the Muslims in all acts of worship: prayer, purification, zakat, Hajj, fasting, freeing slaves, jihad, and so forth. If a person says something contrary to what he intends in his heart, what counts is his heartfelt intention, not his words. If he speaks without forming an intention in his heart, that does not suffice, by agreement of the imams of the Muslims. Intention is a form of purpose. Hence the Arabs say, “May Allah have good in store for you,” meaning, “May He intend good for you.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Actions are only according to intentions, and each person shall have only what he intended. Whoever emigrates to Allah and His Messenger, his emigration is to Allah and His Messenger; and whoever emigrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, his emigration is for that for which he emigrated.”

By “intention,” he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, meant the intention in the heart, not on the tongue, by agreement of the imams of the Muslims—the four imams and others.

The occasion of this hadith also indicates this. A man emigrated from Mecca to Medina to marry a woman called Umm Qays, and so he became known as “the emigrant for Umm Qays.” The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then delivered a sermon from the pulpit and mentioned this hadith. This man’s intention was in his heart.

Stating the intention aloud is neither obligatory nor recommended, by agreement of the Muslims. Rather, anyone who does so believing it to be prescribed by Islamic law is an innovator who contravenes that law. He is ignorant and misguided and deserves discretionary punishment, or otherwise punishment, for doing so if he persists