Thus, “each person will receive only what he intended.”

The Prophet’s words, “Actions are but by intentions…,” together with the immediately preceding clause, form a scale by which every deed is weighed; they are, however, a scale for what is hidden—the inner state of the heart. As for his statement—related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her—“Whoever performs a deed that is not in accordance with our command, it is rejected,” that is the scale for outward actions.

Because of this, the scholars have said, “These two hadiths gather the whole of the religion.” The hadith of ʿUmar, “Actions are judged only by intentions,” is the touchstone of the inner life, whereas the hadith of ʿĀʾishah, “Whoever performs a deed not sanctioned by us, it is rejected,” is the touchstone of external conduct.

The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—then offered an illustrative example applying the principle of the first hadith: “Whoever’s hijrah (emigration) was to Allah and His Messenger, his hijrah was indeed to Allah and His Messenger. But whoever’s hijrah was for some worldly gain he hoped to obtain, or for a woman he wished to marry, his hijrah is to that for which he emigrated.”

Hijrah means for a person to move from a land of disbelief to a land of Islam. Suppose, for example, a man is living in America—a land of disbelief—embraces Islam, yet cannot practise his religion openly there; he relocates to a Muslim country. That is hijrah.

When people undertake hijrah, they differ with respect to their motives. First, there are those who emigrate, leaving their homeland for the sake of Allah and His Messenger—that is, for the sake of the divine law