Class 1
POWER OF NIYYAH
POWER OF INTENTION
The Amir al-Muminin ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, radiya’llahu ‘anhu said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying, ‘Actions are only by intentions, and every man has only that which he intended. Whoever’s emigration is for Allah and His Messenger then his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever’s emigration is for some worldly gain which he can acquire or a woman he will marry then his emigration is for that for which he emigrated’.” [Bukhari, Muslim]
The early scholars such as Al-Shafiʻi, Aḥmad Ibn Hanbal, Abu Dawud, and Al-Tirmidhi agreed that this hadith encompasses one-third of Islam. Imam Al-Bukhari chose to lead his collection of authentic traditions with it.
The Prophet ﷺ also said, The Prophet ﷺ said: “Verily, the people will be raised for judgment only according to their intentions”. (Ibn Majah, classed as Sahih by Albani)
Everything in this life has to be purely and solely to earn the pleasure of Allah [swt]. For the righteous actions that we do, we’ll be able to earn the pleasure/rida’a/Qurb of Allah [swt] based on how noble our intention is – as the Prophet ﷺ has said that a person is only going to have that which they intended.
Actions are limited; intentions are unlimited
Believers, even if they do good deeds for a few years they will be rewarded with eternal abode in Jannah, similarly disbelievers will be punished eternally in hellfire for this short life of disbelief.
Why? Because of their niyyah.
A believer would want to be a believer and do good deeds no matter how long a life he gets and similarly a disbeliever no matter how long he lives in this world intends to profess disbelief, so Allah[swt] will reward us according to our intentions.
Also a person who would be raised on the day of judgement with so many hajjs/Tahajjuds etc that he did not actually do, just because he had this sincere niyyah/desire/yearning in his heart to do those deeds
The Prophet ﷺ said, ”Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones.” Then, he explained it [by saying that]: ”He who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
The above hadeeth is an indication of Allah’s Mercy; it also goes to show us the significance of intending to do a good deed. Reward simply for intending to do good – how awesome is that!? SubhanAllah.
Niyyah is an action of the Qalb/heart
The beauty of your niyyah is that it is between you and Allah. Your intention before the actions we will discuss do not have to be communicated openly. It is an intended purpose made in your heart and mind prior to engaging in an act, to acknowledge that it is for the sake of Allah.
Niyyah can transform a regular deed to Ibaadah or spoil an Ibadah
Simply put, your niyyah is what enables you to cash in on previously untapped treasure chests of reward! Also it’s the niyyah that destroys a good deed and can also lead to minor shirk.
Effect of Intention on our actions
A regular act being InshaAllah considered as an Ibaadah: -
A man going out to work with the intention to earn Halal money to feed his family (which in itself is an Ibaadah) and himself so that they can stay fit and perform the required worship of Allah, this will make the whole process of the man doing his job an Ibaadah InshaAllah!
A woman taking care of the house, children with the intention of pleasing the Allah and her Husband will make her regular work an Ibaadah InshaAllah!
A person going to sleep with the intention to rest & freshen up to do worship of Allah S.W.T. will make the sleeping an Ibaadah InshaAllah!
You eat every day, the Fitrah is to eat with the right hand but if one has the intention of eating with the right hand because it is Sunnah than the reward is for it. Also the same as above as in if the food eaten is with the intention to keep oneself fit to perform Ibaadah the process of eating is an Ibaadah InshaAllah!
One can go on and on about it, but the cue is to be mindful of Allah and try to think of getting reward in everything we do, Allah's treasure is infinite so do not refrain and think how can this be an ibaadah or that be an ibaadah rather Allah is the Malik and the Generous who can give anything to anyone He wishes InshaAllah!
Doing things according to Sunnah but without the Niyyah makes it a regular deed
As mentioned above the Fitrah is to eat with the right hand, most of the non-muslims do too but the reward is when we do it having the niyaah of following a Sunnah.
One might have the habit of sleeping, turning to the right side which is Sunnah but without the intention would it be Sunnah?
Prophet ﷺ loved to put on perfume and so does a lot of others but without the intention of loving to put on Perfume because Prophet ﷺ did wouldnt be a Sunnah followed.
Doing Good deeds with the wrong intention can be a Sin
Salah is the Pillar of Islam but if done so to show off is a Minor Shirk.
Khushoo is desirable in Salah but if some one is prolonging his Salah because he/she feels some one is seeing him/her than again it is a sin to do so.
Giving Charity has great rewards but doing so to gain the praise of people can be considered a sin and definitely not a good deed.
Shahadah - The First Pillar of Islam
Every Muslim knows that the key to Paradise is the statement, "La Ilaaha Ill Allah - There is none worthy of worship except Allaah." Yet too many Muslims simply rely upon this statement and believe that as long as they have made this statement, nothing will harm them. They think they will be granted Paradise because of this mere verbal statement of the Shahadah. There is no question that the mere saying of,"I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger," is not sufficient for salvation. In fact, the hypocrites used to make this statement quite often yet Allaah describes them as liars and says that they shall abide in the lowest abyss of the Hell-fire.
So again it is the intention of the Shahadah that actually makes one a Mu’min. The Scholars have listed 7 conditions of La Ilaaha Ill Allah…
Al-`Ilm (Knowledge of the meaning of the shahadah, its negation and affirmation)
Al-Yaqeen (Certainty – perfect knowledge of it that counter-acts suspicion and doubt)
Al-Qubool (Acceptance that contradicts rejection).
Al-Inqiad (Submission to its rightful requirements, which are the duties that must be performed with sincerity to Allah (alone) seeking His pleasure)
Al-Sidq (Truthfulness that permits neither falsehood nor hypocrisy)
Al-Ikhlaas (Sincerity which negates shirk)
Al-Mahabbah (Love of the shahadah and its meaning, and being happy with it)
All these are related to the heart and intention. In this course we will study about Sincerity and how we can be sincere to Allah, His Books, Messengers, our Leaders & to our fellow Muslims InShaAllah
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Remember the conditions of Shahadah
Understand the effect of intentions
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
I. Invite atleast 10 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 4 Marks. (check the note below for exceptions)
Note:
Those who have already invited whether on Whatsapp, Email or FB, do not need to invite again.
It does not matter, whether people join or not, our job is to invite.
II. Talk to 5 people (friends or family) about any three topics from the course - (5 Marks)
III. Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and Maghfirah of the Muslims who passed away. Pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. - 1 Mark
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