Explanation of the author's statement: "For the purification of all states of ritual impurity, one must intend to remove the state of ritual impurity or to purify oneself for that which is not permissible except with purification."

The Shaykh : He said "And intention is a condition", meaning "for the purification of all states of ritual impurity". The author (may Allah have mercy on him) informed us regarding the purification of the states of ritual impurity. "Hadath" is the plural of "hadath" (state of ritual impurity). A state of ritual impurity is a condition that resides in the body and prevents prayer and the like. This term is sometimes used to refer to its cause; for example, one says of excrement that it is a "hadath," and of urine that it is a "hadath." This is based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) . Therefore, in its original sense, it refers to the condition residing in the body that prevents prayer and the like. It may also refer to its cause, which is the cause that necessitates ablution. His statement "for the purification of the states of ritual impurity" includes both the minor and major states of ritual impurity, all states of ritual impurity. By his statement "for the purification of the states of ritual impurity", he excluded the purification of impurities, for which intention is not required. Thus, if a person hangs his garment on a roof and rain falls on this garment until it washes it and the impurity is removed, it becomes pure, even though it was not purified by his action or his intention. He did not intend to wash it when he hung it on the roof, and he did not intend for the rain to wash it. The rain is also not from his action. Similarly, if impurity falls on the ground and rain falls on it, it becomes pure without any intention, and it is considered pure. This is what the author mentioned, and it is the position of Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) held that intention is not required for the purification of the state of ritual impurity. He said that it is not a worship intended for its own sake, but rather it is intended for the sake of prayer, to validate the prayer. It is like if one wears a garment to cover his 'awrah; it is not required that he intend to cover the 'awrah with it. Rather, if he wears it for adornment or to ward off cold or the like, it suffices. However, his statement is weak. The correct view is that ablution is an independent act of worship. The evidence for this is that Allah has attached merit, reward, and recompense to it. Such a thing is an independent act of worship, and this is the opinion of the majority of scholars. Since it is an independent act of worship, intention becomes a condition in it. This is unlike the removal of impurity, for the removal of impurity is not an act, but rather it is the removal of something whose removal is sought. Therefore, it is not an independent act of worship, so intention is not required for it. But how does one intend for it? Regarding ablution, there are several aspects. He said, "He intends to remove the state of ritual impurity." This is one aspect: he intends to remove the state of ritual impurity. He performs ablution to remove the state of ritual impurity that occurred due to excrement, for example, or due to urine. This is removing the state of ritual impurity. If he intends to remove the state of ritual impurity, is his ablution valid or not? It is valid. This is the purpose of ablution: to remove the state of ritual impurity. This is the first aspect. The second is "or purification for that which is not permissible except with purification". He intends purification for something that is not permissible except with purification. The things that are not permissible except with purification are prayer, tawaf, and touching the mushaf. These three things are not permissible except with purification. So, if he intends purification for prayer, without intending to remove the state of ritual impurity, but intending purification for prayer, is the state of ritual impurity removed or not? Yes, because prayer is not valid except after the removal of the state of ritual impurity. If he intends purification for tawaf, likewise, it is removed. If he intends purification for touching the mushaf, the state of ritual impurity is also removed.