The intention is not difficult, though some people afflicted with misgivings find it difficult. For every sane person acting of his own free will, whenever he performs an action, it must necessarily be preceded by an intention. If water is brought near a man, then he says the name of Allah, washes his hands, rinses his mouth, sniffs water into his nose, and so on, it is inconceivable that he could do this without an intention.

For this reason, some scholars said: “If Allah had charged us with an act without an intention, that would have been imposing what is beyond one’s capacity.” (1) If Allah had said, “Pray, but do not form an intention,” this would be impossible. Shaykh al-Islam even said: If a person eats dinner on the nights of Ramadan, his dinner indicates his intention, even if he did not consciously intend to fast the following day. This is because he will not eat as much food as he does on his other days, since he will eat the pre-dawn meal at the end of the night.

For purification from all states of ritual impurity, …

His statement, “For purification from all states of ritual impurity”: ritual impurity is a state affecting the body which prevents one from performing prayer and the like. This is its basic meaning.

At times, however, the term is applied to its cause. Thus, defecation is called a state of ritual impurity, and urination is called a state of ritual impurity. An example is the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “Allah does not accept the prayer of any of you if he breaks his ablution until he performs ablution.” (2)

Excluded by his statement, “purification from states of ritual impurity,” is the removal of physical impurities, for which intention is not stipulated. Thus, if someone hangs his garment on the roof, and rain comes and washes it until the impurity is removed, it becomes pure, even though this was neither his action nor his intention.