Niyyah,Niyyah, (also called niyah, niyya, niyyat or niyat (Arabic: نیّة) is an Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic concept which is the intention one evokes in his heart to do an act for the sake of Allah

God in Islam

In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...

 (God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

).
According to Ibn Rajab

Ibn Rajab

Zain ad-Din, Abu al-Faraj, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Abi al-Barakat Mas'ud as-Sulami, al-Baghdadi, al-Hanbali, also known as Ibn Rajab, which was a nickname he inherited from his grandfather who was born the month of Rajab, was a Muslim...

's Commentary on Imam Nawawi's Forty Hadith: Hadith #1, actions are but by intentions: "'Umar b. al-Khattab

Umar

`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....

 narrated that the Prophet (S

Peace be upon him (Islam)

Peace be upon him is a phrase that practising Muslims often say after saying the name of a prophet of Islam. There are three variants of this phrase in Arabic:...

) said: Deeds are [a result] only of the intentions [of the actor], and an individual is [rewarded] only according to that which he intends."

There is some debate as to the audible utterance of niyyah. Most scholars agree that, since niyyah is spoken from the heart, it does not have to be uttered. Additionally, there is no evidence that the Islamic prophet

Prophets of Islam

Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...

 Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

 or any of his companions

Sahaba

In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...

 ever uttered a niyyah.

A Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 must have niyyah before commencing salah (prayer), and in order to commence the Hajj

Hajj

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

(pilgrimage to Mecca

Mecca

Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...

).