Hadith Explanation: “All Actions are but by Intentions…”

Hadith / Virtues

Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

إنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إلَيْهِ”.

Surely, all actions are but driven by intentions and, verily, every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus, he whose migration was for Allah and His Messenger, [then] his migration was for Allah and His Messenger; and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take a woman in marriage, his migration was for that which he migrated. 1

  • This hadith is the first in the book ‘Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi‘.
  • It is an important hadith. Imam Abu Dawud stated that Fiqh revolves around five ahadith:
    • “Actions are but by intentions”
    • “The religion is sincere advice”
    • “The permissible is clear and the forbidden is clear”
    • “There is no harming or reciprocating of harm”
    • “Whatever I forbid you, remain away from. Whatever I order you to do, fulfill as much as you can.”

Types of Intentions

Every conscious, intentional act that a rational person performs is driven and brought into being by his intention. Without that intention behind the act, the act would not have been performed. Now, this intention must fall into one of three categories:

  1. A good, pious intention,
  2. A religiously neutral intention or
  3. An evil intention. (An evil intention includes, in general, any intention to perform a sinful act regardless of any claim of a good motive.)
  • In all cases, the person shall get only what he intended. If his intention was good and pious, it means that the act was for the sake of Allah. His intention was good so the end result will be good.As Allah says, “Is there any reward for good other than good?” 2. It will be good for him in the Hereafter – as long as he does not do anything to nullify his deed – and it is also good for him in this life. The most important aspect, however, is concerning the Hereafter. (We must not forget the rule: “Allah only accepts the Deeds done sincerely for Him and in Accordance with His Shar’iah”)
  • If the person intended something permissible or religiously neutral, then he will get what at he intended – that is, something permissible, without punishment or reward in the Hereafter. He may not get exactly what he intended, like someone who migrates to marry a woman only to have her refuse to marry him. But Allah does not wrong anyone and He gives to those who strive, even if they strive for this world. For those who strive only for this world, He gives them of it although in the Hereafter they may receive nothing. Again, Allah says, “Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments – We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived.Those are the ones for whom there is not in the Hereafter but the Fire. And lost is what they did therein, and worthless is what they used to do.” 3.
  • If the person intends evil – assuming this case is covered by this hadith, which is most likely the case since the word “actions” is general – then the result will be what he intended. That is, it will be evil for him. Either he will be punished for it in this life or in the Hereafter (granted he does not repent later). Allah does not wrong any soul. The act driven by an evil intention will result in what the person intended: evil. But it will be evil for himself. He intended evil and this is what he will get, although he definitely did not intend evil for himself. Allah says, “And you will not be recompensed except for what you used to do” 4

Intentions go beyond Actions

The actions of the heart (i.e., niyyah) can take one beyond what he can actually do by his physical deeds. The person is rewarded by Allah according to his intention, even if he is unable to complete his act. 5

When does Allah accepts a Deed?

Allah says,

“So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord – let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.” 6

Commenting on this verse Imam Ibn Qayyim said,

“This is in reference to the only type of deed that Allah will accept. The deed (Amal) must be in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and done solely for the Sake of Allah (Ikhlas). A doer cannot possibly fulfill both of these conditions unless he has knowledge. If he does not know what has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then he cannot intend that. If he is not knowledgeable of whom he worships, he cannot intend Him alone in his deeds. If it were not for knowledge, his deed could not be acceptable. It is knowledge that guides to sincerity and purity and it is knowledge that indicates what is the actual following of the way of the Prophet ﷺ.“

Relationship of Intention and Action

Imam Ibn Qayyim said,

“The one who studies the sources of the Shar’iah will know the relationship between the external actions of the limbs and the actions of the heart. The deeds are not [beneficial] without the actions of the heart.The actions of the heart are more of an obligation upon the person than the actions of the limbs. Isn’t a believer distinguished from a hypocrite simply due to the actions in their hearts that are different from each other? Can anyone enter into Islam except by the actions of his heart before the actions of his limbs? The servitude and worship of the heart is greater, more and longer lasting than the servitude of the limbs. They are obligatory in every moment. This is why faith (Emaan) is always obligatory upon the heart . However, the [specific] submission of the limbs is obligatory only at certain times (Prayer, Fasting, etc). The seat of faith is the heart and the seat of Islam [submission] is the external limbs.”

Other Points Related to Hadith

  • Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said, “The most exclusive [group of] people who get close to Allah are those who change the nature of their permissible deeds into acts of obedience to Allah.
  • Even such noble deeds as emigrating, that should be done for the sake of Allah, may be performed with a less noble intention. In such cases, the person will only get what he intended.

Further Issues

  • Single act but multiple intentions? What of the reward then? Example: Migrating for both, the sake of Allah and some worldly benefit.
  • Intention was proper but ‘wrong’ results? Example: A person gives charity to another person thinking he is poor but in reality he is not. Will Allah accept the charity and reward the person according to his intention?
  • Can a person control his intention? Can he make it truly for the sake of Allah? One that is free of show-off? What kind of forces work on one’s heart?

(To read about the above mentioned issues and more explanation, refer to the book mentioned below)

Summarized from Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo’s Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi (1999), pg. 91-148. Al-Basheer Publications & Translations.

  1. Reported by Bukhari & Muslim ↩
  2. Ar-Rahman 55:60 ↩
  3. Hud 11:15-16 ↩
  4. As-Saffat 37:39 ↩
  5.  Sunan an-Nasa’i #1846 ↩
  6. Al-Kahf 18:110 ↩
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