What is the precise explanation of the hadith "إنما الأعمال بالنيات"?
The agreed-upon : "Actions are but by intentions, and every person shall have what they intended" means that the validity of actions and the obligation of their rulings depend on the intention, and that intention is what directs them. However, the existence of the actions themselves does not require an intention. As for the statement: "and every person shall have what they intended," it indicates that specifying what is intended is a condition. Thus, it is not sufficient for someone who owes missed prayers to merely intend a missed prayer; rather, they must specify whether it is Dhuhr or another prayer. Muslims have unanimously agreed on the greatness of this Hadith and that it constitutes one-third of Islam. The word "إنما" (only/indeed) in it signifies restriction, so the Hadith implies that actions are accounted for by intention and are not accounted for without intention. The mention of the second part of the Hadith came to clarify the condition of specifying what is intended.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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