Everything Depends on the Purpose (Part 3)

Still discussing intentions, this discussion is no less important than previous discussions on intentions. Remembering that intentions have a very big influence on a servant’s actions and practices.

Read the previous article: Fiqh Rule: Everything Depends on the Purpose (Part 2)

Between intention and action

In the relationship between intention and action, there are two situations:

First condition: Intentions that do not accompany actions;

Second condition: Actions that are not based on intention.

Each of these two circumstances has different legal consequences. The explanation is as follows:

First condition: Intention that is not accompanied by action

What this means is that someone only intends it in their heart, but has not yet carried out the action or said it verbally. Thus, this intention is not realized in the form of actions or words. Under these conditions, no worldly legal consequences apply.

For example:

– If there is someone who intends in his heart to divorce his wife, but does not go so far as to say talak or something similar; So in this case, it doesn’t fall into divorce. Because divorce here is only limited to intentions, and has not yet reached words.

– If there is someone who intends to donate something, but there is nothing in his actions or words that proves this. In this case, waqf is not valid because it is only an intention, that is, it is not valid and is not valid until someone makes it happen through actions or words.

Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said,

God Almighty has ignored for my people what they say to themselves, unless they act or talk about it.

“Indeed, Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla forgives my people, whatever comes to their hearts, as long as it has not been realized in the form of actions, or verbally.” (HRBukhari)

So that if it only “comes across” and has not been done or said, worldly legal consequences do not apply. As for the legal consequences of the afterlife in the form of rewards or sins, sometimes intentions have an influence on them, even though there are no actions or words accompanying those intentions. Related to this, only Allah Story who knows what is in the hearts of His servants. Allah Story said,

Tell me whether you hide what is in your chest or reveal it, Allah will know.

“Say (Prophet Muhammad), “If you hide what is in your heart or reveal it, Allah will surely know it.” He knows what is in the heavens and what is on the earth. Allah is Almighty over everything.(QS. Ali ‘Imran: 29)

Second condition: Actions that are not based on intention

This second situation is the opposite of the first situation, namely that there are actions that are carried out without intention, but still give rise to legal consequences.

This second situation is divided into two discussions:

Actions that are still legally valid, even if they are not intentional

This type of action is divided into several forms:

– First: Obligations that by doing them are enough to realize the problem. Such as returning stolen items, returning debts, and others. In this case, a law can be established only by actions and does not require intention.

– Second: Actions which, if required by intention, will actually lead to cycle (circularity) or endless rotation. An example is the intention itself. Because if the intention has to be intended again, there will be an endless cycle.

– Third: Real and clear actions that only have one meaning, whether they are actions or words. In this case, legal consequences apply to him regardless of the perpetrator’s intentions.

For example:

– A person who sells something to another person by saying, “I’m selling you this thing.”

– Or he bequeaths something to someone else by saying, “I bequeathed this to so and so.”

In this case, the sale and purchase is valid and the will is valid, even though the person does not intend to sell or make a will. So there is no need for any intention in this matter. When he has said or done something, then his actions or words will have legal consequences in the form of the validity of the sale and purchase and the implementation of the will.

Likewise, if someone says to his friend with a clear statement, “O adulterer!” Even though his friend did not commit adultery at all, the law still applies to him fast (accusing someone of adultery) in the form of eighty lashes, without considering the intentions of the accuser.

– Fourth: Deeds or actions of obedience that are not the same and are vague from other acts of obedience. This means practices that are originally pure worship, such as reading the Koran and dhikr of Allah Story. If there is no riya in doing it, then it is enough to say it is an act of obedience by just doing it.

– Fifth: Leave behind disobedience, whether in the form of things that are haram or makruh. Like leaving adultery and leaving riya. In fact, it is enough to say that abandoning haram actions is abandoning haram actions and there is no need for intention.

However, it is different when talking about rewards. If you want to get rewards from abandoning things that are forbidden, then you need intention. Without intention, sins will disappear by abandoning them, but will not receive any reward.

– Sixth: Good deed. In fact, no intention is needed to do good. Such as eating, drinking, etc. But intention can turn it into value.

Also read: Important Benefits of Setting Intentions

Actions that are not legally valid unless the action is accompanied by intention

This includes all actions that do not have clear aims and objectives. This means that the action has several possible meanings, so it contains several possible intentions.

Actions like this must be suspended and must not be immediately punished until the perpetrator’s intentions are completely clear.

For example:

If a husband says to his wife, “Go to your family.” This saying is not necessarily considered a divorce, because it contains several possible meanings:

• It could be that the aim is truly divorce;
• The husband only ordered his wife to go visit her family;
• The husband could also order his wife to stay away from him until her husband’s anger disappears.

Therefore, the law of this act is suspended until the intention is clear.

To make it easier to understand the discussion above, here is a summary in table form:

Hope it is useful. God bless.

[Bersambung]

BACK TO PART 2

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Depok, 3 Rajab 1447/ 23 December 2025

Writer: Zia Abdurrofi

Article Muslim.or.id

Reference:

– Al-Mumti’ fil Qawa’id Al-Fiqhiyyah, the work of Prof. Dr. Musallam bin Muhammad Ad-Dusary (with slight changes).

– and several other references.