How Can a Muslim Ensure Their Intentions Are Sincere?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti

Question

How can a Muslim ensure that their intentions are sincere and that their actions stem from honesty and sincerity?

Answer

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Master of the Messengers, his Family, and all his Companions.

Muslims must continuously monitor their intentions at the beginning and throughout their actions to ensure sincerity and honesty. One practical way to achieve sincerity is to regularly ask oneself: “For whom am I doing this action? From whom do I seek the reward—Allah or the people? Am I waiting for praise and admiration from people, or am I trying to be seen by others?”

Based on how one answers these questions, one can determine the sincerity of their intention.

Intentions

This is exactly what the hadith of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) emphasizes:

“Verily, actions are judged by intentions, and everyone will be rewarded according to what they intended. Whoever migrates for Allah and His Messenger, their migration is for Allah and His Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, their migration is for what they migrated for.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Hadith

Another hadith highlights the importance of intention and how it will be judged on the Day of Judgment. Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“On the Day of Judgment, Allah will descend to judge between His servants, and the first to be called will be a man who memorized the Quran, a man who was martyred in battle, and a man who had much wealth. Allah will say to the one who memorized the Quran: ‘Did I not teach you what I revealed to My Messenger?’ He will say, ‘Yes, O Lord.’ Allah will ask, ‘What did you do with what you learned?’ The man will reply, ‘I used to recite it day and night.’ Allah will say, ‘You are lying,’ and the angels will say, ‘You are lying.’ Allah will say, ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said that you are a reciter, and it was said.’

Then the wealthy man will be brought forward, and Allah will ask him: ‘Did I not give you ample wealth so that you had no need of anyone else?’ The man will reply, ‘Yes, O Lord.’ Allah will ask, ‘What did you do with what I gave you?’ The man will reply, ‘I used to give charity and keep family ties.’ Allah will say, ‘You are lying,’ and the angels will say, ‘You are lying.’ Allah will say, ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said that you are generous, and it was said.’

Then the man who was martyred will be brought, and Allah will ask him: ‘What did you do?’ He will reply, ‘I fought in Your cause until I was killed.’ Allah will say, ‘You are lying,’ and the angels will say, ‘You are lying.’ Allah will say, ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said that you are brave, and it was said.’” [Tirmidhi; Hakim]

Summary

We must carefully examine our intentions before and during action, ensuring that they are sincerely for Allah (Most High). It is acceptable if people praise us for our work as long as our intentions remain pure and sincere. Such praise might even be a reward from Allah, spoken by His servants.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti