If it is said: Why not say that it is prescribed for him to verbalize what he has intended, so that the heart may conform to the tongue, when performing an act of worship?

The answer is that this is contrary to the sunnah.

If it is said: But the Prophet ﷺ did not prohibit it?

The answer:

1. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever introduces into this matter of ours that which does not belong to it, it is rejected.” (1)

2. Whenever the reason for something existed during the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime, yet he did not do it, this indicates that it is not part of the sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ would form intentions for acts of worship when he wished to perform them, but he would not verbalize what he had intended. Thus, refraining from something when its reason exists is the sunnah, and doing it is contrary to the sunnah.

For this reason, it is not sunnah to verbalize the intention, whether silently or aloud—contrary to the view of some scholars, who hold that verbalizing it silently is sunnah (2), and the view of others who hold that verbalizing it aloud is sunnah (658). Neither view has any basis; rather, the evidence indicates the opposite.

Intention is a condition for the validity of all acts of worship, due to the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Actions are only by intentions, and each person shall have only what he intended.” (3)

There are two kinds of intention: