– Another implication is that an act of purification is not valid without intention. With respect to ablution Allah says, “When you rise for the prayer, wash…”; and with respect to dry ablution He says, “then perform tayammum,” that is, deliberately seek clean earth. Such wording necessarily presumes the presence of intention.
– Another implication is that the rulings Allah has enacted for His servants are, in reality, a mercy from Him. They enable them to perform the acts of worship on which their happiness and success depend. He wishes to perfect His favor upon them through commands that impose neither hardship nor undue burden, so that they may obtain the immense bounty of their Lord. Both the means and the end are gracious gifts from Him.
– Another implication is that although no tangible physical cleanliness is observed in tayammum, it nevertheless confers a spiritual purification that arises from the servant’s obedience to the command of Allah and His Messenger.
– Another implication is the comprehensive principle contained in His words, “Allah does not wish to place upon you any hardship” (Quran 5:6). Hardship is therefore negated in everything Allah has legislated for His servants. At their core, the acts of worship are exceedingly easy for those who are legally accountable; and whenever incapacity, illness, or the impossibility of fulfilling a condition arises, the Lawgiver eases the duty in a manner proportionate to that impediment.
– Another implication is that these rulings, and others like them, form part of the beauties of Islam: they bring benefit to people’s hearts, bodies, and character; they draw them nearer to Allah; and they serve as a means to His immediate and eventual reward.
All of these rulings constitute some of the clearest proofs of the excellence of the religion of Islam—that it is the true faith containing all that rectifies and reforms—and that worldly and eternal happiness are tied to it and flow from it. Reflect, then, on Allah’s ordinances and on the wisdom, secrets, benefits, and removal of harm they contain, and you will see this plainly manifest.