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Innama al-a'mal bi-l-niyyat, and indeed for every person is what he intended, in Jali Thuluth script.

Innama al-a'mal bi-l-niyyat (Arabic: إنّما الاَعمالُ بِالنِیّات) is a segment of a renowned narration attributed to the Prophet (s), establishing that the validity of deeds rests entirely upon the intention of the agent. This hadith occupies a pivotal position across various Islamic sciences, particularly fiqh (jurisprudence).

While some hadith scholars (muhaddithun) classify this narration as mutawatir, its chain of transmission (sanad) has been the subject of extensive scholarly discourse. In Shi'a sources, the hadith appears in two forms: musnad and mursal. Corroborating factors—such as narrative fame (shuhra rawa'i), practical fame (shuhra 'amali), thematic tawatur (tawatur ma'nawi), and its definitive attribution to the Prophet (s) by prominent scholars—are cited as evidence supporting the hadith's authenticity.

Interpretations of the hadith vary, encompassing the dependence of reward and punishment upon intention, as well as the invalidity of specific legal acts—such as pronouncing the marriage formula or divorce—when devoid of intent.

Importance and Status

"Innama l-a'mal bi-l-niyyat" is a widely promulgated narration recorded in numerous Shi'a[1] and Sunni sources.[2] Some scholars have categorized it as mutawatir.[3] Abu Dawud asserts in Sunan Abi Dawud that among the 4,800 narrations compiled therein, four suffice for a person's religious conduct, one being "Innama l-a'mal bi-l-niyyat".[4] Ahmad b. Hanbal identified this hadith as one of the three pillars of Islam,[5] and other Sunni hadith scholars maintain that it is pertinent to seventy chapters of fiqh.[6] Others have posited that jurisprudence is founded upon five hadiths, counting this as one of them.[7]

Text and Translation

The Prophet of God (s) said: "O people, actions are determined solely by intentions, and indeed for every person is what he intended. So whoever's emigration was for God and His Messenger, his emigration is for God and His Messenger; and whoever's emigration was for a worldly gain he attains or a woman he marries, his emigration is for that for which he emigrated."[8]

Validity

Both Shi'a and Sunni scholars have critically examined the chain of transmission for "Innama l-a'mal bi-l-niyyat." Among Shi'a scholars, 'Abd al-Rahim b. al-Husayn al-'Iraqi (d. 806/1404) analyzed the chain and text in al-Taqyid wa l-idah,[9] while al-Shahid al-Thani discussed its tawatur and renown in Kitab al-Ri'aya fi 'ilm al-diraya.[10] Among Sunni scholars, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505) debated its status as mutawatir or famous in Tadrib al-rawi.[11] Additionally, 'Uthman b. 'Abd al-Rahman al-Shahrazuri, known as Ibn al-Salah (d. 643/1245), in Ma'rifat anwa' al-hadith, classified it as a sahih (authentic) famous hadith.[12]

Researchers note that while this narration appears as a musnad hadith in some Shi'a sources,[13] it is predominantly cited as a mursal hadith.[14] Consequently, although it may lack authenticity under certain criteria of 'ilm al-rijal, it is deemed valid by other standards due to its consistency with authentic narrations, verses of the Holy Qur'an, and other corroborating evidence.[15] Shi'a sources contain other narrations with similar content, such as the statement from the Prophet (s): "The intention of a believer is better than his action, and the intention of a disbeliever is worse than his deed, and every doer acts according to his intention."[16]

Corroborating Evidence for Authenticity

Researchers argue that the authenticity of "Innama l-a'mal bi-l-niyyat" is substantiated by several indicators:

Interpretations

Islamic scholars have posited various interpretations regarding the semantics of "Innama l-a'mal bi-l-niyyat," including:

  • Reward and punishment are contingent upon intention. Thus, an individual merits reward or punishment based on their intent, rather than the mere external form of the action.[26] al-Shaykh al-Ansari cites the particle "Lam" (for) in the phrase "wa innama li-kull imri' ma nawa" (and indeed for every person is what he intended) as evidence for this reading.[27]
  • The accrual of legal consequences is dependent on intention. A religious act is therefore valid only when accompanied by correct intent. al-Shahid al-Awwal, in al-Qawa'id wa l-fawa'id, positions "the dependence of action on intention" as the primary maxim of four fundamental rules, deriving it from this narration.[28] Accordingly, the marriage formula or divorce formula is effective only if the speaker genuinely intends marriage or divorce.[29]
  • Intention validates the action itself; without intention, no valid action occurs. Some scholars argue that the restrictive particle "innama" supports this view. Thus, for example, even if one intends usury (riba), legal stratagems (hiyal shar'iyya) devised to circumvent it are futile,[30] and a traveler's ten-day residence is invalid without the specific intention to stay for ten days.[31]
  • The intention of proximity to God (taqarrub) is a prerequisite for acts of worship. In this context, "intention" signifies intention of proximity (qasd al-qurba) and sincerity (ikhlas), without which acts of worship are void.[32]

Notes

  1. ↑ See: Al-Ṭūsī, al-Tahdhīb, 1407 AH, vol. 1, p. 83; Al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Masāʾil al-nāṣiriyyāt, 1417 AH, p. 303; Al-Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 3.
  2. ↑ See: Al-Bukhārī, al-Jāmiʿ al-musnad al-ṣaḥīḥ, 1422 AH, vol. 1, p. 6 & vol. 7, p. 177 & vol. 8, p. 187; Qushayrī Nayshābūrī, Muslim b. Ḥajjāj al-Musnad al-ṣaḥīḥ, n.d., vol. 3, p. 1515 & vol. 3, p. 1701; Al-Nasāʾī, al-Mujtabā min al-sunan, 1406 AH, vol. 1, p. 5.
  3. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bāʿith al-ḥathīth ilā ikhtiṣār ʿulūm al-ḥadīth, n.d., vol. 1, p. 57.
  4. ↑ Sayyid, "Muqaddima" in Sunan Abī Dāwūd, p. 3.
  5. ↑ Ibn Abī Yaʿlā, Ṭabaqāt al-ḥanābila, n.d., vol. 1, p. 47.
  6. ↑ Al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1392 Sh, vol. 13, p. 54.
  7. ↑ Ibn Rajab, Jāmiʿ al-ʿulūm wa l-ḥikam fī sharḥ khamsīn ḥadītha, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 59.
  8. ↑ Muttaqī, Kanz al-ʿummāl fī sunan al-aqwāl wa l-afʿāl, 1409 AH, vol. 3, p. 424, h. 7272.
  9. ↑ Al-ʿIrāqī, al-Taqyīd wa l-īḍāḥ, 1405 AH, vol. 1, pp. 100, 269, 273.
  10. ↑ Al-Shahīd al-Thānī, al-Riʿāya fī ʿilm al-dirāya, 1408 AH, pp. 68–70, 105–107.
  11. ↑ Al-Suyūṭī, Tadrīb al-rāwī fī sharḥ taqrīb al-Nawawī, 2014, vol. 2, pp. 622, 629.
  12. ↑ Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, Maʿrifat anwāʿ al-ḥadīth, 1423 AH, vol. 1, p. 370.
  13. ↑ Al-Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, 1414 AH, p. 618.
  14. ↑ Aḥmadī Nīk, "Bāzjust-i sanadī wa gustara-yi maʿnāyī-yi riwāyat-i innamā l-aʿmāl bi-l-niyyāt", p. 88.
  15. ↑ Al-Jawāhirī, al-Wāḍiḥ fī sharḥ al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, 1436 AH, vol. 7, p. 130; Jalālī Māzandarānī, al-Maḥṣūl fī ʿilm al-uṣūl, 1414 AH, vol. 2, p. 218.
  16. ↑ "Qāla Rasūl Allāh (s): Niyyat al-muʾmin khayr min ʿamalih wa niyyat al-kāfir sharr min ʿamalih wa kull ʿāmil yaʿmal ʿalā niyyatih" (Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1429 AH, vol. 3, p. 218.)
  17. ↑ For this purpose, see: Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1429 AH, vol. 1, p. 98 (footnote).
  18. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, al-Masāʾil al-Ṣāghāniyya, 1413 AH, p. 118; Al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Masāʾil al-nāṣiriyyāt, 1417 AH, p. 110.
  19. ↑ Al-Suyūṭī, Muntahā l-āmāl fī sharḥ ḥadīth innamā l-aʿmāl, 1419 AH, p. 231.
  20. ↑ Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1429 AH, vol. 2, p. 84.
  21. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, al-Masāʾil al-Ṣāghāniyya, 1413 AH, p. 118.
  22. ↑ Al-Ṭūsī, al-Tahdhīb, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 449 & vol. 4, p. 458.
  23. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, al-Hidāya fī l-uṣūl wa l-furūʿ, 1418 AH, p. 62.
  24. ↑ Bashīrī, "Dirāsāt fiqhiyya ḥadīthiyya", p. 227.
  25. ↑ Aḥmadī Nīk, "Bāzjust-i sanadī wa gustara-yi maʿnāyī-yi riwāyat-i innamā l-aʿmāl bi-l-niyyāt", p. 92.
  26. ↑ Al-Ṭūsī, al-Tahdhīb, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 162 & vol. 4, p. 467.
  27. ↑ Al-Anṣārī, Kitāb al-ṭahāra, n.d., vol. 2, p. 14.
  28. ↑ Al-Shahīd al-Awwal, al-Qawāʿid wa l-fawāʾid, n.d., vol. 1, p. 74.
  29. ↑ Al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Intiṣār fī infirādāt al-imāmiyya, 1415 AH, p. 303; Mīrzāy-i Qummī, Rasāʾil al-Mīrzā l-Qummī, 1427 AH, p. 311.
  30. ↑ Al-Shawkānī, Nayl al-awṭār, 1973, vol. 5, p. 319.
  31. ↑ Aḥmadī Nīk, "Bāzjust-i sanadī wa gustara-yi maʿnāyī-yi riwāyat-i innamā l-aʿmāl bi-l-niyyāt", p. 95.
  32. ↑ See: Ibn Rushd al-Andalusī, Bidāya al-mujtahid wa nihāya al-muqtaṣid, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 11.

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