Is it obligatory to specify the number of Rak'ahs, the intention to face the Qiblah, and the intention to specify the obligatory prayer, in order to distinguish the prayer of a mukallaf (accountable person) from that of a child, or the intention of performing a missed prayer (qada') or not? And is it obligatory to maintain the intention throughout the entire Takbirat al-Ihram, or is it sufficient to have it present during a part of it? And is it obligatory to have the intention that the prayer is for Allah? And is it permissible for someone afflicted with obsessive doubts (waswas) to adopt the easiest rulings regarding intention without falling into talfiq (unacceptable combination of different madhhabs' rulings)?

The questioner is warned against succumbing to waswas (whispers/obsessive thoughts) because they lead to great evil. It is mentioned that he is permitted to take advantage of the dispensations of other madhhabs (schools of thought) besides the Shafi'i madhhab, as long as he is afflicted with waswas. When intending to pray, it suffices to bring to mind the intention for the specific prayer (Dhuhr or Asr). Some scholars hold that the intention for the obligatory prayer of the time is sufficient, among them Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen. It is enough for the intention to be made a short customary time before the prayer. Some scholars, including Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, said that the intention is sufficient even if the time between it and the act of prayer is long, as long as it has not been nullified. Therefore, waswas must be abandoned because the matter of intention is simple, and adopting some of these opinions is not blameworthy talfiq (piecemeal adoption of differing views).