Is the intention obligatory in ablution for each specific obligatory prayer?

The questioner : He asks: Is the intention obligatory in ablution for each specific obligatory prayer?

The Shaykh : This is an important question, meaning: If a person intends to pray the midday prayer, is it necessary for him to intend specifically that it is the midday prayer, or is it sufficient to intend the obligatory prayer of that time, even if it is absent from his mind whether it is the midday or the afternoon prayer? Some scholars hold that it is necessary to specify the prayer. For example, if you come to pray the midday prayer, you must specify that you intend the midday prayer. If the specification is absent from your mind, you must repeat the prayer.
And some scholars say that it is sufficient to intend that you want the prayer that is the obligation of the time. This is a narration from Imam Ahmad, and it is the position that people cannot do without adopting. For example, if you come and find the imam praying, many people come in a hurry, for instance, and say the takbir immediately, and it is absent from their mind whether they intended the midday or the afternoon prayer. This is a reality; it often escapes our minds when we join the imam that we want the midday prayer, we just want