Actions Are By Intentions
Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab
إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ
Innamal-a'malu bin-niyyat, wa innama li-kulli imri'in ma nawa. Faman kanat hijratuhu ilallahi wa rasulihi, fa-hijratuhu ilallahi wa rasulih. Wa man kanat hijratuhu li-dunya yuseebuha aw imra'atin yankihuha, fa-hijratuhu ila ma hajara ilayh.
“Actions are judged by intentions, and every person will get what they intended. So whoever emigrated for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, then his emigration was for Allah and His Messenger. And whoever emigrated for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his emigration was for whatever he emigrated for.”
Reflection: This is considered the most important hadith in Islam. Scholars say it accounts for one-third of all Islamic knowledge.