|
AN-NIYYAH (GOOD INTENTION)
“So set your face
uprightly to the (true) religion, in harmony with the nature Allah has
made for man”
(Rom:30)
This ayah clearly
commands us to set our all purposes and intentions straight for the
religion which is the right path of nature created by Allah for all men.
It is the path of ma’rifah
i.e. awareness of Allah. Hence all our actions have to be with intention
and purpose of the pleasure of Allah.
Niyyah
means to intend and aim at doing a thing. It is a link between knowledge
and action. Obviously if there is no knowledge of a thing, there can be
no intention and if there is no intention, no action can be taken. Thus
we see that the Niyyah for every action is a natural need of
every man.Moreover, it is connected to one’s heart. Therefore the aim
and intention in one’s heart is to be considered as Niyyah.
Niyyah
has different grades and accordingly actions committed gain high or low
status before Allah (SWT). If the intention of any good action is for
other than Allah such as to earn mere publicity and to show-off (which
is based on selfish motive) then there is no divinely reward in it. Thus
we see that the Holy Prophet (saw) has said,
“Actions are
evaluated according to Niyyah (of a person)”
A true believer is
the one who seeks the pleasure of the Almighty Allah and reward from
Him, he is therefore extremely careful in keeping his Niyyah for
every good action pure for the sake of Allah (SWT). The Holy Prophet
(saw) said,
“Intention of a
believer is better than his action….”
HIGHER STAGES OF NIYYAH
1.
For every good action, our aim
and intention should not be for publicity or show-off. For example
prayer at home in seclusion is performed carelessly whereas in the
mosque it is done meticulously and perfectly to impress the public. This
is a defective Niyyah.
2.
All our good deeds should be
for seeking the pleasure of Allah (SWT) and to attain
jannah i.e.paradise and to
safeguard ourselves from the torment of
naar i.e hell-fire.
3.
It should also be for
thanksgiving to Allah (SWT) for His countless blessings upon us. Such a
Niyyah becomesthe cause of further increase in His blessings.
4.
Finally, Niyyah should
also be for the sake of fulfilling the commands of Allah (SWT) and for
proving our obedience towards Him.
It is related that
a man named Fazl bin Rahee bulit a mosque in Baghdad. At the time of
placing a plaque on the door, he was asked what should be written on it
and he expressed his desire, as the donor of the mosque, to have his
name to appear on it. By chance Wahab bin Amr (Bahlool) was present
there and he asked this question to Fazl:
“For whose sake
have you constructed the mosque?”
Fazl replied, “For
the sake of Allah”
“If it is for the
sake of Allah,why mention your name on the plaque?” asked bahlool
again.
“Why not mention my
name, how will people come to know the founder of the mosque?” retorted
Fazl
Bahlool responded
by saying,
“If you have built
this mosque to show-off and boast your name then you will have to forego
your reward from Allah”.
Fazl was
dumb-founded by this reply and then said to inscribe on the plaque
whatever bahlool suggested. Bahlool suggested the following verse of the
Holy Qur’an:
“And the mosques
are Allah’s; therefore call not upon anyone with Allah”
(72:18)
Thus Niyyah
pure and free from any selfish purpose of show-off or business interests
or exerting influence over people, for every good action is essential.
Only pure Niyyah earns lasting reward from Allah (SWT).
Released by:
Mulla Mujaheedali Sheriff
mulla@almahdi.org.uk |