This statement reveals the true essence of how our intentions should precede over anything that we do. The intention is the seed for sprouting every action, thought, and feeling we act upon.

Yet, surprisingly, we seem to pay the least attention to it. When a majority of our global society revolves around the central idea of temptation and materialistic gain, we as an ummah suffer greatly. This phenomenon has penetrated our religion so deeply that it has disrupted the internalisation of our deen, and if the heart trembles then our intentions face the penalty. Through this negligence, it becomes difficult for us to judge our own intentions and the means through which we act upon them.

How to Rectify The Issue
It’s simple: we need to start being the experts of our intentions.

An expert is defined as an individual who has mastered a specific subject through experience and knowledge. By applying this philosophy we can actually tackle the issue of our intentions at this very point in time.

We just need three basic ingredients, and these three are beautifully summarised in Surah Al-Asr: (1) By the essence of all time. (2) Verily, all humankind is in deep loss. (3) Except those who believed (in the oneness of Allah) and performed good work and reminded each others of the truth and reminded each others to be patient. [Quran 103, Verses 1 - 3]

Remember, knowledge is the key, time is the opportunity and patience is the effort needed to reach our goal. By combining these three we can then set the gears in motion to start mastering our intentions, which can then help us lead a more productive lifestyle, Islamically.

If you fail to keep your intentions pure, then go back to basics. Acquire more knowledge, use another opportunity to check your intentions and be patient. InshaAllah with consistency and effort you will start doing everything for the sake of Allah, Lord of all the Worlds.