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Niyyat (Intention)

Niyyat is a commonly used Arabic word in the Islamic lexicon meaning "Intention". That the importance of "intention" is paramount in Islamic observances is clear from the very first Hadith of the compilation "Sahih of Bukhari" which states that "definitely all actions are (based) on intentions."

The significance of Niyyat is that you get rewarded or punished solely based on your intention behind an act. This is of course understandable, as you don’t get charged for assault if you accidentally hurt some body while driving; but the case is different if you do it in a fight.

In matters of worship the significance of Niyyat is that you should be aware what exactly you are going to do before the act. For example you cannot perform a ceremonial prayer (Salat) without exact awareness of which prayer it is.

A person prays Dhuhr prayer (mid-day prayer) after the time for Dhuhr is over, without being aware that the time is actually over. Later he realizes this fact. However he cannot consider that Salat as Asr, which is the prayer to be performed at that time and is in fact identical to Dhuhr prayer, because of lack of Niyyat that was required for it.

If one is obliged to take Ghusl (ritual bathing), it should be taken with intention, and just a bath taken without intention cannot be considered as Ghusl.

Hajj (pilgrimage) can be done either for oneself or on someone else's behalf. However once one sets out for Hajj, then he cannot change the intention about the beneficiary in between.

Similarly Niyyat is necessary for fasting even the day before. So a person cannot decide to fast for a day just after waking up in the morning.

So it can be seen that Niyyat is something which you should just think in mind. There arose a later practice to make people converse the intention in words. It will be something like “I intend to pray Dhuhr prayer which has four Rakahs (units) for the sake of Allah..” or something similar. However this is considered innovation (Bidah) in religion and is not necessary or permitted.

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