The importance of intending to good works every day
Harun YahyaA person of faith orders his whole life according to the Qur'an, and strives to apply carefully from day to day what he has read and learned in its verses. In everything he does from the moment he gets up in the morning until the time he falls asleep at night, he is intent on thinking, speaking and acting according to the teachings of the Qur'an. Allah shows us in the Qur'an that this dedication dominates the whole life of a believer.
Say: "My prayer and my rites, my living and my dying, are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat al-An'am: 162)
The Believer Must Renew His Intention Every Day
At this very moment, as we are reading this article, we can accordingly renew our intention. From this very moment, we can intend to spend our time, use our opportunities, and put our spiritual and physical power into use in a much more conscious, attentive and sincere manner. This a very different and distinctive state of mind. No doubt a Muslim spends his every moment in compliance with the morality of the Qur’an. Such a person is keenly interested in what is happening around him. He is more vigilant towards arduous works than anyone else. He is the one that speaks the best words. He is more kind, conciliatory and positive than everyone else. He is full of love and compassion. He notices the needs of people before anyone else and meets them. He always employs an appeasing and peaceful style. He has a very different, positive mood that everyone notices right away.
No matter what the conditions, believers will not compromise in showing superior behavior. Their values do not change; they always conform to Allah's commands and recommendations. They take Allah's Messenger Prophet Muhammad , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, (saas) as their example whom Allah praises in the Qur'an in these words:
Indeed you are truly great in character (Surat al-Qalam: 4)
The believer experiences the positive effects of “once again renewing his intention” every day. The goal of a believer who assumes this morality is to be among the “the most beloved servants of Allah.” For this reason, once he fully adopts this morality, he once again intends to be more sincere, more sensitive towards Allah’s good pleasure, and more scrupulous; this deepens his morality even more. This continues until the end of his life; he never finds his efforts and auspicious deeds to be sufficient. Consequently his faith, morality, personality and attitudes progress continuously and ultimately attains perfection.
In the Qur’an Allah informs us about the character of Muslims with such traits as follows:
Such people are truly racing towards good things, and they are the first to reach them. (Surat al-Muminun, 61)
By Allah's will, living according to the teaching of the Qur'an and the Sunnah will enable people to develop a broad means of understanding, superior intelligence, the ability to distinguish right from wrong and the ability to consider a matter in depth. These characteristics will ensure that the person who possesses them will live every moment of his life in the ease that comes from these advantages. A person who lives his life in submission to Allah and according to the religious teachings will be totally different from other people in how he behaves, sits and walks, in his point of view and how he explains and interprets things, and in the solutions he finds for the problems that confront him.
