Good intentions lead to good deeds

 

Good intentions lead to good deeds, and Allah Almighty knows what is in our hearts and He will reward us accordingly. You see, your salvation is living Islamicly and doing good deeds in this world. These good deeds come from good intentions. Yet, good intentions ought to come from a pure, honest, and virtuous heart; in other words you must mean well. For such an endeavor Allah will reward us for the acts of merits (Thawaab).

Let us see what Allah Almighty has said in the Quran (Surah 87: Ayah 14-15):

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّى وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى

Happy Shall Be The Man Who Purifies Himself,

Who Remembers The Name Of His Lord And Prays To Him.

The Holy Quran is very clear. In essence it tells us that to have good intentions, and to have good clean hearts is an essential prerequisite for the deeds of a good Muslim.

Allah's Messenger, Muhammad (pbuh), has said:

إنما ألأعمـال بالنـيات وإنـما لكل إمـرئٍ ما نـوى

Actions Are Judged By Motives, And A Man

Shall Have What He Intends... Bukhari

إن الله طيب لايقبل إلا طيـبا

Allah Is Pure And Loves Purity And Goodness.

ليس الإيمان بالتمــني ولكن ما وقر بالقلب وصدقه العمل

Faith Is Not A Matter Of Wishes Or Lip Service,

But What Dwells Deep In The Heart And Is Affirmed By Application.

We are reminded of the importance of having purity of heart. We must mean well. We must be good and clean. These qualities are so important that the Prophet (pbuh) said as recorded in (Imam Ja'far Al-Saadiq, book Al-Usool from Al-Kaafi, Vol. 2, Page 82.)

Lo, The Reward For The Intention Of A Believer Exceeds That For His Works, And That For A Disbeliever Is Worse Than His Works; And Each Is According To His Intention.

They Will Be In The Garden Of Bliss, They Who Have A True, Pure, And Merciful Heart.

Absorbing all this information, MuhammadAli shot another question, "Is that all we need to be in Heaven?"

With an understanding look, his father answered, "When you have a true, pure, and merciful heart, you have had an excellent beginning, a good base, so to speak. By following the teachings of Islam, you will have attained a noble status, and you will have earned your reward in the sight of the Almighty.

Having merely good intentions, yet neglecting the Islamic teachings and duties, will not get you far, however. A good Muslim must try his best to be pure-hearted, to have honest intentions, to be righteous.

Mental and spiritual cleanliness should be associated with bodily cleanliness as well. For example, look at Wudu, and how it reminds us to keep our bodies physically clean. Our clean bodies also remind us of a much higher spiritual cleanliness (Tahaarah), that of our souls and the purity of our hearts."

"Therefore, does that mean that Islam recommends we do certain things and avoid others?" MuhammadAli asked.

His father answered briefly: