The second: that he intends the obligatory ghusl but not the recommended one.

The third: that he intends both of them together.

The fourth: that he performs a separate ghusl for each one.

If several events requiring ablution occur together . . .

His statement: “If several events requiring ablution occur together,” meaning that he commits several acts that invalidate ablution—for example, he urinates, defecates, sleeps, and eats camel meat—and intends purification from urination; this suffices for all of them.

However, if he intends purification from urination alone, intending that none of the other invalidating events be lifted, then it suffices only for the urination, due to the general meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Actions are only by intentions, and each person shall have only what he intended” (1).

It was also said that it suffices for this and the other invalidating events as well (2), because ritual impurity is a single state: even if its causes are multiple, it does not become multiple. Thus, if he intends to remove it, it is removed, even if he specifies only one of its causes.

And it was said: if he specifies the first, the remaining ones are removed; but if he specifies the second, none of them is removed (3). This is because the second occurred while he was already in a state of ritual impurity, rather than in a state of purity. For example, if he first urinates, then defecates, and then performs ablution intending purification from defecation alone, his ritual impurity is not removed, because the second occurred while he was already in a state of ritual impurity and therefore had no effect. Accordingly, if he intends to remove the ritual impurity resulting from the second, it is not removed, because the ritual impurity is from the first.

The correct view is that if he intends to remove the ritual impurity from any one of them, it is removed