Article appeared Friday, June 26th, 2015 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Revelation (383)

yousuf mahbubul Islam, PhD

Is it important to examine the intentions behind our actions? Thinking about the question, one
may first ask, whether it is possible for the same action to have different intentions? The second
question: would intentions necessarily have an effect on the outcome? Let us look around for
examples to help us think about possible answers. For example, when a parent instructs or talks
to a child, could the following be possible intentions?
* My child should know how great I am
* Other people should know that he/she is my son/daughter
* My child should grow up to be a righteous person he/she should be able to independently
take the right decisions!
Would the chosen intention have an effect on the character development of the child? For
example, which intention is likely to promote,
* an inferiority complex in the child? Or,
* the child showing off the fathers/mothers wealth and status in public? Or,
* the child to develop a confident, stable and balanced personality?
To achieve the third outcome, the parent may often appear to be cruel or unjust, however, such
actions may be necessary to help the child make mistakes and learn from his/her experiences.
Competing intentions are a part of anything that we do. As another example, when teachers
teach, could they have any of the following intentions?
* Teach to show students how knowledgeable they are?
* Teach just as a job to make money?
* Teach to help students learn?
Which of the teachers intentions is likely to produce the best output in the students? As the
teachers salary is drawn from the students fees, which of the intentions would be just and
righteous? To get students to learn properly, a teacher may have to get the students to do a lot
of work something that may be disliked by students who are looking for quick success. A good
teacher may therefore sometimes have to be cruel and/or strict to serve good intentions.
Given the value of the intention behind any option, is it surprising that the first recorded saying
or hadith of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Sahih Al-Bukhari is regarding the intentions behind
actions?
Narrated Umar bin Al-Khattab, I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds
depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he
has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his
emigration was for what he emigrated for." [1.1]
Not only do outcomes depend on intentions, but so do the rewards. Which of the intentions in
the two preceding examples is the Creator likely to reward? In the story of Prophet Joseph
(pbuh) given in the Holy Scriptures, good intentions play a large part to show his character.
Although the 10 half brothers of Joseph had sold him off as a slave, he continued to
demonstrate best intentions towards all his family members. Unknown to the brothers, Allah had
subsequently established him in a position of power in the court of Egypts Pharaoh. He was
given the responsibility of managing the royal storehouses. Given that there was a famine both
in Egypt and neighboring lands, the half-brothers had come to the storehouses to purchase food
grain.

12.58 Then came Joseph's brethren (seeking grain), and they entered his
presence; and he recognized them but to them he was unknown.
Joseph was courteous with them and furnished them with a handsome quota for each of the 10
brothers. This left Benjamin, Josephs own brother, out, as they had not brought him with them.

12.59 And when he had furnished them with provisions (suitable for the 10) for
them he said, "Bring me the brother of yours of the same father as yourselves
(but a different mother). Do you not see that I give full measure and that I do
provide the best hospitality?
Had the brothers brought Benjamin, they would have received another camel load of grain.
Since Joseph feared possible ill-treatment of Benjamin (like they had treated Joseph himself
when he lived among them), e.g., not sharing the given food grain, he wanted them to bring
Benjamin with them on the next occasion. He therefore warned of consequences if they did not.

12.60 But if you do not bring him to me, no future measure will there be from me
nor shall be you (be allowed to even) come near me.
12.61 They replied, "We shall certainly seek to get your wish about him from his
father; (so that we can bring him), and indeed we shall do it."
They had realized that the father would not easily part with Benjamin, given their previous bad
record with Joseph. Their father knew Joseph to be dead.

12.62 And (Joseph) told his servants to put their stock with which they had
traded (with which they had bartered back) into their saddlebags so they should
know it only when they returned to their people in order that they might come
back.
Joseph returned the items that they had used to barter for the grain. It was Josephs intention
that they should have enough trade-in items when they came next time.

12.63 Now when they returned to their father they said, "O our father! Further
measure of grain has been denied to us (unless we take our brother): so send our
brother with us that we may get our measure; and we will indeed take every care
of him."
12.64 He replied, "Shall I trust you with him with any result other than when I
trusted you with his brother? But Allah is the best Guardian. He is the Most
Merciful of those who show mercy!"
12.65 Later, when they opened their baggage they found their stock in trade had
been returned to them. They said, "O our father! What (more) can we desire? Our
stock in trade has been returned to us. So we can get (more) food for our family;
we shall take care of our brother; and add (at the same time) a full camel's load
(of grain to our provisions): this (what we have now) is but a small quantity."
12.66 (Jacob, the father,) said, "Never will I send him with you until you promise
me in Allah's name that you will bring him back to me unless you are yourselves
surrounded by enemies (and made powerless)." And when they had given their
promise, he said, "Allah is Witness over all that we say."