. J '-Ɵ  (cont.)

There is a famous story about Umar's conversion. It is said that he was on the way to kill the Prophet (peace be upon him) when someone told him that 1 See Ibraaheem al-Ali, sahih al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah (Jordan: Daar al-Nafaa'is, 1995), p. 79. 2 Recorded by al-Bukhari. 3 These are the number of hadith found in the major works of hadith on his authority. This number, though, includes reports which are not considered authentic. The number, therefore, simply gives an idea of the rough number ofhadith that the specific Companion passed on. Hadith #1 : All Actions are but by Intentions . . . his sister had embraced Islam. Hence, he decided to go to his sister and take care of his family first. Upon coming to his sister's house, he heard the people inside the house reciting the Quran. They hid the Quran before letting him in. He requested to see what they were reading but his sister refused. He then struck his sister and she started to bleed. Umar then felt sorrowful and compassionate. He again requested to see what they were reading. His sister told him that he must go and wash himself completely and then he could touch what they were reading. He did so and came back and read the Quran. This touched his heart and he embraced Islam. Unfortunately, this story does not seem to be authentic as there is no strong chain to support it. 1 "Surely, actions are but driven by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended." What follows is a detailed discussion meant to derive the correct meaning of this portion of the hadith. The approach of many scholars over time is somewhat complex and may be difficult to understand. The reader who is seeking only the conclusions of this discussion may skip to the section, "Summary of the Meaning of 'Surely, Actions are .. . '" The Meaning of Innamaa (W!) The word innamaa implies emphasis and exclusiveness. So it should be translated something like, "Verily [or certainly] only ... " Linguists and grammarians differ concerning the semantic and syntactic ways by which innamaa shows exclusiveness. The important point is that they all agree that it does imply exclusivenessin general, as there could always be exceptions. So this hadith is translated as, "Surely, all actions are but by intention." It is not, "Actions are by intention." That would not be sufficient. Indeed, every action is based on its intention without any exception to this principle. Exclusiveness means that the stated ruling applies to what is stated and is denied for anything else. From the Quran, it is clear that this is the meaning of innamaa. There are some pairs of verses in the Quran in which exactly the same meaning is expressed but in one case the word innamaa is used while in the other case the word 'jj or "except, but" is used. For example, Allah says in the Quran, J J y 0P I J w7. w; "Surely, you will be requited only for what you used to do" (al-Tahreem 7). 1 See al-Ali, p. 80; Akram al-Umari, al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah al-Saheeha (Madina: Maktaba al­ Uloom wa al-Hikam, 1993), vol. 1, p. 180. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "And you will be requited nothing except for what you used to do" (al-Saaffaat 39). There is an important dispute among the linguists and grammarians as to whether it is literally (haqeeqi Ɩ) for exclusion or only non-literally (majaazi '-?J4--> ). Ibn Attiyya states that it does not literally mean exclusiveness, but the majority of the scholars disagree with him.1 The difference results in the following: according to ibn Attiyya, when innamaa is used, one has to have proof that it is exclusive. According to the others, it is understood to be exclusive unless there is proof showing otherwise. Hence, the approaches are actually the opposite of one another. One must also be careful and understand that there is such a thing as "relative exclusiveness". This would be understood from the context and other related evidences. For example, note the following verses of the Quran: !,,., / / J / ঋ -,,, "" j௹ ..:.-ii WI / !; "You [O Muhammad] are only one who warns" (al-Rad 7). This is a case of relative exclusiveness. That is, the Prophet (peace be upon him) warns but his role only as warner is only toward those who refuse to believe in him and submit to him. It does not mean that he does not have any characteristics other than that. With respect to the believers, he is much more than simply one who gives a warning. He is also the bearer of glad tidings. He is also the example for them to follow. Another verse that must not be misunderstood is Muhammad 36: Dž / / J. ,J ., ,J J' ( I / ௸ C.D I i './:.._ 1 1 WI ৊J . / ..