‘Umar bin al-Khattab related that, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), say: ‘Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended…” [Bukhari & Muslim].
Thinking back to before I had the opportunity to go to Camp Sunnah, I kept thinking how much of a difference could seven days make? Now, after having experienced the Camp Sunnah life, I can say that the difference that Camp Sunnah makes is immeasurable. The very first thing I learned at Camp Sunnah was building a pure niyyah (intention), and I found myself critically thinking about my actions and making sure they were sincerely for Allah and in accordance to the Sunnah. Learning to build a strong and pure niyyah at Camp Sunnah has changed not only my attitude towards my University studies, work, and being part of MSA, but also motivated me to do everything with a level of Ihsaan (excellence).
Due to the intensions behind every action, one of my fondest memories from Camp Sunnah is of the tremendous amount of blessing in our time. As a group we were able to pray fajr, recite the Quran, exercise, prepare and eat breakfast, attend the morning lesson and complete an activity all before 11:00am. With everyone intending to better themselves, the bonds we created with the sisters around us was like nothing else. We would give each other countless reminders to recite our adhkar, as well as advice to better ourselves for the sake of Allah.
Learning to make a pure intention is not something we have the privilege of learning, and isn’t something we practice daily, most of us are like robots, unconsciously following a social script. If there were one, single reason to apply to Camp Sunnah, it would have to be to learn how to build healthy and pure intentions for yourself.
