and so his seeking anything of this sort in order to acquire the intention stems from his ignorance of the true nature of intention and of its presence within himself.

Likewise, if a person knows that tomorrow is a day of Ramadan, is a Muslim who believes that fasting is obligatory, and wills to fast (1), then this is his intention to fast. When he eats his evening meal, he eats as one who intends to fast. Hence, he distinguishes between his evening meal on the night of Eid and his evening meals during the nights of Ramadan. On the night of Eid, he knows that he will not fast, so he neither wills nor intends to fast, nor does he eat as one who intends to fast.

The same is true of a person who eats and drinks, walks, rides, and puts on clothes. If he knows that he is performing these actions, he must necessarily will them, and that is his intention in performing them. If he were to say aloud, “I intend to put my hand into this vessel to take a morsel and eat it,” people would consider him foolish. The same applies to anyone who utters such formulations when intending prayer, ritual purification, or fasting (2). Yet one finds many people of learning and devotion who are plagued by obsessive misgivings striving harder to acquire this intention than someone trying to bring up vomit from the very bottom of his stomach or to swallow repulsive medicines.

Likewise, much knowledge may be necessarily and innately present within a person, yet he seeks evidence for it because he turns away from what lies within himself and is unaware of his own awareness.

Thus, many believers have love for Allah and His Messenger in their hearts, yet they have examined the discourse of the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah, who deny such love, and have accepted that view as sound, either because they supposed the specious arguments supporting it to be sound or because they merely followed them. Consequently, such a person comes to speak in accordance with that belief,