Intention illustrates a recognized legal disagreement. The report “Actions are by intentions” affirms the religious significance of intention. Yet whether the absence of intention invalidates the performance of washing is a further legal-theory question.
In the Hanafi position, intention is not a condition for the validity of the prescribed washing and wiping in ablution, although it matters for worshipful reward and completeness. In the Shafiʿi position it is a validity condition. The disagreement concerns how additional evidence qualifies the unrestricted command, not whether intention matters.