بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of Allah, the most Gracious the most Merciful
Imam Nawawi’s Arba`in [1]
The above hadith is considered one the “Pivots-of-Islam Hadith” (al hadith al lati `alayha madar al islam) as stated by Imam Nawawi in his Bustan Al `Arifin. This is because it relates to ones outward actions and makes clear that the acceptance of these outward actions are intrinsically related to ones intentions.
Both Imam Shafi`i and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal stated that this hadith conveyed a third of the knowledge of the religion. This is mainly because the religion is a combination (majmu’a) of three things, as Imam Badr Al Din `Ayni stated in his Umdat Al Qari, which are:
قول و فعل و نية
“Sayings, Actions and Intention.”
This can be interpreted, thus, as:
[1] The tongue
[2] The various body parts such as hands, feet and so forth.
[3] The heart
Since the intention is connected to the heart this hadith was given the title of “A third of Islam” as Ibn Daqiq al `Id and Imam Nawawi stated in their respected commentaries:
قال الشافعي وآخرون : هو ثلث الإسلام
Imam Bayhaqi further stated, as narrated in the Mirqat, that the intention is actually the “first of the three”, meaning, that it takes precedence over sayings and actions due to the reason outlined previously i.e. all outward actions are only accepted based on intentions. This precedence is also supported in the hadith narrated by Ibn Hajar Haythami in his Majma’ al Zawa’id (Bab niyyat al mu’min wa ‘amal al munafiq) from Sahl ibn Sa`d:
ية المؤمن خير من عمله
“The intention of a believe is better then his action.”
Let's purify our intentions in every actions.
Wallahua'lam.
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