Hadith 1

Actions are by Intentions

إنما الأعمال بالنيات

إنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إلَيْهِ

Translation

Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His Messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and His Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for.

Narrated by

Umar ibn al-Khattab

عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه

Source

Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim

صحيح البخاري وصحيح مسلم

Explanation

This hadith is considered one of the greatest hadiths in Islam and is often quoted to emphasize the importance of sincerity (ikhlas) in all actions. Scholars say that Islam revolves around this hadith and that every action must be accompanied by a sincere intention for it to be accepted.

Key Lessons

  • 1Sincerity (ikhlas) is essential for every deed
  • 2The same action can have different rewards based on intention
  • 3Worldly motives corrupt religious deeds
  • 4Intention must precede the action