what piety means and what worshipping Allah means we think it might mean being in the masjid being in the mosque 24x7. No, Islam is a way of life it permeates everything we do and it's possible that those of us who have to work full time and who aren't in the masjid for that reason to support a family it's possible that with the right intention that that becomes an act of worship.

That at the end of the day the one who works and is fatigued by the end of the day is tired at the end of the day. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala writes that fatigue as an act of worship and forgives his sins just from that with the right intention and inshallah in the second half we'll talk about some more practical aspects.

أقول قولي هذا واستغفر الله لي ولكم فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم

الحمد لله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمد عبده ورسوله

The Philosopher's Stone of Islam

If we were to summarize the power of the intention of the pure niyyah historically there was a discussion amongst people of the past about something called the philosopher's stone. What was the philosopher's stone? The philosopher's stone was some mythical element or chemical that if applied to anything will turn it into gold. And obviously no such thing exists in the material sense but in Islam we do have something like that.

We do have the philosopher's stone and that is the intention. The intention if applied to any action if the intention is pure for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala it will turn that action into gold that will weigh mightily in the scale of good deeds on the day of judgment.

Practical Guidance for Pure Intentions

So first and foremost my dear brothers and sisters we just need to be mindful of what we do and why we do it. That when we do anything when we do salah, when we give donation when we go to work when we're with our family, serving our parents serving our children, serving our spouses that we just have that, we take a few seconds to have that internal dialogue what am I doing and why am I doing it? And it has to be for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's pleasure only.

And when we do good actions we should try to do good actions in secret, there's nothing wrong with publicizing good actions especially in an age of Islamophobia where the perception of Islam is a corrupted one but we shouldn't confuse that with sincerity. The ultimate sincere act is the act done in secret to the extent that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala promises his shade on a day where there's no shade to whom?

The man who gives sadaqa, he donates and he donates not just his money his time, his efforts, his strength in secret to the extent that his left hand has no idea what his right hand is doing. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rewards that type of sincerity on the day of judgment the most stressful horrifying day imaginable he promises this person security one amongst seven groups of people who are promised the shade of Allah on a day where there is no shade.

Making Du'a for Sincerity

And lastly, we have to make dua for sincerity. Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said or she was asked rather what was the most frequent dua of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and she would know because she lived with him as his wife.

She said the dua that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said most frequently was O turner of hearts because the human being's heart turns a lot and at times we're sincere and at times we're insincere and this is okay this is a struggle, it's a lifelong project and struggle but we have to make dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to keep our heart firm on his faith, to keep our heart firm on his religion on a way of life that pleases him best.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us from those who are sincere in our worship, may he make us from those who constantly renew our intentions to be for his sake only may he grant us the best of this world and the next.