A Hadith or Quranic Verse Every Day for People to Benefit From

“Actions are but by intentions, and every person will have only what they intended. So whoever’s migration was for Allah and His Messenger, then his migration is for Allah and His Messenger. And whoever’s migration was for some worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration is to whatever he migrated for.”

And the meaning of his ﷺ saying: “And every person will have only what they intended” is that a person is rewarded or held accountable according to their intention. The soundness of one’s intention is the reason for a deed being accepted, and the corruption of it is the reason for it being rejected, even if the deeds look the same outwardly.

So… have you ever asked yourself: Why did Imam An-Nawawi begin the book Riyad as-Salihin with the hadith on intention?

The topic of intention is truly beautiful… and terrifying at the same time.

You might find one man growing his beard seeking to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, so he is rewarded for every moment. And you might find another man growing it just to look a certain way or out of habit, so he gets no reward for it.

And you might find one woman wearing niqab seeking the pleasure of Allah, so she is rewarded. And another who wears it just out of custom, or because it’s a trend, or for some other reason, so she does not attain the reward of worship.

And you might find one man who goes to his job every day, but he holds many intentions in his heart, so he is rewarded for all of them. And another who goes to the same job without holding any intention, so he misses out on that reward.

That’s why the scholars used to say: There’s a business called “the trade of intentions.”

So always be careful to purify your intention in every deed.

Going to work? Intend that you are seeking lawful provision, that you are keeping yourself chaste, providing for your family, helping people, and perfecting your work because Allah loves that when one of you does a job, he does it well.

You’ll discover that the very same deeds you were doing every day can be turned into acts of worship that you’re rewarded for — simply because you corrected your intention.

So do not belittle the intention… for it can raise a small deed until it reaches a great status with Allah, and it can deprive a great deed of reward because of a corrupt

intention.

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