Ibadah and Intentions

Ibadah is one of the most difficult things for a person learning about Islam to grasp. One may translate it to worship- fair enough- it's the closest translation in a single word. But it differs from the normal use of the word, as it is not an act done in its own dedicated time and space, where one momentarily engages in submission to a deity. In Islam, acts of ibadah can be far broader, yet the same acts can come to nought despite being done outwardly in the same manner. 3 Muslims can pray salah behind the same imam, next to one another, and the reward may not be equal. The key to ibadah is that the action is secondary to the intention behind it.

In my last blog, I wrote about how to use your time better, and I didn’t mention this topic intentionally, as I felt it was deserving of its own dedicated post; it is one of the most important ways to create a maintainable schedule focused on fulfilling your duties of worship. This is because here we will focus on using the actions you already do as a means of getting closer to Allah SWT.

Looking at your schedule and routine, studying will form some part of it (some of you more than others…). In my case, I study medicine. Medicine and health are considered a very noble pursuit of knowledge; Imam al-Shafi’i considered the study of Medicine to be second only to the study of fiqh. This is only beneficial to you if your intentions are pure. To study with the intention of alleviating suffering and illness from patients, to gain knowledge and use it for the benefit of your community and humanity, to recognise that your knowledge and position will be an amanah, these are the intentions with which you may gain the blessings of Allah SWT, and for your studying to become a form of ibadah.

It is important to understand that intention is not just lip service- it isn’t just stating your intention, it must be what is internally your core reason for doing something. The Prophet Muhammad SAW warned against this (Sahih Muslim 1905a), saying that among the first people to enter jahannam would be a martyr, a scholar/qari, and a rich man who donated plenty, because they claim their intentions were for Allah, however their intentions were centred around showing off to other people- so that the martyr may be called a brave warrior, so that the scholar may be praised for his recitation and knowledge, so the rich man would be called generous.

Purifying your intentions is a vague statement. How does one do it? It requires tazkiyah: your intentions will be purified as your love for Allah SWT increases, such that you will increasingly place Him at the forefront of your intentions, and your actions will be driven by the desire to get closer to Allah. One of the best ways of doing this is through reading the Quran and reflecting on it (be wary of reading the Quran without doing so). Without having a closeness or a want for a goal, we simply cannot build up our intention, and so with developing our relationship and understanding of the Quran and our Lord, we better our own faith. We can’t expect to always act with pure intentions, but we must strive to always better ourselves.

I used the example of studying and learning as one that'll likely be relevant to all readers, at any point in their career, but the same advice can also be applied to so many other activities and pursuits of life. It’s up to you to develop your relationship with Allah SWT and to engage in these activities with good intentions. May Allah help us purify our intentions and get closer to him and may Allah protect us from riya (make oneself seem falsely virtuous for the sake of others' praise) and israaf (extravagance and wastefulness).

Barakallahu feekum.

- Abdulsattar Hussain