The Importance of Intention
Know that when you desire to perform any act of obedience, no matterhow small, you must have a conscious intention. That means that youintend to please Allah by your action. Your intention should besimultaneous with the action. This includes all acts of worship: theprayer, fasting, wudu', tayammum, retreat, hajj, paying the zakat,giving charity, taking care of needs, visiting th sick, following afuneral, initiating the greeting and returning it, blessing anyone whosneezes, objecting to what is rejected as wrong, and commanding what isrecognized as right, answering an invitation, attending gatherings ofknowledge and dhikr, visiting virtuous people, spending on your familyand guests, honoring the people you love and close relatives, learningknowledge and discussing it, repeating it, teaching it, instructing init, reading it, writing it and putting it in order, giving legalopinions (fatwas), and any other similar actions. It is applicable tosuch an extent that you should make an intention when you eat, drink,or go to sleep. By doing this, you intend fearful awareness inobedience to Allah, or to give the body a rest in order to have moreenergy for obeying Allah. It is the same when you want to have sexualintercourse with your wife. You intend by it to give her the rights dueto her, to obtain a good child who will worship Allah, and to refrainfrom looking at what is haram and dwelling on it and to protectyourself from it.
Whoever lacks an intention in these actions is denied great good.Whoever is successful in making one has been given a vast favor. We askAllah the Generous for success in this matter and in all aspects ofgood. The proof of this principle is contained in the words of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Indeed, actions areaccording to intentions, and every man has what he intends!"
They say that someone said to Habib ibn 'Abi Thabit at-Tabi'i, themufti of the people of Kufa and a very reliable man, "Tell us about themost difficult thing to do!" He replied, "To have a consciousintention!"
Sufyan ath-Thawri stated, "I do not have to deal with anything more difficult for me than my intention."
Yazid ibn Harun said, "The only reason intention is so exalted in the hadith is because of its nobility."
Ibn 'Abbas stated, "Man is protected according to his intention."
Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i said, "I would like people to learnthis, even though not one single letter of it is ascribed to me."
Ash-Shafi'i also said, "I have never competed with anyone with the ideaof defeating him. Whenever I compete with anyone, it is only in orderto show him the truth."
He also said, "I have never spoken to anyone without wanting successfor him, and desiring that he be directed to the right way, be helpedand have protection and preservation from Allah Almighty."
Abu Yusuf, Abu Hanifa's disciple, stated, "I desire to teach you forthe sake of Allah. I never sit down in any assembly in which I intendto be humble without standing up having elevated them. And I do not sitdown in any assembly in which I intend to elevate them without standingup having been compromised."
-Imam Abu Zakariyya Muhyi'd-din ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi, The Garden of the Gnostics (Bustan-ul-Arifeen)
Know that when you desire to perform any act of obedience, no matterhow small, you must have a conscious intention. That means that youintend to please Allah by your action. Your intention should besimultaneous with the action. This includes all acts of worship: theprayer, fasting, wudu', tayammum, retreat, hajj, paying the zakat,giving charity, taking care of needs, visiting th sick, following afuneral, initiating the greeting and returning it, blessing anyone whosneezes, objecting to what is rejected as wrong, and commanding what isrecognized as right, answering an invitation, attending gatherings ofknowledge and dhikr, visiting virtuous people, spending on your familyand guests, honoring the people you love and close relatives, learningknowledge and discussing it, repeating it, teaching it, instructing init, reading it, writing it and putting it in order, giving legalopinions (fatwas), and any other similar actions. It is applicable tosuch an extent that you should make an intention when you eat, drink,or go to sleep. By doing this, you intend fearful awareness inobedience to Allah, or to give the body a rest in order to have moreenergy for obeying Allah. It is the same when you want to have sexualintercourse with your wife. You intend by it to give her the rights dueto her, to obtain a good child who will worship Allah, and to refrainfrom looking at what is haram and dwelling on it and to protectyourself from it.
Whoever lacks an intention in these actions is denied great good.Whoever is successful in making one has been given a vast favor. We askAllah the Generous for success in this matter and in all aspects ofgood. The proof of this principle is contained in the words of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Indeed, actions areaccording to intentions, and every man has what he intends!"
They say that someone said to Habib ibn 'Abi Thabit at-Tabi'i, themufti of the people of Kufa and a very reliable man, "Tell us about themost difficult thing to do!" He replied, "To have a consciousintention!"
Sufyan ath-Thawri stated, "I do not have to deal with anything more difficult for me than my intention."
Yazid ibn Harun said, "The only reason intention is so exalted in the hadith is because of its nobility."
Ibn 'Abbas stated, "Man is protected according to his intention."
Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i said, "I would like people to learnthis, even though not one single letter of it is ascribed to me."
Ash-Shafi'i also said, "I have never competed with anyone with the ideaof defeating him. Whenever I compete with anyone, it is only in orderto show him the truth."
He also said, "I have never spoken to anyone without wanting successfor him, and desiring that he be directed to the right way, be helpedand have protection and preservation from Allah Almighty."
Abu Yusuf, Abu Hanifa's disciple, stated, "I desire to teach you forthe sake of Allah. I never sit down in any assembly in which I intendto be humble without standing up having elevated them. And I do not sitdown in any assembly in which I intend to elevate them without standingup having been compromised."
-Imam Abu Zakariyya Muhyi'd-din ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi, The Garden of the Gnostics (Bustan-ul-Arifeen)
