How Can I Intend Ablution When Washing My Face?

Question

Is it necessary to perform the act of “niyya” (intention) simultaneously with the first obligatory step (washing the face)? I find it challenging to perform the intention and simultaneously maintain consciousness of the mind.

Due to my OCD and anxiety, I believe these conditions might contribute to my difficulty thinking and consciousness while performing the act. Would it be sufficient for me to make the intention before performing the sunnah (recommended) step of washing my hands?

I make the following intention before performing wudu: “I am performing wudu, including all the recommended actions and the obligatory ones, to be able to perform salah, read the Quran, and engage in acts of worship for the sake of Allah, seeking His reward.”

I also try to be conscious of my thoughts during this process. I find it challenging to think and maintain consciousness quickly (one second). Therefore, I make the intention before washing my hands and also before washing my face.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.

What you described is sufficient for having a legally-valid intention for ablution. And Allah knows best.

What is Required for a Legally Valid Intention?

The following details have been extracted and adapted from a related answer by my late teacher, Mufti Taha Karan (Allah have mercy on him).

First, one should understand that the intention is not a prescribed formula to be recited. Instead, it is a consciousness of purpose that occurs in the mind. In this sense, the intention is:

First. The identification of the action one is undertaking: “I am making ablution;”

Second. The reason for undertaking it: “I am making ablution to be able to pray.”

The intention understood as this specific consciousness of purpose, ought, in principle, to exist in the mind for the entire duration of the ablution. However, the human mind can be very fickle, with ideas constantly flitting in and out, resulting in one losing acute focus on your intention.

In consideration hereof, the Scholars of our School stipulate that the intention must be present in mind (and not necessarily on the tongue), at the very least, when undertaking the first obligatory action, which is washing the face. Should it recede from the mind thereafter, its recession would be overlooked. [Nawawi, Rawdat al-Talibin]

Having the Intention Before Washing the Face

Having the intention at the beginning of the ablution, when the hands are washed, is fine, too. It is, in fact, the better option—since one would then be rewarded for all the sunnas preceding the face—provided that one then does not lose acute consciousness of it before washing the face.

If this happens, and acute consciousness of the act and purpose recede from the mind somewhere between washing the hands and the face, the intention would have to be reformed in the mind when washing the face. [Ibid.]

In other words, if you are acutely aware of what you are doing at the time of washing your face, this is sufficient, and Allah knows best.

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.