Intention

I like to ask a lot of questions. Sometimes I feel people may think that I am being too 'nosey'. I feel if I don't ask you questions, I will never get to know you. I like to know why people do the things they do. What do you want to get out of it in the long run. What do you hope to achieve and most of all how will that incident or event or even a relationship with someone grow you. How will it elevate your soul. Why are you doing what you are doing?

I like how Shaykh Hamza Yusuf described intention relating to what our Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam said.

What motivates you? What makes you tick? This is what our Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam called Niyah (Intention). What is your intention? What is your niyah? What do you want when your doing something? Whats your intention for fasting? What is your intention for giving money? Once you begin to address the essence of your own being you can begin to understand who you are, and that's why self-knowledge is foundational in our religion. If you don't know who you are, your're certainly not going to know whose you are.
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf