Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “The imams are unanimous that raising one’s voice when uttering the intention or repeating it is not prescribed. In fact, whoever becomes accustomed to doing so should be disciplined, and the one who persists in saying it aloud—after having been informed of the ruling—deserves discretionary punishment, all the more so if he troubles others or keeps repeating it….” He then added: “Some latecomers claimed to find a view within the Shāfiʿī school that allows this, but the vast majority of Shāfiʿī scholars declared him mistaken. Imām al-Shāfiʿī said, ‘Prayer must begin with a verbal pronouncement,’ and the mistaken person imagined that he meant pronouncing the intention, whereas al-Shāfiʿī only meant the takbīr.” End of the Shaykh’s words.

Pronouncing the niyyah (intention) is not only an innovation; it can also lead to showing off, for what is required is to render every deed purely for Allah and to conceal it—except where evidence permits making it public. A Muslim, therefore, should stop at the limits set by the Sharīʿah, adhere to the Sunnah, and abandon all innovations, whatever their form and whoever their source…

May Allah grant us all success in what He loves and is pleased with. Allah the Exalted says, “Say, ‘Are you teaching Allah about your religion, while Allah knows everything in the heavens and everything on the earth? Allah is All-Knowing of all things.’”

Allah alone knows the intentions and aims concealed in the hearts, so there is no need to voice them—neither in prayer nor in any other act of worship. Allah knows best.