Ablution

Ablution means to wash one’s face, hands, arms, head and feet with water.  Further points are given below:

Part of Islamic law:  This is proven from the three major sources of Islamic law:

 (1)   The Qur’an:  Says  Allah  in  the Qur'an,  "O you  who  believe, when  you rise  for prayer,  wash  your  faces  and  your  hands  up to the elbows  and  lightly rub  your  heads  and  (wash)  your  feet  up  to  the ankles.”   (Surah al-Mai'dah:6).

(2) The Sunnah:   Abu  Hurairah reported that  the  Messenger  of Allah  said,  "Allah  does  not  accept  the prayer   of one  who  nullified his  ablution   until   he  performs  it  again."  (Related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi)

(3) The Consensus: There is a consensus of scholarly opinion that ablution   is part of Islamic   law.  Therefore, it is a recognized fact of the religion.

Its Virtues: Many hadith state the virtues of ablution.  We shall mention just a few:

(1)  'Abdullah  ibn  as-Sunnabiji  stated  that  the  Messenger of Allah said, "When  a slave  makes ablution and rinses  his mouth, his wrong deeds  fall from  it.  As he rinses his nose, his wrong deeds fall from it. When   he  washes   his  face,  his  wrong  deeds  fall from  it until  they fall  from   beneath  his  eyelashes.  When  he  washes   his  hands, his wrong  deeds  fall  from  them  until  they  fall from beneath his finger nails.   When   he  wipes  his  head,  his  wrong  deeds  fall  from  it  until they  fall  from  his  ears.  When  he  washes  his  feet,  his  wrong  deeds fall  from  them until   they   fall  from  beneath   his  toenails.  Then his walking to the mosque and his prayer give him extra reward." (Related by Malik, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and al-Hakim.)

(2) Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If good characteristics exist in a person, Allah makes all of his acts good. If a person purifies himself for prayer, he expiates all of his sins and his prayer is considered an extra reward for him." (Related by Abu Ya'la, al-Bazzar and at-Tabarani in al-Ausat)

(3)  Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said,

'"Shall I inform you (of an act) by which Allah erases sins and raises degrees?"  They said, "Certainly, O Messenger of Allah."  He  said, "Perfecting  the  ablution under  difficult circumstances,  taking many steps  to the  mosque, and  waiting for the (next) prayer  after  the (last) prayer   has  been  performed.  That is ribat.” [1](Related by Malik, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i.)

(4) Abu Hurairah also reported that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, passed by a grave site and said, "Peace be upon you, O home of believing people. Allah willing, we shall meet you soon, although I wish I could see my brothers." They asked, "Are we not your brothers, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "You are my companions. My brothers are the ones who will come after (us)."  They  said, "How  will  you  know  the  people  of our  nation   who  will  come after you, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "If a man  has  a group  of horses with  white  forelocks  amidst  a group  of horses  with  black  forelocks, will  he  recognize his  horses?" They said, "Certainly, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "They (my brothers) will come with white streaks from their ablutions, and I will receive them at my cistern.  But there will  be  some  who  will  be  driven   away  from  my  cistern as  a stray camel  is driven  away.  I will call them to come.  It will be said, 'They changed matters after you,’ then I will say, 'Be off, be off"' (Related by Muslim.)

The obligatory parts of the ablution:    Ablution   has   certain components which, if not fulfilled according to the correct Islamic procedures, make one's ablution void. These are:

(1) Intention:  This is the desire to do the action and to please Allah by following   His command. It is purely an act of the heart, for the tongue (verbal pronouncement and so on) has nothing to do with it.  To pronounce it is not part   of the Islamic law. That the intention is obligatory is shown  in the following:  'Umar  related that the  Prophet,  upon  whom  be peace,  said,  "Every   action is  based  on the  intention (behind   it),  and  everyone  shall   have   what   he   intended ... " (Related  by "the  group.")

(2) Washing  the  face:  This involves  "pouring" or "running" water from the  top of the  forehead  to the bottom of the jaws,  and  from  one ear  to the  other.

(3) Washing the arms to the elbow: The elbows must be washed, for the Prophet, upon whom be peace, did so.

(4) Wiping the head:   This means to wipe one’s head with   his hand.  It  is not  sufficient  just to  place  the  hand  on  the head   or  to touch   the  head   with   a  wet  finger.  The  apparent   meaning  of  the Qur'anic  words,  "...   and  wipe over your  heads ..." does  not imply  that all  of the  head   needs  to  be  wiped.   It has been recorded that the Prophet used to wipe his head three different ways:

(a) Wiping all of his head:   'Abdullah ibn Zaid  reported  that the Prophet,  upon  whom be peace,  wiped his entire  head  with  his hands. He started with  the  front  of his  head,  then moved to the  back,  and then  returned his  hands  to the front.  (Related by "the group.")

(b)  Wiping over the turban only. Sai 'Amru ibn Umayyah, "I saw the Messenger   of Allah, upon whom be peace, wipe over his turban and shoes." (Related by Ahmad, al-Bukhari and Ibn Majah). Bilal reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said, "Wipe over your shoes and headcovering." (Related by Ahmad.)  'Umar once said, "May Allah not purify the one who does not consider wiping over the turban   to be purifying." Many hadith have been related on this   topic by al-Bukhari, Muslim and others.  Most of the scholars agree with them.

(c) Wiping over the front portion of the scalp and the turban.

Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah  said  that  the  Messenger  of Allah,  upon whom  be peace,  made  ablution  and  wiped  over  the  front  portion  of his  scalp,  his  turban  and  his  socks.  (Related by Muslim.)  There is, however, no strong hadith   that he wiped over part of his head, even though Surah al-Ma'idah: 6, apparently implies it.  It  is also  not  sufficient just   to  wipe  over  locks  of hair  that  proceed  from the head  or along the sides  of the  head.

(5) Washing the feet and the heels: This has been confirmed in mutawatir  (continuous)  reports  from  the  Prophet,  upon  whom  be peace,  concerning  his  actions   and  statements. Ibn 'Umar said, "The Prophet lagged behind us in one of our travels. He caught up with us after we had delayed the afternoon prayer.  We started to make ablution and were wiping over our feet, when the Prophet said, ‘Woe to the heels, save them from the Hell-fire,' repeating it two or three times."  (Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Needless to say, the preceding obligations are the ones that Allah has mentioned   in (Surah al-Ma'idah:6).

(6) Following the prescribed sequence: Allah mentioned the obligations in a specific order.  He also differentiated the legs from the hands - though both of them have to be washed - from the head, which only needs to be wiped. The polytheists of Arabia would not differentiate items unless there was some benefit in doing so. The way Allah structured the ablution made it easier for them to comprehend it. Surah Al-Ma'idah:6, explains what is obligatory and it falls under the generality of the Prophet's statement, "Begin with what Allah began with." The Prophet used to follow that sequence as one of ablution’s principles. There is no such report   that   the Prophet, upon whom be peace, ever departed from that sequence. Ablution is part of worship, and in matters of worship there is no room for anything except doing what has been commanded.