The First Condition:
Sincerity
The Messenger of
Allaah (SAAWS) said: "Every action is accepted (or not) based on the
intention behind it, and every person will be rewarded in accordance with his
intention. So, whoever immigrates to
Allaah and His Messenger, then he will be rewarded for immigrating to Allaah
and His Messenger, and whoever immigrates for a worldly affair or to get
married to a woman, then his immigration is for whatever he immigrated for”
[narrated by Bukharee and Muslim, on the authority of Umar ibn Al-Khattaab].
The Messenger
(SAAWS) explains in this authentic Hadeeth the importance of the intention.
[Hadeeth = text narrated from the Messenger of Allaah;
authentic = correct = the Messenger (SAAWS) said it].
First, the
acceptance of any deed depends on the intention behind it. If it was done for the sake of Allaah, it is
accepted.
Doing an act for the
sake of Allaah means that performing this action pleases Allaah; either because
Allaah ordered us to do it, or because He recommended that we do it.
For example, if
someone prays the Isha (night) prayer because Allaah ordered us to do it, then
it is for the sake of Allaah. If he
performs it because he is afraid of Allaah’s punishment if he misses it
(because it is mandatory), then it is for the sake of Allaah. If he performs it because he wants the reward
from Allaah for it, then it is for the sake of Allaah.
Also, if someone
performs a prayer that is not obligatory (it was recommended for us to perform
it for extra reward, but not ordered; also called: naafilah) because he
wants to please Allaah, or he wants extra reward, or he wants to make up for a
sin he committed, then this is for the sake of Allaah.
If, however, a
person performs any prayer (whether mandatory or optional) so that other people
see him pray so he is looked upon as righteous, or more people do business with
him, or to impress certain people, or any reason other than for the sake of
Allaah, then it is not accepted.
The second point made
in this Hadeeth is that the reward for any action is based on the intention
behind it. And, in this respect, people
differ tremendously.
For example, imagine
a person performing Wodoo (= washing for the prayer) before performing the
prayer because it is mandatory (we cannot pray if we are not in a state of
purity). He is rewarded for his
intention and his action.
Imagine another
person performing Wodoo before performing the prayer. His intention is that he
is washing for the following reasons: 1) because it is mandatory, 2) because he
wants the reward from Allaah for obeying Allaah’s orders (the Aayah odering the
believers to do so), and 3) because he wants the reward from Allaah for
following the actions of the Messenger (SAAWS).
For both of them,
the Wodoo is accepted, but the second person has more reward because his
intention is better.
This can even extend
into any action a person does, turning what looks like a ‘habit’ into a
‘worship’ for which he is rewarded.
Example 1: a person
sleeps early because he is tired, while another is sleeping early because he
wants to wake up for the Fajr prayer. The second person’s intention turned his
action (sleeping) into an act of obedience for which he will be rewarded.
Example 2: a person
eats because he is hungry, while another is eating because he wants to
strengthen himself so he can perform the prayer without being tired. The second person’s intention turned his
action (eating) into an act of obedience for which he will be rewarded.
This is how powerful
and important our intention is; with the correct intention, you can turn any
ordinary habit into an act of worship.
The intention,
though, is something in the heart. Two
important consequences of this are:
1) No one can know
what any other person’s intention is.
This is something that only Allaah knows. A person can claim he is doing something for
the sake of Allaah (while he has other intentions) and maybe fool everyone in
this life into believing him, but Allaah will expose him on the Last Day.
Allaah said: {Does
he (man) not know that when what is in the graves is brought out (people
are resurrected, on the Last Day), and what’s inside their chests (their
intention) is brought out (made known), surely, their Lord is
Well-Acquainted with them (and their deeds)} [Surat Al-Aadiyaat (No. 100),
Aayaat 9–11].
2) Stating the
intention before any worship (loudly or silently) does not count. What counts is what’s in the heart. Actually, stating the intention with the
tongue is an innovation and should never be done; the Messenger (SAAWS) and his
companions never did this. It
doesn’t even make sense; the intention is what’s inside the heart, not what’s
on the tongue.
To be continued, if Allaah wills