Q. Suppose a person offers a Sunnah prayer, what should he or she say when they make their intention? Should they say that they are offering this prayer as a Sunnah for God, or for the Prophet (peace be upon him)?
Abdussalam, Makkah
A. We offer all our worship to God alone. No one else has any share of our prayer. It is true that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has recommended us to offer Sunnah prayers, but he made clear at the same time that such prayer is offered to God alone. This is what we say in every rak’ah when we read the Fatihah, and say as we address God Almighty: “It is You that we worship; and it is from You that we seek support.”
Moreover, the Prophet has repeatedly emphasized that none other than God is worthy of worship. Islam is based on the concept of God’s absolute oneness, and this is manifested above all in dedicating all our worship to Him alone. To address your Sunnah prayer to the Prophet is to be guilty of associating partners with God, which takes a person out of the fold of Islam altogether.
This is the first of the two points to be clarified here. The second is that when you formulate your intention to do anything, you do not say any words. Intention is an act of mind, not words uttered as all speech uttered. It is possible to say words expressing an intention, but no intention is formed, simply because the person saying these words is either absent-minded at the time, or saying them for a different purpose. An example is that of a teacher explaining what should be in a person’s mind at the time of starting a prayer. This means that when you stand to offer a particular prayer, your concentration should be on that prayer, formulating your intention to offer that particular prayer.
In every day matters, we often use the verb “intend” to express what we have in mind without ever associating it with saying any form of words. You say, for example, “I intend to take a holiday next week”, or “I intended to give him my vote, but on reflection, I changed my mind.” Both the original thought of giving that person your vote and the subsequent change of mind are intentions, but they are never formulated in words. The same applies to intention with regard to prayer, fasting or any other act of worship, except pilgrimage and Umrah. In the case of these two a verbal declaration signifies the start of the duty, although the intention was formed earlier.
