Acts are Judged by the Intention Behind Them: Legal Maxim 1

In his didacitic poem al-Fara'id al-Bahiyyah, Sayyid Abu Bakr al-Ahdal states: “ Fiqh is built upon five legal maxims, they are: acts are judged by the intention behind them, certainty is not overruled by doubt, hardship begets facility, harm must be eliminated, and custom is the basis of judgment.”

Legal Maxim 1

 

الأموربمقاصدها

Acts are judged by the intention behind them

 In Idah al-Qawa'id al-Fiqhiyyah, al-Lahji explains that the meaning of this axiom is that all matters are connected to the intentions behind them. The basis for this axiom is versified by al-Ahdal: “ This legal maxim is derived from the hadith:  "Acts are only judged in accordance with the intention behind them." Commentators differ over the intended meaning of this hadith. The scholars who consider formulating an intention obligatory hold that the intended meaning of this hadith is that acts are only valid when an intention is made, but those who believe the the intention is not a condition for validity hold that the meaning is that acts are incomplete, or unrewarded, without an intention (Tarh al-Tathrib 7/2). In the literal sense, the word intention means purpose or objective; in the legal usage it refers to strong determination in the heart. This is the definition provided by Ibn al-Salah and al-Nawawi. According to al-Shafi'i, this hadith enters into seventy chapters of fiqh. Imam al-Suyuti enumerates these chapters in his Ashbah wa al-Nada'ir. Sheikh al-Jarhazi confines himself to only a few instances within the discussion of purification: wudhu, ghusl, khuffayn in the issue of wearing khuff-upon-khuff, tayammum and the removal of filth according to one view (al-Fawai'd al-Janiyyah 1/180). 

  The fuqaha approach the intention on seven levels. These levels are versified in the following poem:

The meaning, ruling and time

The method, condition, and good objective.

1. The Intention's Objective

" The objective of the intention is to distinguish worship from habit (al-Jarhazi: and what is done naturally) ” al-Ahdal states.The intention distinguishes acts that may be seen as habitual, natural, and completely unrelated to worship, such as taking a bath to cold down or to clean one's body, from an act that is worship, such as the obligatory or optional purificatory bath. Similarly, the intention distinguishes an act such as sitting in the mosque for rest from an act of worship like spiritual retreat (ar: i'tikaf). In both scenarios, the act of washing and sitting can be construed as something totally unrelated to worship, but the intention has been legislated to distinguish worship from habit, as al-Fadani explains in his commentary. The intention also has a second objective: to distinguish certain acts of worship from other types of worship. An example of this objective is ablution, purificatory bath, prayer, and fasting. All of these acts of worship can be obligatory, such as fulfilling a vow, or wholly supererogatory. In light of this, the intention has also been prescribe in order to differentiate obligatory acts of worship from recommended acts. The authors of qawa'id al-fiqhiyyah spent a great deal explaining this issue in their scholarly-writings. The following discussion takes place in al-Mawahib al-Saniyyah and Idah al-Qawa'id al-Fiqhiyyah. 

Here is a summary from both works: 

The intention is not a conditions in acts of worship that do not resemble habit, such as faith, fear, hope, Qur'an recitation, and remembrance. Each of these acts are distinguished from habit by their outward and inward form. Similar to this is the act of abandoning sin, such as avoiding adultery or the consumption of wine, or the removal of impurity. However, some scholars maintain that an intention is necessary for the removal of filth since it wavers between performance and abandonment; therefore, it is recommended to make an intention thereby avoiding differences of opinion. al-Lahji and others maintain that one must formulate an intention when abandoning sin in order to earn a reward. 

It is necessary to specify in the intention of any act that is ambiguous, such as the obligatory prayer. The ruling is based on the words of the hadith:“ and a person will have only what he intended." Since duhr and 'asr possess similarities, the only distinguishing factor is specification when formulation the intention. Furthermore, it is necessary to specify in certain optional prayers, such as the rawatib before and after the obligatory prayers. It is not necessary to specify in unambiguous acts such as tahiyyat al-masjid, salat al-awwabin, and the like. Regarding the 'eid prayers, 'Izz al-Din bin 'Abd al-Salam felt that it is not necessary to specify when making the intention, however, this is not the relied-upon view. Sheikh Ibn Hajar relied upon the view that salat al-tasbih does not require specification, but this is not the preponderant view.
The general rule is that every circumstance that requires one to intend the obligatory also requires one to specify, except for dry ablution. 

There are certain optional additions that one may add to one's intention, such as specifying the place or time of prayer. Whenever one makes a mistake, such as a slip of the tongue, when intending an optional addition, it is of no consequence to the intention's validity. An example of this is to specify whether the prayer is a current performance or a make-up. If one makes a mistake in this annexation, one's intention is sound. Any act that requires a worshiper to specify, like the obligatory prayers, mistakes in such specification invalidate the intention, such as intending 'asr while formulating the intention for duhr prayer. This is based on the general rule that states that whenever a mistake is made in any of the key-elements of the intention, the intention is invalid, and whenever a mistake is made in an optional addition, no harm is caused to the intention. Based on this rule, if a person with ritual impurity brought about through sleep intends to lift impurity from a nullifying act that did not occur, such as touching the private parts, the intention remains valid. In certain acts, it is necessary to bring to mind the obligatory nature of the act, this includes the purificatory bath, prayer, and zakat; it is not obligatory to bring this to mind in ablution, fasting, or hajj and 'umrah.

 Including multiple intention in one single intention (ar: tashrik)

Tashrik has various rulings:

In an act of worship, it is invalid to include intentions unrelated to worship. When performing the 'eid slaughter, it is not valid to include intentions which are not associated to worship, like intending to slaughter for the sake of Allah and for the sake of an idol, annexing the word idol immediately nullifies the intention. At times, tashrik of this type will not render the intention invalid, such as intending the ablution and cooling one's body.

If one intends to perform an optional act along side an obligatory act there are different rulings. At times it is valid and both acts are accomplished, such as praying the obligatory prayer with the intention of the obligatory prayer and greeting the mosque. Other times it is invalid and only the obligatory act is achieved, such as intending a supererogatory hajj with the intention of the obligatory hajj, or the reverse, such as giving five dirhams as zakat with the intention of zakat and optional charity. In this instance, optional charity is given consideration; not zakat. Finally, tashrik can invalidate the act altogether, like when
a later comer makes the opening takbir while the imam bowing and intends both takbirat al-ihram and going into ruku. 

When one intends an obligatory act within another obligatory act, it is invalid, according to al-Subki, except in hajj and 'umrah. However, al-Suyuti held that ablution and the purificatory bath is another scenario in which tashrik of this type is valid. If one intends a supererogatory act along with another supererogatory act, both are achieved, such as when one intends the fast of 'arafah and the fast of Monday. 

2-4. The Intention's Meaning, Ruling, and Locus

The intention has been defined in different ways, as noted above, Imam al-Nawawi defined the intention as a firm determination in the heart, but al-Mawardi offered a different interpretation. According to Imam al-Mawardi, the intention means that one's determination coincides with the performance of the intended act. In most instances, the intention is an obligatory condition or integral. The locus of the intention is the heart, and it is insufficient to utter the intention when the intention is absent in the heart. The intention in the heart is given absolute consideration. This means that if a person utters the intention to pray 'asr but the intention in the heart is duhr, then duhr prayer is considered. In most cases, it is not obligatory to to utter the intention. For example, if a person wants to give a portion of land for a mosque as an endowment, the land is an endowment solely through the intention of the one giving the land. However, there are some instances that necessitate the utterance of the intention, such as divorce or swearing an oath. 

 5. The Intention's Time 

al-Lahji and others mention that the intention coincides with beginning of an act. In ablution, the intention must coincide with washing the face, and in prayer with the hamza of the opening takbir. There are some instances where the intention does not have to coincide with the beginning of an act, such as fasting, zakat, or joining prayers during travel. The general rule here is that every act that one voluntarily enters into requires that the intention be made at the beginning of the act, as al-Jarhazi explained. 

6-7. The Intention's Formula and Conditions

The process of formulating an intention differs according to the various acts of worship. In ablution, for example, one intends to remove something that made prayer and the like unlawful.

al-Ahdal and others maintain that the intention has the following conditions: 

1. Discernment 
2. Islam
3. Knowing what one is intending 
4. Nothing exists which negates the intention, such as apostasy    

al-Lahji mentions five exceptions to the second condition:

1. A disbeliever who purifies from her menses so that her Muslim husband can have intercourse with her.
2. Expiations
3. Zakat. An example of this is when an apostate distributes zakat wealth while in a state of apostasy.
4. When a disbeliever intends a journey that allow the shortening of prayers and he accepts Islam along the way.
5. When a disbeliever enters Islam at dawn. Although the obligatory fast is not valid, an optional fast is sound and valid for such person.  

Expounding on the Ahdal's fourth condition, al-Lahji adds that at times the intention to cease performing an act has no consequences, while in some circumstances such intention affects the validity. The acts that are affected include:

 

a) when one intends to end one's faith (may Allah save us), one immediately becomes an apostate.

b) when one intends to end one's prayer, one's prayer is invalidated.

c) when one intends to end one's recitation of al-fatiha.

d) when a traveler intends to pray a full prayer, shortening becomes prohibited

The acts that are not affected by this intention:

a) when one intends to end one's purification during ablution or the purificatory bath, however, it is necessary to renew the intention for the remainder of purification.

b) when one intends to end one's fast or i'tikaf.

c) when one intends to eat while fasting.

The discussion under this axiom is lengthy, for more details refer to al-Suyuti's Ashbah wa al-Nada'ir.