Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali (may Allah have Mercy on him) said:

“Know that intention (niyyah), will (iradah), and goal (qasd) are various terms that all mean the same thing, and it is a description of the state of the heart when it is a source for two things:

knowledge and action.

Knowledge comes first - as it is the foundation and condition - and action follows it, since it is the fruit that branches from knowledge. This is because every action – that is, every intentional movement and motion – does not occur without three things: knowledge, will, and ability. Nobody does something without knowing of it. So, he must have knowledge.

Likewise, nobody does something without having the will to do it. So, one must have the will to do something, and the meaning of will (iradah) is that the heart reaches out to what it sees as being in accordance with what it seeks.

The human was created such that he sometimes does that which is in accordance with what his heart seeks, and sometimes does that which conflicts with what his heart seeks. In such a case, he needs to draw near to that which is good for him, and to drive away what will harm him. This requires that he know and understand what will benefit and harm him, such that he can bring this close and avoid that, since whoever does not see or know what food is cannot reach over and pull it towards him, and whoever does not see fire cannot escape from it. So, Allah has Created guidance and knowledge, and has provided certain means of attaining them, and these are the external and internal senses.

So, intention is essentially the will and the act of reaching out to and leaning towards what one seeks, whether this occurs retrospectively or at the time of seeing what is sought after.

Therefore, the first step in one being pushed to do something is that he has a goal which motivates him to act, and goal is the target of one’s intention. One is pushed to go out and do something when he has a goal and intention, and directs his power and ability towards his goal by way of physical movement, and this is known as action.”4

Because of this, it is established in the Religion that Allah – the Mighty and Majestic – does not accept actions except those that are done purely seeking His Face, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) indicated the significance of the intention and the obligation of purifying it from what can corrupt one’s goal and nullify his action.

‘Alqamah bin Waqqas al-Laythi (may Allah be Pleased with him) said: “I heard ‘Umar bin al- Khattab (may Allah be Pleased with him) on the pulpit, saying: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: “Indeed, actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended. So, whoever migrated to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), his migration is to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him). And whoever migrated to obtain a portion of the world or to marry a woman, his migration is to what he migrated for.”””5

an-Nawawi (may Allah have Mercy on him) said:

“The Muslims are unanimous in regards to the significance of this hadith, the numerous benefits contained within it, and its authenticity. ash-Shafi’i and others said: “It constitutes one quarter of Islam.” ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Mahdi and others said: “It is a must for whoever writes a book to begin it with this hadith in order to remind the student of knowledge to renew his intention.” And al-Khattabi reported this from the scholars in general, and al- Bukhari and others applied this. They started with it before anything else, and al-Bukhari included it in seven places in his book.

And the majority of scholars, linguists, and jurists said that the word ‘indeed’ is indicative of totality – it confirms what is mentioned, and denies everything else – rendering the meaning of the hadith to be that actions are considered based on the intentions behind them, and are not considered at all if there is no intention behind them.

And regarding his (peace be upon him) saying “…and for every person is what he intended…” they said that the point of mentioning it after “Indeed, actions are by intentions…” is that it emphasizes that specifying the intention is a condition for any action. So, if one were to make up a prayer, it would not be enough for him to intend to make up a prayer. Rather, he must specify that he is praying Dhuhr, etc. and were it not for this second phrase, one could interpret the first to indicate the permissibility of making a general intention without specifying the action intended.

And regarding his (peace be upon him) saying “…So, whoever migrated to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), his migration is to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him)…” means that whoever seeks with his migration the Face of Allah will have his reward with Allah, and whoever intends the worldly life or a wife, that will be what he gains, and he will have nothing from the Hereafter as the result of this migration. And the linguistic meaning of migration (hijrah) is to abandon something, and what is meant here is that one abandons a land. The mention of a woman alongside the worldly matters can be interpreted in two ways, one of them being that a man migrated to marry a woman named Umm Qays, and was thus named ‘the one who migrated for Umm Qays.’6 The second interpretation is that this was mentioned simply to emphasize the warning by way of mentioning a specific example of a general concept to clarify its gravity, and Allah Knows best.”7

“And it is established in the Shar’ that Allah doesn’t accept any act of worship that is not done strictly seeking His Noble Face, and the proofs for this from the Qur’an and Sunnah are plenty, such as:

1 – His Saying:

{“Say: ‘I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me that your Deity is One.

So, whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord.’”}8

Meaning: do not seek with these actions anything besides the Face of Allah, the Exalted.

2 – His Saying, as well:

{“And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, making the Religion sincerely for Him…”}9

3 – His (peace be upon him) saying:

“Indeed, actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended. So, whoever migrated to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), his migration is to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him). And whoever migrated to obtain a portion of the world or to marry a woman, his migration is to what he migrated for.””” Reported by al-Bukhari at the beginning of his ‘Sahih,’ as well as Muslim and others, on the authority of ‘Umar bin al-Khattab.

4 – His (peace be upon him) saying, as well:

“Give this nation the glad tidings of glory, establishment in the land, victory, and religious authority. And whoever of them performs an action of the Hereafter seeking with it this world, he will have no portion of the Hereafter from it.” Reported by Ahmad and his son in the additions to the ‘Musnad’ (5/134), Ibn Hibban in his ‘Sahih’ (4/311 in the ‘Mawarid’ of al-Hakim), and he said: “Its chain is authentic,” and adh- Dhahabi agreed with him, as did al-Mundhiri (1/31). I (al-Albani) say that the chain of ‘Abdullah (the son of Ahmad bin Hambal) is authentic according to the conditions of al- Bukhari.

5 – And from Abu Umamah (may Allah be Pleased with him), who said:

“A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: “What if a man fights to seek reward and reputation? What will he have?” So, he replied: “He has nothing.” The man repeated the question three times, with the Prophet (peace be upon him) replying: “He has nothing.” He then said: “Indeed, Allah does not accept any action except that which is sincere and seeking His Face.”” Reported by an-Nasa’i (2/59), and its chain is good, as al-Mundhiri said (1/24).

6 – His (peace be upon him) saying:

“Allah – the Mighty and Majestic – Said: “I am the most Self-Sufficient that I do not need partners. So, whoever does an action for Me in which he associates others with Me, I am free from him, and will leave him for the one he associated with Me.”” Narrated by Ibn Majah in ‘az-Zuhd’ from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, and its chain is authentic upon the conditions of Muslim, and he reported a similar narration in his ‘Sahih’ (8/223).”10

So, it is a must to purify one’s intention for Allah in every single action, as Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Just as He is One Deity with none besides Him, it is likewise necessary that worship be for Him and none besides Him. So, just as He is singled out as a Deity, He must be singled out for worship. The righteous action is that which is free of showing off and bound by the Sunnah.”11

Sulayman bin ‘Abdillah (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “And these are two pillars of the accepted action: it must be correct and sincerely done. The correct action is that which is in accordance with the Sunnah, as indicated by His Saying:

{“…let him work righteousness…}12

And the sincere action is that which is free from hidden and apparent shirk, as is indicated by His Saying:

{“…and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord…”}13 14

The seeker of knowledge is to purify his intention when seeking knowledge, “…and the correct intention when seeking knowledge is to intend only the Face of Allah, acting upon that, bringing life to His Shari’ah, lighting up his own heart, beautifying his inner self, getting closer to Allah on the Day of Resurrection, and making oneself a candidate for what He has prepared for His beloved of great pleasure and virtue. Sufyan ath-Thawri said: “I never attempted to remedy something as difficult as my intention.” He should not seek with it any worldly gains, such as obtaining position, status, money, or making himself look great and knowledgeable in front of those closest to him, having a presence in the circles of knowledge, etc. thereby exchanging the good for the bad. Abu Yusuf (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “O people! Seek Allah with your knowledge, as I have never sat in a circle in which I sought to humble myself except that I got up from it better than everyone else, and I never sat in a circle in which I sought to be better than everyone else except that I was exposed.” Knowledge is an act of worship and a means of gaining nearness to Allah. So, if your intention is pure in this worship, it will be accepted, purified, and blessed. And if you intend with it other than the Pleasure of Allah, it will be nullified, wasted, and you will lose its value.

It might be that one can miss out on these noble goals and not achieve them, thereby wasting his energy and effort.”15

All of the above can be summarized in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that was reported by Muslim in his ‘Sahih,’ on the authority of Abu Hurayrah: “The first who will be consumed by the Fire on the Day of Resurrection will be three: a scholar, a Mujahid, and a generous donator.

As for the scholar, Allah will bring him and ask him: ‘What did you do in the dunya?’ So, he will say: ‘I acquired knowledge for Your Sake, and I spread it seeking Your Pleasure.’ So, it will be said to him: ‘You lied. You learned so that you would be referred to as a scholar, and it was done, and you have obtained your reward in the dunya.’ Then, he will be ordered thrown into Hell.

Then, the donator will be brought, and Allah will ask him: ‘What did you do in the dunya?’ He will say: ‘I acquired wealth from permissible means, and I donated it for Your Sake.’ It will be said to him: ‘You lied. You donated your money so that it would be said that you are generous, and it was done, and you have had your reward in the dunya.’ Then, he will be ordered thrown into Hell.

Then, the fighter will be brought, and asked: ’What did you do?’ ‘I fought in Your Cause until I was killed.’ ‘You lied. You fought so that you would be referred to as a brave man, and it was done, and you took your reward in the dunya.’ Then, he will be ordered thrown into Hell.”16

an-Nawawi (may Allah have Mercy on him) said:

“His (peace be upon him) statement regarding the fighter, the scholar, and the generous donator, and their punishment for their actions being for other than Allah’s Face, and their entering the Fire – these are all proofs for the emphasized prohibition of showing off and the severe punishment for doing so, as well as for the obligation of having a pure intention in one’s actions, as Allah Said:

{“And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, making the Religion sincerely for Him…”}17

And it also shows that the general texts regarding the virtues of Jihad are referring to the one who seeks only the Pleasure of Allah, just as with the texts praising the scholars and generous donators – all of these are interpreted to be only in regards to the one who does these things for Allah, the Exalted.”18

And the aforementioned hadith leaves no question that the student of knowledge should purify his intention in his studies, such that his seeking of knowledge is not for anyone other than Allah, seeking His Pleasure, and hoping for His reward - not so that he would use this knowledge to be elevated in the eyes of others, sitting on their necks, and standing on their shoulders, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever seeks knowledge in order to compete with the scholars, to prove himself superior to the ignorant, or to make the people look up to him, he is in the Fire.”19