As described in the liturgy that accompanies the procedure, the rite constitutes a symbolic offering (𐭦𐭥𐭧𐭫, zohr < 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬚𐬭𐬀, zaoθra) to the waters (aban < apas) in order to purify them.
In the 9th-12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition the procedure is also occasionally referred to as the hom-zohr, also reflecting the use of the haoma plant in the rite.
Both preparations must be made between sunrise and noon, in the Hawan gah (Avestan: havani ratu), the "time of pressing".
During the recitation of Yasna 25, the priest dedicates the mixture to "the waters" (see Aban), which mirrors the purpose of the parahaoma preparation (see below).
Finally, during the recitation of Yasna 31–34, the priest pounds the mixture a last time and then strains the liquid into the bowl that also contains the first parahaoma.
Although this is done at a specific point during the recitation of the liturgy, the burning of the residue is not an offering to the fire, but the ritually proper way to dispose of combustible consecrated material.
Since the liquid, in its ritually pure state, is considered beneficial, participants may choose to drink a little of it, or provide some to infants or the dying.
According to a passage of the Avesta that survives only as a translation in Denkard 8.25.24, the ingredients and materials for an offering to the waters were carried by the priests accompanying an army so that soldiers could perform the ritual before battle.
The decontamination symbolism in the Ab-Zohr is a reflection of Zoroastrian cosmogony, wherein the primeval waters (the lower half of the sky, upon which the universe rests, and from which two rivers encircle the earth) fear pollution by humankind.