Niyyah (Intention)

Niyyah is the criterion by which actions and behaviors are evaluated. Prophet Muhammad (saw) refers to this issue in His famous hadith. “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Badu al-wahy 1).    Niyyah, which is an important criterion in the evaluation of deeds, means that the person decides something definitively and knows what he is doing for what purpose. In other words, when a person performs salah, he should know which salah he performs and for whom he performs it.  Niyyah, which is among the prerequisites of salah, is essentially performed with the heart. It is mustahabb to express the intention with the tongue.

By physically and spiritually purifying oneself before salah, a Muslim shows the determination for worship in his heart, hereby strengthening his consciousness in turning to Allah (swt). Performing the opening takbir and niyyah simultaneously is considered more virtuous. A niyyah performed after the opening takbir, however, is considered invalid according to the majority of the scholars.