is a condition for purification from all states of ritual impurity. Abū Hanīfa said: It is not required for purification with water, unlike dry ablution. Zufar said: It is required for neither. Some later scholars of the schools of al-Shāfi'ī and Ahmad said: It is required for removing physical impurity.

This last view is anomalous, for removing physical impurity does not require a person’s action: it may be removed by falling rain, a flowing river, and the like. How, then, could intention be required for its removal? Moreover, removing physical impurity is a matter of avoidance rather than affirmative action. Thus, if a person never consciously thinks during prayer that he is avoiding impurity, his prayer is nevertheless valid, provided he is keeping clear of it. Accordingly, Mālik, Ahmad—in the well-known position reported from him—and al-Shāfi'ī, in one of his two opinions, said: If someone prays with impurity on him and discovers it only after the prayer, he need not repeat it, because this is a matter of avoidance.

Allah relates that the believers say:

“Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or make a mistake.”

It is authentically reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that Allah Most High said:

“I have done so.”

Whoever does something prohibited out of forgetfulness or by mistake incurs no sin. This differs from someone who omits something commanded: someone who misses a prayer, for example, must make it up. Thus, most scholars distinguish, in matters of prayer, fasting, and the state of consecration for pilgrimage, between someone who forgetfully commits a prohibited act and someone who forgetfully omits an obligation. Examples include someone who forgetfully speaks during prayer, eats while fasting, or applies perfume or puts on clothing while in the state of consecration.

Those who require intention for purification from states of ritual impurity cite this hadith as evidence against