"And indeed every man shall have but that which he intended"

"AND INDEED EVERY MAN SHALL HAVE BUT THAT WHICH HE INTENDED"

Is this sentence merely emphasising the previous? Imam al-Qurtubi considered it so. However in reality both are saying different yet complementary things. Sheikh al Uthaimeen wrote: "the first sentence is the CAUSE and the second is the consequence." The first one means that every deed performed by a human while he is rational and acting voluntarily must have an intention. It is not possible for a rational, voluntarily acting person to perform a deed without an intention. The second means that if someone intended the pleasure of Allah and desired the good of the Hereafter that will be achieved. Ibn Rajab wrote that the second sentence is a statement about the Shari’ah ruling; if the intention was sound or pious his deed is sound and he shall have its reward. If it was evil then his deed was evil and upon him is the burden. In other words, the goodness of a deed is according to the goodness of the inention.


DOES EVERYONE GET WHAT THEY INTEND?


Not everyone gets what they intend. For instance, someone migrates to marry someone but the other person refuses. Or a disbeliever does not intend to be punished for their deeds but Allah states this will happen. However looking at this hadith in its totality we can see that it talks about general categories of intentions:


1) The pure and pious intention of performing a deed for the sake of Allah. According to this hadith the person shall receive the pleasure of Allah and reward from Him. Allah says in Surah ar-Rahman 60: "Is there any reward for good other than good?"

2) The religiously neutral intention where one seeks something permissible of this world. The result of this intention will also be religiously neutral, that is, without reward or punishment in the Hereafter, although it may or may not be the exact result of what the person intended.

3) The blameworthy, evil intention. This is regardless of any claimed good motive of the person if the action is sinful. The consequence of that will be evil for the person in the long run, supported by the ayah from Surah Hood 15-16: "Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them we shall pay In full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein. They are those for whom there is nothing In the Hereafter but fire; and vain are the deeds they did therein. and of no effect is that which they used to do."


WHAT ABOUT NON-PERFORMANCE OF ACTIONS?


The stronger opinion is that if someone consciously avoids a certain action for the sake of Allah then he will be rewarded. For example, a person who avoids drinking alcohol despite being tempted by work colleagues, or a person who lowers their gaze from the opposite sex because of fear of Allah and in order to abide by His laws is rewarded. On the other hand if someone is allergic to alcoholic drinks and avoids it for this purpose, or if a person is busy reading a book hence is too occupied to look at a person of the opposite sex will not be rewarded because the intention for NOT doing those actions was for other than the sake of Allah.


SAME ACT, DIFFERENT INTENTIONS


We learn from later on in the hadith how the same action i.e. migration can be a source or reward for some and punishment for others depending on the intention. For example if a person washes themselves and intends with it the expiation of their sins committed by each area of the body that is being cleansed and the intention that one will be pure to worship their Lord may be rewarded manifolds for that intention. Whereas someone who merely showers because it is part of their daily routine will have a different intention altogether. Similarly, if a person attends the congregational prayer, travels out to the oldest masjid in the town on foot, seeking His pleasure and fearing His punishment, loving to be in the house of Allah, wishing to set an example to others, wishing to support the masjid, wishing to meet with brothers, intending to stay behind for a dars after the prayer has many pious good intentions. Similarly if someone attends the prayer because he wishes to be seen as a pious person then that is an evil intention, a type of shirk. Allah says in a hadith qudsi, "I am so self-sufficient (Ghani) that I am in no need of having an associate. Thue, he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me " (Muslim). Ali ibn al Madeeni once said, "A small act may be made great due to the intention behind it and a great act may be made small due to the intention behind it."