While performing wudu, I forget whether I have made niyyah or not and I make niyyah again. What can I do to get rid of this?

While performing wudu, I forget whether I have made niyyah or not and I make niyyah again. What can I do to get rid of this?

Dear Brother / Sister,

According to the Hanafi madhhab, it is sunnah to make niyyah (intention) in wudu. Your wudu is valid even if you do not make niyyah. So, it is unnecessary to make waswasa (groundless worry). After making niyyah at the beginning, if a waswasa comes to your mind like “whether I have made niyyah or not”, continue performing wudu without making niyyah again. By this way, the waswasa will disappear in a short time.

It is fard to make niyyah in salah. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to doubt “whether I have made niyyah or not” because of the waswasa.

We must also pay attention to this point: The place of niyyah is the heart. From this point of view, if someone makes his/her niyyah in the heart correctly, his/her niyyah becomes valid. For example, if someone -who is performing the noon salah- makes his/her niyyah to perform the noon salah in the heart and to perform the  afternoon salah verbally, his/her salah is valid as the niyyah made from the heart is valid.

Niyyah means that the heart decides to do something and knows for what this work is being done without thinking. Niyyah in relation with salah means that the person wishes to perform his/her salah only for the sake of Allah, and he/she knows and considers which salah he/she is about to perform. Niyyah belongs to the heart. However, it is regarded better to make niyyah verbally too.

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