Explanations on the Hadith ‘Actions are by Intentions’

Praise be to Allah,

 

It is reported that the leader of the believers Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb – may God be pleased with him – said: I heard God’s Messenger may God’s blessings and peace be upon him – saying, ’Verily works are only according to intentions, and each person [gets] what he intends. Whosoever has migrated to God and His Messenger, his migration is to God and His Messenger, and whosoever has migrated to obtain a worldly means or to marry a woman, his migration is for the sake of what he has migrated for.’

 

[This ḥadīth was narrated by the two masters of all Ḥadīth experts, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muhammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al- Mughīrah ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhārī al-Juʿfī and Abū’l-Ḥusayn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim al-Qushayrī al-Naysābūrī in their respective collections of rigorously authenticated prophetic sayings, which are the most reliable books written in the field].

 

Both Imām Aḥmad and Imām Shāfiʿī stated that ‘In the prophetic saying: “Works are according to intentions…” is included a third of all [sacred] knowledge’; this was reported by Bayhaqī and others. The reason for this lies in the fact that what the servant acquires [of works] is limited to his heart, tongue, or limbs, and the intention belongs to one of these three categories. It is also related from Imām Shāfiʿī that he said, ‘Included in this prophetic saying are seventy subcategories of fiqh.’ A group of scholars also said, ‘This prophetic saying amounts to a third of Islam.’

Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī stated, ‘It is incumbent upon everyone who authors a book to start it with this prophetic saying to alert the student of knowledge to correct his intention.[i]’

 

The niyyah (intention), which is primarily in the heart, serves two functions:

 

1) To define the worship intended – for example, what specific prayer will one be performing at a given time, or whether a ghusl (bath) is one required for the lifting of impurity or is a sunnah, such as that preceding iḥrām for ḥajj or ‘umrah.

2) To discern whether the particular act is one of worship – i.e., performed for Allah, or is one of habit, custom, or worldly motivation[ii].

 

Imam Abu Dawood stated that this hadith is one-half of Islam; that is, Islam comprises what is apparent, the deeds of Islam, as well as what is not apparent, the intention behind the deeds. Abu Ubaid[iii] said about this hadith, “There is no report of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) that is more comprehensive, self-sufficient and having more important points to it than this hadith.”[iv]

 

Sheikh Uthaymeen (May Allah have mercy on him) says,

 

“This hadith is half of the worship because it is the scale of the inward actions. As well, the hadith of Aishah,

 

“Whoever innovates into this affair ours that which is not from it shall have it rejected.”

This hadith is half of the religion because it is the scale of outward actions[v].

 

Regarding this Hadith, the people of knowledge[vi] say: it is one of the four Hadith around which Islam revolves, and they are[vii]:

 

Firstly: this Hadith,

“Certainly, actions are considered based on the intentions”

Secondly: The Hadith,

“Certainly, that which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear “[viii]

Thirdly: The Hadith,

“Hold back from that in the hands of people and the people will love you,”[ix]

Fourthly: The Hadith,

“From the perfection of the religion of a man is that he leaves what concerns him not . . .”[x]

 

This hadith is a foundation (as/ from the principles of Islam (usul/ al-din). It is not permissible for any Muslim to perform any duty that Allah has made incumbent upon them or draw nearer to Him through obligatory acts except with a sincere (khalisa) and truthful intention (niyyah al-sadiqa). This action should be free from showing off (riya’) and the desire of fame (suma’). Instead, it should be performed only by seeking Allah’s reward. Furthermore, this action should be free of prescribing partners with Allah because Allah only accepts actions, which are done sincerely for His sake regardless of any reward in this life. The scholars did not differ concerning this point[xi].

 

The Circumstances Behind the Hadith[xii]

 

Saeed ibn Mansoor and al-Tabaraani record on the authority of ibn Masood that this hadith was stated concerning a man who wanted to marry a woman named Umm Qais but she refused to marry him unless he would migrate from Makkah to Madinah. Therefore, he migrated to marry her. ibn Masood said that afterward he was called “the migrant of Umm Qais”. According to ibn Hajr, the chains of this narration are authentic. However, he points out that there is nothing in that narration that explicitly states that it was the cause for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to say, “Actions are but by intention . . . ” Ibn Hajr does make the point that this statement does apply to that person even though he probably was not the cause behind the statement[xiii]. His intention was different from the intention of the muhajiran. Their goal was to please Allah and His Messenger while his goal was to marry Umm Qays. For this reason, he was named Muhajir Umm Qays and Allah knows best.[xiv]’

Allah Knows Best

 

Sources:

 

[i] Ibn Daqiq al-ʿId A TREASURY OF HADITH. A Commentary on Nawawi’s Forty Prophetic Traditions Translated by Mokrane Guezzou. Page 22

[ii] The 40 hadith of Al-Imam-Al- Nawawi, Abridged form Arabic sources by Umm Muhammad. Abul Qasim Publishing house. Page 1

[iii] In some cases, this is mentioned as a quote from Abu Ubaid while in other cases it is mentioned as a statement of Abu Abdullah. The latter would imply al-Bukhari.

[iv] Quoted by ibn Hajr, Fath, vol. 1, p. 1 7.

[v] Explanatory notes on Imam Al- Nawawee’s forty ahadith (revised) Based on the works of Sheikh Saalih Al-Uthaymeen. Translated by Abu Mua’waiyyah Aqeel Ibn kenneth Ingram. Page 21

[vi] See: At-Tamhid by Ibn ‘Abdil-Barr (9/201), Sharh An-Nawawi ‘aid Sahih Muslim (11/27), Jam i’ Al-‘Ulum wal-Hikam (9), Subulus-Salam (4/171), ‘Umdat Al-Qdri (1/299), Kashf Al-Khafa (1/10), Al-Ashbah wan- Nazair (9), Nayl Al-Awtdr (5/322). Quoted in -The explanation of Imam al-Nawawi’s 40 Hadith by Dr Saalih Al-Fawzaan. Page- 18

[vii] The explanation of Imam al-Nawawi’s 40 Hhadith by Dr Saalih Al-Fawzaan. Page- 18

[viii] Collected by Al- ‘Bukhari (52) and Muslim (1599) from the Hadith of Nu’man bin Bashir (radiya Allahu anhuma)

[ix] Collected by Ibn Majah in his Sunan (4102), At-Tabaran! in Al-Kabir (5972), Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak (4/348), Al-BayhaqT in Shu’ab A llman (7/344) from the Hadith of Sahl bin Sa‘d

[x] Collected by At-TirmidhT (2317), Ibn Majah in his Sunan (3976), Ibn Hibban in his $ahih (1/466) and At-TabaranI in Al-Awsat (3/188) from the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah

[xi] Imam Abi Bakr Muhammad Ibn al-Husayn Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ajurri [d.360H] FORTY HADITH on ISLAM being a translation of ‘Kitab ul-Arba‘n’. page 32

[xii] Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi. Volume 1 By Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo. Page 99

[xiii] Ibn Hajr, Fath, vol. 1 , p. 1 0- 1 1 .

[xiv] Imam Abi Bakr Muhammad Ibn al-Husayn Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ajurri [d.360H] FORTY HADITH on ISLAM being a translation of ‘Kitab ul-Arba‘n’. page 33