Niyya (intention in deeds)

Niyya (intention) is the purpose and will from which the deed arises. Ibn Rajab notes that in the words of the scholars it has two meanings. The first is distinguishing acts of worship from one another and from customs, which is the prevalent usage in the books of jurists. The second is distinguishing the aim of the deed: whether it is for God alone or for something else, which is prevalent in the speech of the early generations and is the companion of sincerity. ¹

On the hadith "deeds are only by intentions," al-Shafi'i held that it is a third of knowledge, and that it enters into seventy chapters of jurisprudence. Al-Bukhari opened his Sahih with it. ¹

The question is whether "deeds" in the hadith means all voluntary deeds, or the legal deeds that require intention. And is intention a condition of validity or a condition of perfection?

The first position (Sunni, from the later scholars). Ibn Rajab relates that many later scholars read the hadith as: deeds are valid, or considered, or accepted by intentions. Deeds that do not require intention are excepted from the generality of deeds, such as eating, drinking, dressing, and returning trusts and deposits. ²

The second position (Sunni, from the earlier scholars). Ibn Rajab notes that others kept deeds in their generality, and some related this from the majority. It occurs in the words of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Abu Talib al-Makki, and others, and it is the apparent sense of the words of Imam Ahmad. The hadith is then read as: deeds occur or are accomplished by intentions. The words "and every person has only what he intended" are a statement that the reward or punishment of the doer follows his intention. ³

Sha'rawi says two people may do the same deed, one rewarded because he sought God's pleasure and the other not because he sought the world; if the act is not sincere for God, it is not accepted. He relies on the hadith that deeds are by intentions. ⁴

The Sheikh relays a saying of the scholars that one who is far from a sin but wishes for it in his heart is like one who was present at it, and that one who is present where a sin occurs but rejects it in his heart is like one who was not present ⁵. He then returns to the verses of al-Nazi'at and says that the "Sabihat" (Qur'an 79:3) carry the souls of the believers swiftly along ⁵.