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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 which runs like conquests inspired by Allah. At times it is made
easy, at other times, difficult. A person whose heart is overwhelmingly
righteous finds it easy to summon good intentions at most times. Such a
person has a heart generally inclined to the roots of goodness which, most of
the time, blossom into the manifestation of good actions. As for those
whose hearts include towards and are overwhelmed by worldy matters, they find
this difficult to accomplish and even obligatory acts of worship may become
difficult and tiresome.
The Prophet (saw) said: "Actions are only by intention, and every man shall only
have what he intended. Thus he whose hijra was for Allah and was for Allah
and His Messenger, his hijra was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose hijra
was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his hijra
was for that for which he made hijra."(1)
Imam ash-Shaf'i said: "This hadith is a third of all knowledge." The words,
"actions are only by intention", mean that deeds which are performed in
accordance with the sunnah are only acceptable and rewarded if the intentions
behind them were sincere. It is like the 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 he intended", mean that the
reward for an action depends upon the intention behind it. After stating
this principle, the Prophet (saw) gave examples of it by saying, "thus he the
Prophet (saw) gave examples of it by saying, "Thus he whose hijra was for Allah
and His Messenger, his hijra was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose hijra
was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman I marriage, his hira
was for that for which he made hijra." So deeds which are apparently identical
may differ, because the intentions behind them are different in degrees of
goodness and badness, from one person to another.
Good intentions do not change the nature of forbidden actions. The ignorant
should not misconstrue the meaning of the hadith and think that good intentions
could turn forbidden actions into acceptable ones. The above saying of the
Prophet (saw) specifically relates to acts of worship and permissible actions,
not to forbidden ones. Worship and permissible actions can be turned into
forbidden ones because of the intentions behind them, and permissible actions
can become either good or bad deeds by intention; but wrong actions cannot
become acts of worship, even with good intentions.(3) When bad intentions are
accompanied by flaws in the actions themselves, then their gravity and
punishment are multiplied.
Any praiseworthy act must be rooted in sound intentions; only then could it be
deemed worthy of reward. The fundamental principle should be that the act
is intended for the
worship of Allah alone. If our intention is to show off, then these same acts of
worship will in fact become acts of disobedience. As for permissible
deeds, they all involve intentions -- which can potentially turn them into
excellent acts which bring a man nearer to Allah and confer on him 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 away from what Allah has forbidden,
and having sincere intentions towards what-ever Allah 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 intentions behind them are lacking."
Yahya Ibn Abu Kathir said: "Learn about intentions, for their importance is
greater than the importance 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) It is because good intentions are exclusively the concern of
the heart, that they should not be voiced during worship.
The Excellence of Knowledge and Teaching
There are many proofs in the Qur'an concerning the excellence of knowledge and
its transmission. Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, says:
"Allah will raise up to high ranks those of you
who believe and 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 Allah desires good for
someone, He gives him understanding of the deen."(6) He (saw) also said, "Allah
makes the way to the Garden easy for whoever treads a path in search of
knowledge."(7)
Traveling on the path to knowledge refers both to walking along an actual
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 Allah makes learning
the useful knowledge that is sought after easier for the seeker, clearing the
way for him and smoothing his journey. Some of our predecessors used to
say: "Is there anyone seeking knowledge, so that we can assist him in finding
it?"
This hadith also alludes to the road leading to the Garden on the Day of
Judgment, which is the straight path and to what precedes it and what comes
after it.
Knowledge is also the shortest path to Allah. Whoever travels the road of
knowledge reaches Allah and the Garden by the shortest route. Knowledge
also clears the way out of darkness, ignorance, doubt and skepticism. This is
why Allah called His Book, "Light".
Al-Bukhari and Muslim have reported on the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar that
the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Truly, Allah will not take away knowledge by
snatching it away from people, but by taking away the lives of the people of
knowledge one by one until none of them survive. Then the people will
adopt ignorant ones as their leaders. They will be asked to deliver
judgments and they will give them without knowledge, with the result that they
will go astray and lead others astray."
When 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit was asked about this hadith he said: If you want, I
will tell you what the highest knowledge is, which raises people in rank: it is
humility."
He said this because there are two types of knowledge. The first produces its
fruit in the heart. It is knowledge of Allah, the Exalted - His Names, His
Attributes, and His Acts - which commands fear, respect, exaltation, love,
supplication and reliance on Him. this is the beneficial type of knowledge. As
ibn Mas'ud said: "they will recite the Quran, but
it will not go beyond their throats. The Quran is only beneficial when it
reaches the heart and is firmly planted in it."
Al-Hasan said: "There are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge of the tongue, which
can be a case against the son of Adam, as is mentioned in the hadith of the
Prophet (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 is the
beneficial kind which raises people in rank; it is the inner knowledge which is
absorbed by the heart and puts it right. The knowledge that is on the tongue is
taken lightly by people: neither those who possess it, nor anyone else, act upon
it, and then it vanishes when its owners vanish on the Day of Judgment,
when creation will be brought to account."
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