What every Muslim Woman should know about Niyyah

To set good intentions before actions in islam, understanding the concept of Niyyah, is particularly important for all Muslim Women. It can guide your actions and you can insha Allah gain reward from Allah SWT for setting good intentions. Do you wonder what Niyyah really means and what every muslim woman needs to know about Niyyah?

Let´s explore, research and learn together Bi idnillah

Salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu sisters

Bismillahir rahmanir raheem – we start in the name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate.

I ask Allah to put Barakah in this post and bless the readers and guide us all closer to Allah, amiin.

**Disclaimer: I´m no scholar and I´m just a slave of Allah studying our deen, & Allah knows best. These are reminders for myself as much as for my readers. Some links may be affiliated links which means I might get a small commission from the sales at no extra cost for you.

What does intention and Niyyah mean?

Down below you see what Wikipedia explained about the meaning of intentions and Niyyah.

Niyyah from arabic to english translation and explanation from wikipedia. Niyyah/intention meaning in islam

image source: Niyyah – wikipedia

The meaning of good intentions before actions in islam

Niyyah is Arabic for intentions behind actions. Islam is based on three fundamentals which the first of those three fundamentals of islam is Niyyah. There is no blame on you for your mistakes since no human is perfect. On the other hand what you do intentionally you have to take accountability for. Allah SWT will reward you according to your intentions before your actions, the prophet SAW told us in the following authentic hadith.

What is the meaning of Niyyah in islam? the following hadith explains: It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Mu'minin, Abu Hafs 'Umar bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, say: "Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

Image source: page 4 from https://ahadith.co.uk/downloads/Commentary_of_Forty_Hadiths_of_An-Nawawi.pdf

It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Mu’minin, Abu Hafs ‘Umar bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu ‘anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, say: “Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.”
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim] book 1 hadith 1

What must you know to set good intentions before actions?

First of all Niyyah (intention) has two meanings:

1: The intention before an ibadah (e.g salah/prayer)

2: The willingness → this is meant in the above hadith from Bukhari

We can learn from this hadith, there are good intentions in islam, such as migration/hijrah for the sake of Allah SWT, which are an example in the above hadith. There are two examples of bad intentions before actions in this hadith, such as migration for the sake of worldly gains or for marriage.

Niyyah is what you intended before your action and simply put; what drove you to do that action and what did you mean by it.

I recommend doing a course on hadith for example academy.seekersguidance.org has a few courses on hadith to gain more knowledge insha Allah.

Sincerity in setting good intentions

One of the most important things to understand about Niyyah is that it should be sincere. This means that to set good intentions before actions in islam the intentions behind your actions should be solely for the sake of pleasing Allah SWT. Your actions must no be for worldly gains or showing off. You should strive to maintain this sincerity in all of your actions, whether they are for performing the daily salah or engaging in charitable acts.

It is important to note that actions must be done in accordance with shariah. An example is: having good intentions but the actions you are doing are haram in islam, and you know it´s against shariah.. well simply does not make sense. So it has to be in accordance with shariah and with good intentions.

Read more about ikhlas in my blog post about ikhlas.

What every muslim woman should know about Niyyah/intention in islam

To set good intentions before actions in islam you must do this

– Keep checking your intention before actions! Both before acts of worship/ibadah but also before daily actions.

To set good intentions before actions in islam I recommend making a check list on simple good deeds to do. I use Notion to write my check lists and to-do lists as well (Notion affiliated link). Then after writing a list of simple good deeds for each day of the week, you pick one of the good deeds from your list to do that day. After completing it, its quite satisfactory to check the box of on the list as done!

I am making a Notion template which I can share as-well as my good deeds list – let me know in the comments if interested.

These actions are automatically considered that of good intentions:

Seeking knowledge in islam
Helping the community
Doing Da´wah
and more..

How to combine good intentions with teaching others

You perform ibadah solely for the sake of Allah but you are also allowed to do it with the intentions of teaching others simultaneously. When I was going for a walk with a non-muslim sister and I met a fellow sister in islam. I greeted her with “Assalamu alaykum” which is Sunnah to greet and wajib to respond. I sought reward solely from Allah SWT for my actions but I also hoped to teach the non-muslim sister the beauty and kindness of islam.

My good intentions

My intention with this blog is of course first and foremost between Allah SWT and I. But I wanna write it here as well. My good intention is to learn more about our Deen and start discussions about islam so we can all learn together insha Allah. I ask Allah SWT for guidance for me to help others with tips to get closer to Allah SWT. I share what I find useful such as Notion for my good deeds list, Notion templates for Quran journaling as well as writing my good intentions in Notion. Before anything you do, stop yourself and ask yourself what is your intention before this action or write it down like I did to stay accountable.

Conclusion

Finally, Muslim women should remember that Niyyah is a personal matter. It is between you and Allah SWT and only Allah SWT knows your true intention behind every action. Do you have good intentions or bad intentions before your actions?

Even if your own intention might not be clear to you and sometimes you might be questioning yourself why you did that action but Allah SWT knows your true intention behind it. It is not something that can be judged by others, and it is up to each individual to ensure that your intentions are sincere and pure. By cultivating a strong understanding of Niyyah and striving to maintain a sincere intention behind all of your actions, you can deepen your relationship with Allah SWT and gain reward from Allah SWT insha Allah.

And Allah SWT knows best.

Whats your good intention for today? Did you learn something new today? Let me know in the comments.