Actions Are Judged by Intentions: A Great Hadith That Places the Heart at the Beginning of Every Deed
Human actions begin in a place people cannot see: the heart. The Prophet ﷺ gave intention a position of great importance, to the extent that Imam al-Bukhari opened his Sahih with the hadith of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, on intentions. This hadith is authentic and agreed upon in principle, and it is a major foundation for understanding the relationship between action, purpose and sincerity.
The Text and Source of the Hadith
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Actions are judged by intentions, and every person will have only what they intended. So whoever’s migration was for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then their migration was for whatever they migrated for.”
It was narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih, the Book of the Beginning of Revelation, Chapter: How the Beginning of Revelation Came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Hadith No. 1. The hadith is authentic, and Muslim also narrated it with a slight difference. It is therefore one of the hadiths agreed upon as authentic.
What Does “Actions Are Judged by Intentions” Mean?
The hadith explains that intention has a fundamental effect on an action. Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that the validity and invalidity of an action, its acceptance or rejection, and the greatness or smallness of its reward are connected to the sincerity, truthfulness and desire for what is with Allah in the heart. This meaning leads Muslims to examine their purpose rather than being satisfied with the outward appearance of an action.
The explanation in the Dorar al-Saniyyah Hadith Encyclopedia states that the hadith is one of the principles of Islam, that religious acts of worship require intention, and that a person derives from an action what they intended by it. The Prophet ﷺ gave the example of migration to show how the outward form of two people’s actions can be similar while their purpose and reward differ.
Intention Distinguishes Worship from Habit
One important meaning mentioned by scholars is that intention distinguishes between acts of worship, just as it distinguishes worship from habit. Sheikh Ibn Baz explained that abstaining from food and drink may be done with the intention of fasting or for another reason, and that a person’s leaving home may be for prayer, seeking knowledge, trade or something else. The outward form of movement alone does not always reveal the purpose present in the heart.
This does not mean that Muslims are required to complicate the matter of intention or verbalize it whenever they intend to undertake an action; the hadith concerns the heartfelt purpose that directs the action. The point here is to explain the fundamental status of intention, not to issue detailed rulings on jurisprudential matters whose rulings may differ according to the type of worship and the circumstances of the person responsible for it.
Sincerity and Examining One’s Purpose
The hadith directs Muslims to monitor their hearts before and during an action: Why am I doing this? And when the action is an act of worship, do I seek Allah’s approval through it? Ibn Baz explains that the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “and every person will have only what they intended,” requires attention to sincerity, so that prayer, fasting, zakat and all other acts of devotion remain free of ostentation and the pursuit of reputation.
This meaning does not make intention a slogan uttered by the tongue; rather, it is an inner responsibility that calls for truthfulness. An action may appear small in people’s eyes while its doer intends great good through it. Conversely, an action may appear great while its purpose is corrupted by a desire for praise or reputation.
Why Did al-Bukhari Open His Sahih with This Hadith?
The presence of this hadith at the beginning of Sahih al-Bukhari draws attention to the importance of correcting one’s purpose in seeking knowledge and acting upon it. Scholars have devoted great attention to this hadith, and Imam al-Nawawi placed it at the beginning of al-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith and in the chapter on sincerity and having the right intention in Riyad al-Salihin.
In conclusion, the hadith “Actions are judged by intentions” places the heart at the beginning of the journey: an action is not judged solely by its outward appearance, and purpose has a major bearing on its validity and reward. For this reason, continually examining one’s intention remains a means of cultivating sincerity and truthfulness in the soul.
