Uttering the intention aloud before the prayer
Question: What is the ruling on saying the intention for the prayer out loud and even naming the prayer aloud, such as saying, “I intend to pray the ‘Asr prayer—four rak‘ahs—for the sake of Allah Most High,” and the like?
Answer: Intention is a condition for the validity of the prayer, as it is for all acts of worship, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Deeds are only by intentions, and each person will have only what he intended.” Still, the intention is not to be verbalised. Its place is the heart; it is an act of the heart, and Allah—exalted is He—knows what is hidden and what is even more concealed. No evidence has been transmitted that permits articulating the intention. Accordingly, pronouncing the intention—whether for the prayer or for any other act of worship—is a blameworthy innovation, for it introduces into the religion something for which there is no proof from the Law. Nowhere is it reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ever said, “I intend to pray four rak‘ahs, the obligatory ẓuhr or ‘Asr,” nor is anything of the sort authenticated from any of his Companions or the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Therefore it is a newly-invented innovation. Intentions reside in the heart, and Allah knows what the hearts contain even if the tongue says nothing. He, the Most High, says: “Say, ‘Are you going to inform Allah about your religion, while Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth? And Allah is Knowing of all things.’” (Qur’an 49:16).
Acts of worship are governed by explicit textual evidence; it is not permissible to introduce anything into them or into the way they are performed unless there is proof, because their basis is tawqīf—restricted to what the texts permit and prescribe. There is no textual proof for pronouncing the intention except in two specific contexts: at the start of iḥrām for Hajj or ‘Umrah, when one may say, for example, “I intend to enter iḥrām for such-and-such,” and at the time of slaughtering the sacrificial animal (hady or uḍḥiyah), when one says, “O Allah, this is on behalf of so-and-so” or “on my own behalf.” Apart from these two situations, uttering the intention is an innovation that forms no part of the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) or of the pious early generations. Allah knows best.