Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Do you get reward for following a personal whim or desire that happens to be an act of sunnah, or do you have to have full intention of performing the sunnah for ibadah in order to be rewarded?
Walaikum assalam,
In the name of Allah, the inspirer of truth. All praise is to Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate, and all blessings and peace to our Master Muhammad, his family, companions, and those who follow them.
The first fiqhi maxim that Ibn Nujaym mentioned in his Ashbah wa’l Nadha’iris: “There is no reward without intention.” This is one of the most repeated of fiqhi maxims.
This is taken from the famous hadith, in which the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) said, “Verily actions are by their intentions, and one shall only have that which one intended.” [Bukhari & Muslim] The scholars explain that there is something implicit in this hadith: (Verily actions are) rewarded ( by their intentions, and one shall only have) the reward for (that which one intended).
As such, if one’s habits or whims happen to conform to the sunna of the Beloved of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), one should have an intention in it for Allah. Otherwise, it remains a habit. The scholars say, “Through intentions habits become worship.” ( bi’l niyyaat tanqalibul `aadaat `ibaadaat)
Abd Allah ibn Mubarak (Allah be pleased with him), said, “How often it is that a small action becomes great by its intention. And how often it is that a great action becomes small by its intention.” [Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’, 8: 400]
Some details on intention: [from the Hanafi Fiqh mailing list:http://ww.sunnipath.com