part of Allah’s religion, and in doing it you are contravening the Sunnah.”

He replied:

“This is Allah’s religion, with which He sent His messengers, and every Muslim must do this.”

He also recites the Quran aloud behind the imam. Did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, do this? Did any of the Companions, any of the four imams, or any of the Muslim scholars? If the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, his Companions and the scholars did not do this in prayer, what is required of someone who attributes this to them and practises it himself? Is it permissible for a Muslim to support him with even a single word if he does this, claims that it is part of the religion, and tells those who rebuke him, “Everyone may do whatever he wishes in his religion, and your rebuking me is ignorance”? Are those who rebuke him correct in doing so, or not?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. Stating the intention aloud is not prescribed according to any of the Muslim scholars. Neither the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor any of his caliphs or Companions, nor the early generations of this ummah or its imams, did this. Whoever claims that this is Allah’s religion and that it is obligatory must be instructed in Islamic law and called upon to repent of this statement. If he persists in it, he is to be put to death.

Rather, the intention required for acts of worship—such as ablution, ritual bathing, prayer, fasting, zakat and others—resides in the heart, by agreement of the imams of the Muslims. “Intention” means purpose and resolve, and all rational people agree that purpose and resolve reside in the heart, not the tongue. Thus, if someone forms his intention in his heart, his intention is valid according to the four imams,