What did al-Nawawi say about intention (niyyah)?
Al-Nawawi opened his Forty Hadith with the hadith of intention — 'Actions are only by intentions.' His commentary on that single hadith is a lifetime of ethics in a few pages.
10 passages from 7 books in the library
Al-Nawawi teaches that intention (niyyah) is the inner foundation that gives every action its worth, and that intentions differ in rank. The passages warn that "action without intention leads to exhaustion, intention without sincerity leads to hypocrisy," so the deed must be done for Allah and the hereafter, not for worldly self-interest. He explains that intention follows perception, changing as one's awareness changes, and that when a single God-directed intention prevails in the heart it ennobles all of a person's deeds. The servant has a real choice in both intention and action, and what is offered to Allah is what counts.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 7 books by Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"benefits them in the hereafter. When this intention prevails in their heart, their intention in all"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"For action without intention leads to exhaustion, intention without sincerity leads to hypocrisy,"
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"The intention here is that intentions vary in their levels. If one intention dominates a person's"
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"not my intention. This illustrates that intention follows perception. When perception changes,"
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"The servant has a choice in both intention and action, and whichever exceeds mere intention"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"If the intention is self-interest, it is worldly, but if the intention is for piety, it is for"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"that constitutes an intention for combining, as one is only devoid of this intention through"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"habit, allowing their eating with intention to mirror their abstaining with intention,"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"intention, as intention involves responding to a religious impulse, and here there is"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"that would divert intention from adultery, had the intention been present, then it is"
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