Our Intention-what went wrong

In the name of Allah the most gracious, Allah the Lord of all creations.

La Hawla Wala Quwwata Illa Billah-there is no power nor might except with Allah.

As human beings we could just do anything without attaching sincerity to it, but as Muslims Sincerity is the backbone of our actions.

Without sincerity, our actions become invalid.

''Every action is but by its intention''

 An intention is found almost in every action but Sincerity needs to be attached to it.

So many negative things occur as a result of insincerity in our actions, while some many good things are bound to occur when we attach sincerity to our actions.

We all know of the Companion(Ra), who gave out all his wealth for the sake of Allah, And we all ask, how was he able to pull out this? 

Because with us even a little of our wealth we can't give Out for the sake of Allah.

The reason why it was possible with the sahaba's was, even before they had the wealth or even before Allah bestow upon them the grace of wealth, their ''first'' intention was to please Allah, and after Allah have bestowed upon them wealth, they were able to fulfill their dream of pleasing Allah.

The reason why we can't give out for the sake of Allah is, right even before Allah bestow upon us the grace of wealth, our ''first'' intention was to lay our hands on the wealth first, then pleasing Allah comes second. That is why we find it hard to give out for the sake of Allah.

A wealth accumulated without the intention of pleasing Allah will be hard to be spent in the cause of Allah.

Those we found lavishing wealth anyhow, were able to lavish it because that was their intention since even before they had the wealth.

In whatever you do pleasing Allah comes first, then anything can follow, pleasing Allah cannot come second, pleasing Allah should always come first.

The same issue with those seeking for knowledge, their aim is to seek for the knowledge, graduate with first class, get a job, get married, have kids and live a happy life.

And when these things seem like they are not coming, what happens to the individual? 

Some will say he is just a fresh student in the university of life. But the reality is, the dream he has been chasing, the backbone for all these actions was to please himself, and if he is unable to please himself, He begins to hurt himself. This is the reality.

A man who runs all day searching for success to please him self and not his maker, will begin to hurt himself as soon as the success is kept away from him. A lot of people end in self-torture.

But wallahi if the first intention when pursuing a job was to please Allah, then even after the job is not forthcoming, you will be able to say Alhamdulillah, perhaps Allah have some better plans in store for me.

In whatever we do, pleasing Allah should come first. when going for tahajud during Ramadhan, if your intention was to see the beauty of the masjid, how beautifully the Imam recites etc, when you go and you find the opposite, then you won't be able to worship your Lord has he ought to be worshiped, why? Because the motive is lost.

Intentions are the motivation behind our actions, so when sincerity is attached to it, the motive becomes strong and this is what determines our enthusiasm, quality and the amount of effort we put in an action.

When the bricklayers are working to build a house, and the time, the effort they are putting to build the house is not promising, just add to their wages and you will be astonished.

The same way if you are worried about the time, quality and effort you put in when worshiping Allah, you need to add sincerity to your actions.

''when the heart gives a command that is full of sincerity all the parts of the body will surely comply''

Teach your children the true act of sincerity by changing their views about why they do things.

Teach your kids the reason why they go to school, the ultimate reason is not to become successful in life but rather to please Allah.

Because Allah has made it obligatory upon us to seek for knowledge, and when you strive to please Allah, then you will succeed

May Allah grants us sincerity in whatever we do.