Explanation of Chapter 2: On Intention from Imam al-Haddads The Book of Assistance

Notes from a seminar by Ustadh Usama Canon (10/25/08)

Intentions are the bases of deeds; according to them your deeds with either be good or ugly, sound or
unsound
Soundness that what you are doing is according to the guidelines of the Quran & Sunnah
Sound Deed done according to quran & sunnah and done with ikhlas (sincerity)
Sincerity Intention purely for the sake of Allah - intention not mixed with anything else
Sincere Inetention when you go out to actually perform the deed you do it only for the Sake
of Allah; Renewing intention before doing the deed is better than sincerity alone.

The foundation for all actions are their intentions
Islay by definition is that which is on your limbs
o Hadith of Jibreel What is Islam? (5 pillars all actions, done with your limbs
outwardly)
Deeds are only according to intentions. Each man has that which he intended
This hadith is half of Islam
Deen is either outward (actions), or inward (intentions)
Outwardly, people may look good, but inwardly it is very foul. Very common nowadays.
This hadith is one third of all knowledge of the deen
Deeds are done by:
o The heart intentions
o The tongue what you say
o The limbs what you do
This hadith enters into over 70 chapters of fiqh
Need niyyah (intention) before you do the action
o i.e. salat, sawm, hajj, zakah
Intentions are a vehicle
Whoever migrates for Allah and his messenger, then it is for Allah and his messenger,
Whoever migrates for the dunya or to get married, than he did it for that
You must, therefore, utter no word, do no action, and decide no matter without the intention of
drawing nearer to God
However, the state of our species is to say, do, and decide things without even thinking about it.
Drawing Nearer to Allah
o None of you will enter jannat by your deeds alone, not even the prophet, unless Allah
envelopes you in his mercy
o No one can ever fulfill Allahs rights over oneself
Allah has given us so many different ways to worship him
o Ibadat
o Everyday actions with sincere intentions
1. Eating with the intention to preserve life (fard kiffayah), or gain energy to do
other ibadat, etc.
2. Studying Medicine with the intention to fulfill fard kiffayh (even though this is
probably already overly filled :P)
3. Studying Secular knowledge with the intention to get a job. (see next)
4. Work - with the intention to gain halal income to provide for yourself and your
family; to free yourself of being dependent on others
5. Meet people interact with others with the intention of acting as an
ambassador of Allah
You are either making dawah, or others are making dawah to you
6. Meet friends with the intention to be in good company, or to make your
friends happy
Actions most beloved to Allah (after fulfilling obligations) is making
other Muslims happy
7. Doing chores at Home with the intention of serving your family

Whosoever glances at their parents in a way that pleases them, Allah will grant them the
reward of a Hajj

Means of Rizq (Provision)
Taqwa (fear of Allah)
Tawakkul (Trust in Allah)
o Whoever Trusts in Allah He will provide for them
Salat
Sadaqa (Charity)
Istighfar (Seek Forgiveness)
Taharruq (working)

A behavior should not belie its intentions
Intentions do not affect sins
If you do not object to something haraam you are sharing in the sin
o Objecting to Something
1. Have to know that what you are objecting to is haraam by the consensus of all
scholars (that theres is no legitimate difference of opinion over)
2. Have to know that objecting to the thing is not going to bring about a greater
harm
3. Have to believe that there is benefit in objecting to it
o Enjoin good and forbid evil
Whosoever among you sees evil, he must change it w/ his hand, or w/ his tongue, or w/ his
heart and that is the least of iman
Cannot do a good deed with bad intentions
o i.e. dating for the prupose of dawah is haraam
IMPORTNT GAGE: if you find impetus for a good deed and you dont find it from the shariah
and sunnah it could be wrongly motivated (from shaytan)
Keep intentions pure and good when doing even good deeds:
o Seeking knowledge
To learn to please Allah
To remove ignorance from myself and others
To preserve the deen
To show gratitude to Allah for the blessing of health and intellect
o Reciting the Quran
To commune with Allah
To extract knowledge from the Quran
To benefit those who are listening
Quran is not background Music listen to it and pay attention
o Dont raise your voice over Quranic recitation (or the azan)
o When playing a Quran CD only pause at the end of an ayah
A Man, when he decides to do something, does one of three things:
1. He decides and acts - GOOD
2. He decides but fails to act when clearly able to do so - BAD
3. He decides and intends to do something, but at the present time is unable to do so.
This person receives the reward equal to the one who commits the act

o Do not just be a go to school, get married, live life, buy things ,and die person!!!
o Make the intention to do big things!!!
o We should all make the intention to memorize the Quran even if we are memorizing
little by little consistently and die without memorizing it as long as we had the
intention and were working towards it we will die as a hafiz
o
Moreover, If you make the intention to do bad things it is as if you have done it!!!
Final Advice: Always be in a state of tawbah (repentful) or shukr (grateful to Allah)