Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Can you please tell me more about what to do at the very beginning of the surregatory prayers and more particularly sunna tou al fajr? I don’t know if I have to say ‘salat al fajr’ to introduce my prayer or not; and if I have to do the iqamah?
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,
The intention is a matter of the heart. It is to have the resolve to perform an action, for the sake of Allah. Before you begin, pause for a moment, and bring to mind (1) what you are praying (e.g. the sunna of fajr) and (2) why you are praying (i.e. for the sake of Allah). It is not necessary or even sunna to pronounce the intention, though it is good to do so if it helps one make a high intention. (Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Khadimi/Birgivi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya Sharh al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya)Intention: Is Saying It Out Loud An Innovation?
Jazakum Allah khayr.
And Allah alone gives success.