ভূমিকা
Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Commentary on Prayer Intention {niyyah} The first essential element { rukn } of prayer is the intention { niyyah }. Intention means that we have to know what we are doing, what we are reciting, and for whom and for what a certain movement is made. The value of every deed lies in the intention and motive behind it; not merely in the deed itself.
Thus, the quality of the actions of a person who stops on a red traffic light in order to maintain order and respect for the law is different from that of a person who carries out the same actions but out of fear of the traffic officer or of the fine that he might receive for violating traffic regulations. In all forms of worship, especially in prayer, intention occupies a special importance. In principle, what makes an action a form of worship is the divine intention behind it.
Sincere Intention Sincere intention means that man acts for the sake of God only and in the depth of his being, God and His pleasure are his aims, without expecting reward, gratitude or admiration from others.[^2] The loaves of bread that the of the Messenger of Allah (S) gave to the orphans, captives and poor on successive nights at the time of breaking fast { iftar } did not have much material value, but since they were given sincerely, on this account God revealed a surah .[^3] And concerning it, ‘Attar an-Nayshaburi says: گذشته زين جهان، وصف سنانش گذشته زآن جهان، وصف سِه نانش No one in this world can describe his sword.
No one in the hereafter can describe his three loaves of bread. We read in history that a certain person was slain in the battlefield and everybody said: “He is a martyr { shahid }.” But the Prophet (S) said: “He was killed in the way of a donkey { qatil al-himar }!” The people were astonished, but the Prophet (S) said: “His aim in going to the battlefield was not God; rather, when he saw that the enemy was riding a good donkey, he said to himself: ‘I will kill him and take his donkey as war booty { ghanimah }.’ But he did not succeed and that infidel killed him instead.