What did al-Nawawi say about intention (niyyah)?

"then to correct it through action after understanding the essence of truthfulness and sincerity, which are the servant's means to salvation and deliverance. We will discuss the meanings of truth and sincerity in three chapters. Chapter One: The Reality of Intention and Its Meaning In this chapter: Explanation of the virtue of intention Explanation of the reality of intention Explanation of how intention is better than action Explanation of the superiority of actions related to the self Explanation of how intention is beyond choice Explanation of the Virtue of Intention"

"Some of the predecessors said, "A small deed can be magnified by a great intention, and a great deed can be minimized by a small intention. Dawud Al-Tai remarked, "The righteous one with concern for piety, even if all his limbs cling to the world, his intention will return him to a righteous intention someday. The ignorant one is the opposite." Thawri noted, "They would learn the intention for an action just as you learn the action itself."

"The idea that intention is better than action alone is sometimes misunderstood. It's not that intention by itself is inherently better than action without intention. Rather, an action without intention or done heedlessly holds no benefit, while intention alone is indeed valuable. The preference is for those actions that share a basis of goodness."

"As they reached Maymun's house, Isa turned back. Maymun's son asked why he didn't offer dinner, and Isa replied, "It is not my intention." This illustrates that intention follows perception; when perception changes, intention changes. They believed that no action should be performed without intention, as intention is the spirit of action."

"The correction of intention is achieved through two things: singling out the intended purpose and focusing one's concern entirely on it. The essence of this is the unification of intention and purpose. If one's intention or purpose is divided, it is not correct. The شَيْخ previously expressed this as "an intention that motivates discipline, frees from hesitation, and calls for avoiding rewards." Thus, connection at this level is through this intention."

"Suppose His universal intention for them is indeed their current state. In that case, His religious and legal intention is to denounce those who follow the universal intention. If you neglect His religious intention, you are not aligning yourself with what He loves and approves of. Aligning yourself with His universal intention, which He has decreed, will not benefit you."

"he sees his best deeds as a sin from this perspective. As for seeing his purest intentions as inaction, it is because when one who seeks the truth witnesses his intended goal, he ceases his intention. The intended goal is closer to the tongue than its speech and closer to the heart than its intention. Thus, intending towards it is the very essence of ceasing intention, because intention is only for something distant from the seeker."

"it does not mean abandoning the intention from witnessing. When one abandons intention, they remove the bond of servitude from their neck. However, one should make their intention a continuous seeker of revelation, aiming for it. Once they reach it, they should surrender to it, allowing the judgment to be guided by revelation, as intention is merely a tool and means to it."

"Without the intention for reward, ostentation propels him to work; this is close to the previous level. In what contains an element of the intention for reward that does not independently motivate the act, it does not negate detestation or sin. The third is when one's intention for reward and intention for ostentation are equal, such that if each existed independently without the other, neither would motivate him to act."

"They say that sin is a firm intention to commit the prohibited act, accompanied by the ability to do so, and repentance from it is a firm intention to refrain from the possible act, accompanied by the actual refraining. The intention for something impossible is inconceivable, and refraining in this case is necessary, not a voluntary intention, but it is like refraining from flying to the sky or moving mountains."