The Good Intentions Manifesto

Abdullah ibn al Mubarak was seen standing before the Ka’bah and was overheard saying: “O Allah, Ibn Abil-Muwaali told us from Muhammad Ibn al-Munkadir from Jaabir (RA) that Your Prophet (SAW) said, ‘The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drank for.’ I am drinking it to prevent the thirst of the Day of Judgement.” Then Abdullah ibn al Mubarak drank it.

Life coaches everywhere know the power of good intentions, and Muslims everywhere should recognize the POWER of the RIGHT intentions. The fact is that the action we take should be directly related to the intent behind those actions. But sometimes things happen, we get busy with our lives, and we don’t really reflect on our intentions enough. Our actions, even our deeds become the ‘norm’, doing them becomes mindless, and reaping the benefits is not even in the picture.

Yet, when it comes to leading our best lives, to living with purpose and clarity, and excellence in all that we do, the act of going back to our intentions and giving them their due importance becomes obligatory. For the seeker of excellence, continually reviewing, expanding, and renewing your intention becomes as essential as oxygen is to your physical sustenance.

Muna (not her real name) has had a rough year. She became a mother for the third time, and her own mother passed away. Her husband works long hours in a city they just moved to. She feels isolated not knowing too many people and uprooted from her past life, her home and friends. She spends most of her time cooking and cleaning and tending to her children. She’s busy, yes, but in a “this is just filling my time” sort of way. Her actions are mechanical, her state of mind stolid (at best), and even her two year old sees it. The other day the child asked her mother why she never plays with her.

Mustafa (not his real name) is trying to be the patient and understanding husband, but he says that everything he does to try to help Muna reclaim the essence of her lively life (the one before this year) is met with indifference from her. Frankly, he thinks that he’s absorbing her impassiveness upon himself. And this worries him. The drive he had at his work, the rapport he enjoyed with his friends, the excitement he first felt at the prospect of getting involved with the Muslim community in his area, are all beginning to fade. He wants to reverse the situation, but he doesn’t know where to begin.

Where he begins is where we should all begin at times, at the start of every morning, but especially more so when we’re trying to get out of a destructive rut or looking to accomplish a worthy goal: we should all begin with our intentions. Purposely intending to do something that will color your life lively is the place to start. That’s fine for him, argues Mustafa, but how can he “intend” to influence someone else’s life, namely his wife.

The truth is, you can’t. But that’s part of making intentions too. By the very nature of the act, you are stating your objectives to Allah SWT, aiming to do the work necessary to achieve them, and then absolving yourself from the result that may or may not be in your control. The results are in the Hands of Allah SWT, and there is liberty in knowing that so long as your intention was in the right place, you can’t go wrong.

Here are four tips enabling you to ensure you’re making the most of your intentions:

1. Speak them out loud and use meaningful adjectives

The act of verbalizing an intention is the first step in transforming it from some random “I should do this” type of thought that roams around the wasteland of our minds to an “I will do this” action plan. What do you intend? Articulate it. Make it thrive with vibrancy. Have it be so colorful that you jump out of bed as the thought of it crosses your mind. After much soul searching, Mustafa found his voice. He spoke his intention to his wife one morning. “InshAllah, I’m making the intention to go for Hajj with you this year. We’ll have the most spiritual, wonderful time of our lives, and I can barely wait until I clear a path for you to kiss the black stone!” This last part made Muna laugh out loud, catching her husband’s enthusiasm.

2. Give them a fighting chance to see the light of day

What are the actions that will help along your intentions? What do you need to do so that your spoken intentions aren’t just just a bunch of words that you speak nonchalantly because you think that you “should” be doing them? Once you’ve determined what needs to be done, do it. When Mustafa intended to work on bringing the “life” back into his marriage and into his entire life, he decided that a Hajj trip for him and Muna would be what they needed. He started working on a plan, budgeting for the costs associated, and looking for someone to watch the children when they would be away.

3. Visit them often

Connect with your intentions in your duas to Allah SWT. Ask HIM to accept them, to make them happen. Reflect on them before doing an act and while thinking about doing an act. See them in your mind’s eye during times of reflection. Allow them to present themselves when you least expect them to. One time on his commute home, Mustafa was daydreaming so vividly about embarking on the Hajj rites with Muna, that he nearly missed his stop.

4. Treat them tenderly with loving care

Knowing that they will serve you well, no matter if you attain them or not. Allah SWT will look at your intentions not just accordingly, but abundantly. Narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA) that our Prophet (SAW) said, “Allah says, ‘If my slave intends to do a bad deed then (O Angels) do not write it unless he does it; if he does it, then write it as it is. But if he refrains from doing it for My Sake, then write it as a good deed (in his account). (On the other hand) if he intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, then write it as a good deed (in his account), and if he does it, then write it for him (in his account) as ten good deeds up to seven-hundred times.’” [Bukhari]

In the end, it’s an interesting thing about intentions. You never really comprehend how far they’ll go or what a lasting impression and legacy they can result in. Hajar (RA) had the intention to take care of her infant son. Left in a barren land, she went from the mounts of AlSafa and AlMarwa looking for sustenance. As she came down and saw the gushing water, she proclaimed, “Zam Zam,” and cupped her hands to catch it. And it flowed and flowed. Her son drank and she drank. Ibn AlMubarak drank. Generations of Muslim drank and will continue to drink from it inshAllah. What will your intention be when you get the chance? Mustafa knows what his will be.

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* This article first appeared in Distinction Magazine