by Ablution (Wudhoo) according to the Sunnah
How the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- Performed Ablution
According to shari’a definition, ablution or wudhoo means utilizing pure water to wash certain body parts explained and determined by Allah the Glorified and Exalted. Allah ordered:
“Believers! When you stand up for Prayer wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles. ” (Chapter Al Maaidah/The Table Spread:6)
Allah will not accept one’s prayer before he performs ablution. (Narrated by Al Bukhari in Fathul Baari, I/206; Muslim, no.255, and by other imams).
The Messenger of Allah also said that ablution is the key for a prayer to be accepted. (Narrated by Abu Daud, no. 60).
Uthman Ibn Affan -may Allah be pleased with him- said, “Whoever performs ablution as taught by the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-, his past sins will be forgiven, and his walking to the mosque and his prayer will be of additional rewards for him.” (Narrated by Muslim I/142, refer to: Syarah Muslim, III/13).
The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, “Whoever performs ablution perfectly, then goes to perform the prayer in congregation or in the mosque (in congregation), indeed, Allah will forgive his sins.” (Narrated by Muslim, I//44, see: Mukhtashar Shahih Muslim, no. 132)
Therefore, it is compulsory for all muslims to imitate the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- in every thing, moreover in performing ablution. In this occasion, we’ll summarize the ablution ritual of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- :
1. Starting the ablution with intention
An intention means deliberately, and with seriously, intending to perform ablution in order to carry out Allah’s and His messenger’s order.
Ibn Taimiya said, “According to the agreement of the imams of the muslims, an intention lies the heart, and not said, in all forms of worship, be it in purification, prayer, zakat, fast, hajj, freeing a slave, jihad, etc. because intention is a deliberate action and earnestness inside of the heart.” (See: Majmu’atu ar-Rasaaili al-Kubra, I/243)
The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- explained that every action depends on its intention, and one will be rewarded according to his intention…”(Narrated by Al Bukhari in Fathul Baary, 1:9; Muslim, 6:48).
2. Tasmiyah (Reciting “bismillah”)
He ordered to recite bismillah (in the name of Allah) upon starting the ablution. He said, “The ablution of a person who doesn’t utter Allah’s name is not valid/perfect. (I.e., bismillah). (Narrated by Ibnu Maja, 339; Tirmidzi, 26; Abu Dawud, 101. It is a valid hadith. See: Shahih Jami’u ash-Shaghir, no. 744).
Abu Bakr, Hasan Al Bashri, and Ishaq Ibn Raahawaih deemed that it is completely to recite bismillah before ablution, as well as Imam Ahmad, Ibn Qudama, and other imams, based on a hadith from Anas, regarding the Messenger of Allah’s order to recite bismillah before ablution. The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, “Perform your ablution by reciting bismillah!” (Narrated By Bukhari, I: 236, Muslim, 8: 441 and Nasa’i, no. 78)
Bu his words, “Perform your ablution by reciting bismillah!”, the status of reciting bismillah becomes compulsory. As for people who forgets to recite it, he should recite bismillah whenever he remembers. And Allah knows best.
3. Washing both palms of hands
The Messenger of Allah – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- washed both palms of his hands thrice upon performing ablution. The Messenger of Allah – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- also allowed to scoop water from its container using both hands, then wash the palms with it. However, the Messenger of Allah forbade a person who is gets up from his sleep from immersing his hands inside the container, until he washes them first.” (Narrated By bukhari and Muslim).
4. Rinsing mouth and inserting water into nose
It is done by taking one handful of water using the right hand, and insert it into the nose by breathing it in one breath, until it reaches the deepest part of the nose, then ejects it by squeezing the nose using the left hand. The Prophet did it by scooping water thrice.( Narrated By Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud no. 140)
Imam Nawawy said, “The hadith contains a clear indication pointing towards the correct and chosen opinion, which states that rinsing mouth and breathing water into the nose using three scoops of water, and every scoop for each cycle of rinsing and breathing, is sunnah. (See: Syarah Muslim, 3/122).
Likewise, the Messenger of Allah – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- suggested to breath in the water into nose deeply, except during fasting, based on a hadith from Laqith bin Shabrah. (Narrated by Abu Dawud, no. 142; Tirmidzi, no. 38, Nasa’i )
5. Washing face while inserting water in between beard hair
It is done by running some water to the whole face. The upper border of face is from the line where hair grows, the lower border is beard and chin, and it covers both cheeks until the border of ears. Allah ordered His slaves,
“Wash your faces…” (Chapter Al Maidah/The Table Spread:6)
Imam Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Humran Ibn Abaan, that the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- washed his face thrice upon performing ablution. (Narrated by Bukhari, I/48), Fathul Bari, I/259. no.159 and Muslim I/14)
After the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- washed his face, he took another scoop of water in his palms, then passed it below his chin, and in between his beard, and he said that Allah the Glorified and Exalted has ordered him to do it. (Narrated by Tirmidzi no.31, Abu Dawud, no. 145; Baihaqi, I/154 and Hakim, I/149, Shahih Jaami’u ash-Shaghir no. 4572).
6. Washing both hands up to the elbow
By pouring water to the hands until it wets both elbows. Allah the Glorified and Exalted decreed,
“And wash your hands up to the elbows, ” (chapter Al Maidah/The Table Spread:6)
The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- washed his right hand until the upper part of the elbow, thrice, and washed his left hand likewise. The Messenger of Allah run the water from the direction of his elbow. (Narrated by Bukhari-Muslim, HR. Daraquthni, I/15, Baihaqz, I/56)
The Messenger of Allah also suggested to wash more than the required borders for face, hands, and feet, so that the shining of those parts will be longer and brighter in the Hereafter. (Narrated by Muslim I/149).
7. Wiping head, ears, and turban
Wiping head should be differentiated from wiping the forehead or half of the head. Because, Allah the Glorified and Exalted decreed,
“and wipe your heads,” (Chapter Al Maidah/The Table Spread:6)
The Messenger of Allah had exemplified how to wipe the head, by using both palms that are wet, and pass it on the head starting from the front part of the head to the back of the head to the nape, then return it to the front part where it starts.(Narrated by Bukhari, Muslim, no. 235 and Tirmidzi no. 28. See: Fathul Baari, I/251)
After that, without taking water anew, the Messenger of Allah directly wipe both of his ears, by inserting his index finger inside of the ear, and the thumbs wiped the outer part of both ears. Because the Messenger of Allah said, “Two ears are part of the head.” (Narrated By Tirmidzi, no. 37, Ibn Majah, no. 442 and 444, Abu Dawud no. 134 and 135, Nasa’i no. 140)
In his book, Silsilah Ahadits adh-Dha’ifah, no. 995, Sheikh Al Albani said, “There is no order in the sunnah (the Prophet’s hadith) that obliges people to take water anew to wipe both ears. They are wiped using the residual water from wiping the head, based on a hadith from Rubayyi’:
that the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- wiped his head using the residual water in his hands. (Narrated by abu Daud and others, the status is hasan).
The Messenger of Allah only wiped his head once, not twice or thrice. ‘Ali Ibn Abi Thalib -may Allah be pleased with him- said, “I saw the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- wiped his head once.” (See: Shahih Abu Dawud, no. 106). Rubayyi Ibn Muawwidz said, “I’ve seen the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- performed ablution, then he wiped his head, i.e., wiped the front and the back part of it, both of his temples, and both of his ears, once.” ( Narrated by Tirmidzi, no. 34 and in Shahih Tirmidzi no. 31)
The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- also explained that for people who wears turban or shoes, they are allowed to keep it upon ablution, and it is considered enough by wiping on it. (Narrated By Bukhari in Fathul Baari I/266, and other narrators), as long as the turban and the shoes are used during the prayer, and do not contain any impurities.
As for skullcaps, it is not considered as turban, as explained by the imams, and thus it is not allowed to wipe on it upon ablution as in the case of turban. The reason is because wearing a skullcap is not a habit, and it doesn’t cover all part of the head, thus there is no difficulty in taking it off.
As for headscarf and veil for women, it is allowed to wipe on it because Umm Salamah (one of the wives the Prophet) ever wiped on her veil, as mentioned by Ibn Mundzir (see: al-Mughni, I/312 or I/383-384).
8. Washing both feet up to the ankles
Allah the Glorified and Exalted decreed, “and wash your feet up to the ankles. “Chapter Al Maidah/The Table Spread:6)
The Messenger of Allah ordered his followers to be cautious in washing the feet, because the imperfect way in washing the feet will cost it to be threatened with the Hell, as he referred to it as the heels of The Hell. He ordered to wash the feet up to the ankles, to the extent that he exemplied it by washing his feet up to his calves. He also washed the right foot first thrice then proceeded with the left foot. While washing his feet, the Messenger of Allah rubbed his little pinger in between his toes. (Narrated by Bukhari; Fathul Baari, I/232 and Muslim, I/149, 3/128)
Imam Nawawy in Syarh Muslim said, “By using this hadith as an indication, Imam Muslim intended to point out the obligation of washing the feet, and it is not enough to just wiping them.”
Whereas the opinion of rubbing the little finger in between the toes has not found inside the hadith. It is only the opinion of Imam Ghazali, since he compared it to istinja’.
The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, “….whoever among you is able, should extend the brightness of his face, hands, and feet.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1/149, or in Syarah Shahih Muslim no. 246)
9. Performing the steps in order
All of the ritual of ablution should be done in precise order, muwalat (performing the next order immediately) and it is suggested to prioritize the right body part than the left.) [Bukhari and Muslim].
It is suggested to use water efficiently and according to the actual needs and not extravagantly, because the Messenger of Allah once performed it with one wash, two washes, or three washes. (Bukhari).
10. Reciting du’a
Reciting du’a that Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-,
“Asyahdu anlaa ilaa ha illalah wa asyhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abdullahi wa rasuulahu. Allahummaj ‘alni minattawwabiina waja’alni minal mutathohhiriin” (Narrated Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidzi, Nasa’i, Ibn Maja)
And some other du’a recorded from the Prophet – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-.
May this simple writing becomes a guidance for us to perform the correct ritual of ablution, and a daily guidance for us too.
References:
Sifat Wudhu’ Nabi -peace be upon him- , by Sheikh Fadh asy Syuwaib.
At-Tadzkirah, by Sheikh Ali Hasan al-Halabi al-Atsari
