This page answers a claim that is heard often: a person introduces a new act of worship, or keeps one up, and when he is asked about it he says: my intention is good, so it will be accepted. The short answer is no. A good intention does not make a deed that Allah and His Messenger ﷺ did not legislate into an accepted deed; at most, the one who did not know is rewarded for his intention itself, while the deed is rejected. Everything quoted on this page comes from the books listed in the References: Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen’s commentary on Kitab at-Tawheed and his book on innovation, Al-Ibda’, and Shaykh as-Sa’di’s explanation of the Qur’an.
Rewarded for the Intention, Not for the Action
In his commentary on Kitab at-Tawheed, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen draws out the matters in the story of the people who made images of their righteous men. The ninth matter is this very claim:
“The ninth matter: Knowing Shaytaan by what Bid’ah eventually leads to even if the doer has good intention: because it was Shaytaan who deceived these idolaters into making these images and pictures since he knows that the Bid’ah will eventually translate into Shirk.”
“His saying: even if the doer has a good intention: That is, Bid’ah is evil even if the doer has good intentions, and he sins if he knows it is Bid’ah despite his good intentions because he knowingly commits sin like the one who approves lying and deceit while claiming (to do so for) Maslahah (approved pressing benefits). But if he is ignorant, he will not be sinning because no sin counts except with knowledge. However, he may be rewarded for his good intentions; Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah drew attention to that in his book, Iqtidaa’ as-Siraat al-Mustaqeem. So, he will be rewarded for his intentions and not for his action. This action of his is neither righteous and acceptable nor pleasing (before Allah). However, for his good intention and lack of knowledge, he will be rewarded.”
The two sides of it, the rewarded intention and the unrewarded deed, are shown in what the Prophet ﷺ said to two men:
“Thus, he (ﷺ) told the man who had observed the Salaah but repeated his ablution after finding water and prayed again that, “you have the reward, twice” because of his good intention and the fact that his action is basically righteous.”
“But if someone intends to observe the deed (such as Salaah as cited above) twice despite knowing it to be unapproved he will have no reward because his action is not correct owing to it contradicting the Sunnah. The Prophet (ﷺ) told the other person who did not repeat his Salaah that, “you accomplished the Sunnah.””
And the plea itself is answered in the same place. A man says he innovates in order to inspire people and encourage them:
“If he says: “As for me, I want to provide inspiration and give encouragement and so on through that…” I would respond that: This kind of intention is defamation of the message of the Messenger (ﷺ) because it ascribes shortcoming or deficiency to it. That is to say, it failed to give information about that or was deficient in knowledge. And this will be a great and dangerous thing since neither the Prophet (ﷺ) nor his rightly-guided successors were upon that.”
The Shaykh then returns to the one who acted without knowing, and closes with the Prophet’s ﷺ own words:
“But if he had good intention but was unaware that it is an innovation, he will be rewarded for his intention and not for his action because his action is wrong and void as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever carries out an action for which we have not given approval; it will be rejected.””
If You Want Good
The Shaykh’s book Al-Ibda’, written on the perfection of the Shariah and the danger of innovation, has a chapter headed “Whoever wants good, goodness is in the way of the predecessors”. In it he speaks to the innovators themselves:
“And I say to those who are afflicted with innovations, whose intentions may be good and who want good, if you want good, then by Allah we do not know a better path than the path of the Salaf [Predecessors] (may Allah be pleased with them). Brothers, hold fast to the Sunnah of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) with your molars and follow the path of the righteous Salaf and be as they were and see if that will harm you at all?”
The definition of innovation in the Shaykh’s own words, and the full treatment of its kinds and harms, stand on Innovation (Bid’ah): in short, it is an act of worship introduced into the religion that was not legislated by Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
Following Is the Sign of Love
The claim of a good intention is often a claim of love as well: I love Allah, and I mean this deed for Him. Allah answers the claim of love with a command to the Prophet ﷺ. Shaykh as-Sa’di prints the verse:
“Say: If you love Allah then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surah Aal-‘Imran 3:31)
Shaykh as-Sa’di explains the verse by saying that the sign of love of Allah is following His Messenger ﷺ in all matters, in word and deed, inwardly and outwardly, and that whoever does not follow him has a claim that does not benefit him; his explanation stands in full on What Is the Difference Between Following the Sunnah and Following Cultural Traditions?
One Path
There are not many paths to choose from according to what a person thinks good. There is one path, and Allah commands following it and warns against the paths that branch off from it. Shaykh as-Sa’di prints the verse and explains it:
“Verily, this is My path, leading straight; follow it, and do not follow [other] paths, lest they cause you to deviate from His path. Thus He instructs you, so that you may protect yourselves [from misguidance].” (Surah al-An’am 6:153)
“Having explained many of the major rulings and important laws, Allah then refers to them and to that which is more comprehensive and general than them, as He says: «Verily, this is My path, leading straight» that is, these and similar rulings, which Allah has explained in His Book and made clear to His slaves, are the path of Allah that leads to Him and to paradise; it is a moderate, easy and straightforward path. «follow it» in order to attain success and prosperity, and to fulfil your hopes «and do not follow [other] paths» that is, paths that are contrary to this path «lest they cause you to deviate from His path» that is, lead you astray and cause you to deviate right and left. For if you go astray from the straight path, there is nothing else but paths that lead to hell.”
The Religion Is Complete
Nothing is lacking in the religion that a new deed could supply. Allah declared it perfected and completed, and Shaykh as-Sa’di prints the clause and comments on it:
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My blessing upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Surah al-Ma’idah 5:3)
“«This day have I perfected your religion for you» by completing the victory and perfecting all laws and teachings that have to do with both outward and inward matters, fundamentals and minor issues. Hence the Qur’an and Sunnah are completely sufficient with regard to the rulings of Islam, both fundamental and minor issues. Anyone who tries to be smart by claiming that the people have no choice, in learning their beliefs and rulings, but to refer to other branches of knowledge apart from knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah, such as “Islamic philosophy” (‘ilm al-kalām), is ignorant and his call is false, because it is an implicit claim that Islam cannot be complete without that which he is promoting. This is one of the worst kinds of wrongdoing and is an accusation of ignorance against Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ).”
This clause is also quoted on Innovation (Bid’ah), in the printing of Al-Ibda’; it is given here in Shaykh as-Sa’di’s printing, with his explanation.
What becomes of deeds that are not built on faith and on following the Messenger ﷺ is stated by Allah: He will turn to the deeds they did and make them scattered dust (Surah al-Furqan 25:23); that verse stands in Shaykh as-Sa’di’s printing, with his explanation, on As Long As You Are Sincere, Is It Accepted?
So a good intention does not make an innovation good, and it does not make it accepted. The ignorant man is rewarded for his intention and not for his action; the man who knows has no reward in the deed at all. The deed Allah accepts is the deed He legislated, done in the way His Messenger ﷺ did it.
And Allah knows best.
References
Commentary on Kitab at-Tawheed, Vol. 1: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen; Darussalam (printed pp. 397-398).
Al-Ibda’ fi Kamal ash-Shar’ wa Khatar al-Ibtida’: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen; Jeddah, 1401 AH, in the Tohamy translation (printed p. 19).
Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vols. 1-3: Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di; IIPH, English Edition 1, 2018, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Vol. 1, printed p. 403; Vol. 2, printed pp. 356-357; Vol. 3, printed pp. 185, 189).
The verses of the Qur’an quoted on this page are quoted in the printings of the books named beside them.
Further Reading
- Innovation (Bid’ah): the definition, the test, and the harms in full.
- As Long As You Are Sincere, Is It Accepted?: the sincerity excuse answered for deeds generally.
- Hadith 5: Rejection of Innovation(Bid’ah) in the Religion: the hadith that every invented act is rejected, phrase by phrase.
- What Does Islam Say About Celebrating the Prophet’s Birthday?: the claim of good intention worked on the example of the Mawlid.
- What Is the Difference Between Following the Sunnah and Following Cultural Traditions?: Shaykh as-Sa’di’s explanation of the verse of following, in full, and following the Sunnah against following custom.
Verified on 2026-10-25 against the books listed above.