“I have never struggled with anything harder than my own intention, for it keeps turning over on me.”

Sufyan ath-Thawri (97–161 AH / 716–778 CE) was one of the great early jurists and hadith scholars of Kufa, a man whose knowledge was not in doubt — which is what gives the admission its weight. Ibn Rajab quotes it in his commentary on the hadith “actions are only by intentions,” beside Yusuf ibn Asbat’s remark that purifying the intention is harder on those who work than long striving.