Combining the intention of Wudhoo’ with that of cleaning or cooling or the like
Fatwa No: 236617

Question

if i do wudoo for two reasons simultaneously...1. for prayer or an act of worship AND 2. for a worldly gain e.g., washing face and hands in order to go to school(so that i may appear clean(people find me clean!))...is this ok?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

If someone intends to perform Wudhoo’ (ablution) and at the same time he intends to clean himself or to refresh (cool) himself or the like, then his Wudhoo’ is valid as he had made the intention for Wudhoo’, and the fact that there was another intention with it does not harm.

Sharh Ad-Dardeer mixed with Mukhtasar Khaleel (a Maaliki book) reads: “(It is acceptable) to mix the intention of performing Wudhoo’ with the intention of refreshing oneself or warming oneself or cleaning oneself or teaching, as the intention of any of this does not run counter to the Wudhoo’ or affect it negatively.”

Mughni Al-Muhtaaj, which is one of the books of the Shaafi’i School of Fiqh, makes a similar statement: “If someone performs Wudhoo' with the intention of refreshing himself, or doing anything without intention, like cleansing, then the Wudhoo' is valid according to the correct opinion, even if it is during the course of the Wudhoo', as long as he has invoked the correct intention of Wudhoo' while he has the intention to refresh himself or the like with the intention of Wudhoo'.”   

Al-Manthoor fi Al-Qawaa’id (by Az-Zarkashi from the Shaafi’i School of Fiqh) reads: “What is achieved (done) accidentally within the process (of Wudhoo’) does not harm, like if he has both the intention of attaining ritual purity and refreshing himself.”

Allaah Knows best.

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