Islamic Fiqh > Purification (Tahara) > Ablution (wudu): complete guide > Ablution: status, order and manner
Contents
Updated on 24 September 2026 at 1:14 PM
Ablutions (wudu) are the key to prayer: no prayer is accepted without purification, and the hadiths promise forgiveness of sins to whoever performs them well. The jurists of the four schools have studied in detail their conditions of obligation and validity, their obligatory elements (fara'id) and their merits. This page follows, sheet by sheet, the entries of the juristic encyclopedia devoted to ablutions: their merit, their conditions, the washing of the hands up to the elbows, then the wiping of the head and its detailed rulings.
As for the Sunna, it opens with the words of the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him):
"No prayer is accepted without purification."Reported by Muslim 224, from Abdullah ibn Umar
Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: this hadith is an explicit text on the obligation of purification for prayer, and the umma has agreed by consensus that purification is a condition for the validity of prayer. He also said: the umma is unanimous on the prohibition of praying without purification with water or dust (tayammum), with no distinction between the obligatory prayer and the supererogatory prayer (Sharh Sahih Muslim 3/84).
Several hadiths of the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) set out the merit of ablutions, the removal of faults they bring and the forgiveness of sins. Abu Malik al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
"Purification is half of faith."Reported by Muslim 229
That is: half of faith. Al-Nawawi explains in Sharh Sahih Muslim (3/82) that "at-tuhur" (purification) designates the act of purifying oneself, and that the term "half" (shatr) received divergent interpretations. According to some, the reward of ablutions reaches up to half of the reward of faith; according to others, faith erases the faults that preceded it, and the same holds for ablutions, since they are only valid with faith: by depending on it, they occupy the place of a half.
According to a third interpretation, the "faith" meant here designates prayer, as in the words of Allah:
"Allah would not let your faith go to waste"
Surat al-Baqara, 143
meaning your prayers. Since purification is a condition for the validity of prayer, it becomes like its half, without requiring that a "half" be a half in a strictly literal sense. This reading is, according to al-Nawawi, the closest of the opinions; it is also possible that faith designates the assent of the heart and outward submission, which are its two halves, purification encompassing prayer, which is outward submission. And Allah knows best.
Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) performed ablutions and then said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) perform ablutions like these; then the Prophet said:
"Whoever performs ablutions like this has what preceded of his sins forgiven."Reported by Muslim 229
Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) also reported:
"Whoever performs ablutions and does them well, his faults come out of his body, even from under his fingernails."Reported by Muslim 245
Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) said:
"When the Muslim (or believing) servant performs ablutions and washes his face, every fault his eyes looked at comes out of his face with the water (or with the last drop of water); when he washes his hands, every fault his hands committed comes out with the water (or with the last drop of water); when he washes his feet, every fault his feet committed by walking comes out with the water (or with the last drop of water), until he comes out purified of his sins."Reported by Muslim 244
Uqba ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: we were in charge of herding the camels, and my turn came; I brought them back one evening and joined the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) standing, addressing the people, and I heard from him:
"Any Muslim who performs ablutions, does them well, then stands up and prays two rak'as turning toward them his heart and his face, is necessarily granted Paradise."Reported by Muslim 234
He said: I said to myself: how excellent this is! And behold, a speaker in front of me said: the one before it is even more excellent. I looked: it was Umar, who said to me: I saw you arriving just now. Then [the Prophet] said:
"There is no one among you who performs ablutions and completes them fully (or thoroughly), then says: I testify that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger, without the eight gates of Paradise being opened to him, so that he enters by whichever he wishes."Reported by Muslim 234
The merit of ablutions performed despite hardship appears in this hadith of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him):
"Shall I point out to you that by which Allah erases faults and raises degrees? They said: certainly, O Messenger of Allah. He said: performing the ablutions fully despite hardship, multiplying steps to the mosques, and waiting for the prayer after the prayer: that is the ribat."Reported by Muslim 251
Ablutions will finally be, on the Day of Resurrection, the distinguishing mark of this umma, as Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
"My umma will be called on the Day of Resurrection with radiant foreheads and white-marked limbs, from the traces of ablutions. Whoever among you can lengthen his radiance, let him do so."Reported by al-Bukhari 136 and Muslim 246
Fifth condition of obligation: the presence of pure (mutlaq) purifying water in sufficient quantity. The jurists differed: is this presence, for all the members of ablution, a condition of the obligation of wudu, or are ablutions obligatory even if the water at one's disposal does not suffice for all the members, in which case one performs tayammum for the remainder?
The Hanafis, the Malikis, the Shafi'is in one view and the Hanbalis in one narration hold that the presence of sufficient pure water is among the conditions of the obligation of ablutions. They are therefore not incumbent upon one who finds no water, nor upon one who finds water too scanty to suffice him. If he washes some members with the water found, his act is void and cannot count as ablution: there is no capacity except with water sufficient for all the members at once, and any other water is as if nonexistent (al-Bahr ar-Raiq 1/10, Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/194, Mawahib al-Jalil 1/182, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/137, al-Khulasa al-Fiqhiyya 1/15).
For combining [water and tayammum] would amount to combining a thing and its substitute, like one who finds only part of the slave (raqaba) to be freed in an expiation: this is the position of most scholars. And because continuity (muwalat) is a condition according to those who maintain it: it is lost by omitting to wash the remainder, so his purification is annulled, and tayammum then becomes necessary, his status being that of one who has lost water.
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, in the prevailing position of their schools, require the presence of pure water and the knowledge that it is pure, even by mere supposition in case of doubt, but do not require that it suffice for all the members of ablution or of the full washing. If one finds insufficient water, using it is obligatory, then one performs tayammum for the remainder, by the words of Allah:
"and you do not find water"
Surat an-Nisa, 43
The one who finds some water is a "finder": he must therefore use it. And the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) said:
"When I command you to do something, do of it as much as you can."Reported by al-Bukhari 6858 and Muslim 1337
(an-Najm al-Wahhaj 1/443, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/146, al-Kafi 1/68, Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/85, al-Insaf 1/144)
Sixth condition: the ability to use purifying water. The Hanafis and the Malikis hold that it is among the conditions of the obligation of ablutions: they are not incumbent upon one who is incapable, such as the sick, nor upon one who lacks water. The Hanafis stated explicitly that ablutions are not incumbent upon one unable to use the purifier, nor upon one whose hands were cut off at the elbows and whose feet at the ankles (al-Bahr ar-Raiq 1/10, Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/193, Hashiyat at-Tahtawi 56, Mawahib al-Jalil 1/182, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/137, al-Khulasa al-Fiqhiyya 1/15).
Seventh condition: the presence of hadath. The jurists of the four schools agree that the presence of hadath, the state of ritual impurity that makes ablutions obligatory, is a condition of their obligation: they are not incumbent upon one already in a state of ablution whose wudu has not been broken.
Among the Shafi'is, several views exist on the moment ablutions become obligatory. The first: they become so upon the occurrence of hadath, with an extended obligation as long as the [prayer] time has not entered and there remains a span sufficient for both them and the prayer. The second: what makes them obligatory is the entry of the time, meaning the prayer time, or the rising for prayer, which is expressed as the intention to rise for prayer or what depends on it.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy on him) said: some expressed it by the first, which is more apparent because it concretely actualizes the obligation; others by the second, because it fits better the evidence of this view, namely the words of Allah: "O you who believe, when you rise for prayer" (Surat al-Ma'ida, 6), to the end of the verse. Saying that the intention or the entry of the time is what makes it obligatory means that it is a cause of the determining cause, which is the rising for prayer, the obligation of the latter making ablutions obligatory. The second view is supported by the words of the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him):
"I have only been commanded to perform ablutions when I rise for prayer."Authentic hadith: reported by Abu Dawud 3760, al-Tirmidhi 1847 and al-Nasa'i 132; Muslim 374 reported it in similar terms
The third view: ablutions become obligatory by both together, the hadath and the rising for prayer; al-Nawawi said: it is the preferred view among our companions. The Hanbalis, in the correct view of the school, hold that the cause of the obligation of ablutions is hadath, as Ibn Aqil and others mentioned. Abu al-Khattab said in al-Intisar: they become obligatory by the intention to pray, after the hadath. Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: purification from hadath or impurity is not obligatory before the intention to pray, it is merely recommended. And it is said in al-Furu': the reasoning of the school suggests that they become obligatory upon the entry of the prayer time, which becomes obligatory then, and the obligation of the condition follows that of the conditioned.
As for one who doubts his state of hadath while being certain of his purity: ablutions are not incumbent upon him according to the majority of jurists. The Malikis, in the prevalent view, hold that they are incumbent upon him as an obligation; others said: as a recommendation (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/193 and 1/224, Maraqi al-Falah 34, Mawahib al-Jalil 1/182, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/136-137, al-Khulasa al-Fiqhiyya 1/15, Sharh az-Zarqani 1/78, al-Majmu' 1/528, Sharh Sahih Muslim 3/84 and 4/182, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/146, al-Fatawa al-Fiqhiyya al-Kubra of Ibn Hajar 1/54, al-Insaf 1/194, al-Furu' 1/126).
Eighth condition: the narrowness of the time. The Hanafis hold that it is among the conditions of the obligation of ablutions. They specify: it is a condition of the narrowed obligation, since the injunction is then narrowed while it is extended at its origin. In other words, the obligation of ablutions is extended upon the entry of the time, like that of the prayer; then, when the time, meaning the prayer time, becomes narrow, the obligation becomes narrowed for both together, ablutions and prayer (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/193, Hashiyat at-Tahtawi 1/40, Nur al-Idah 1/17).
Secondly: the conditions of validity of ablutions. First condition: the Hanafis stated explicitly that the covering of the skin with pure water is among them, meaning that water reaches the entire place whose use is obligatory. If there remains, among what must be washed, the equivalent of the point of a needle untouched by water, the ablutions are not valid (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/194, Fath al-Qadir 1/13, al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya 1/4, Maraqi al-Falah 1/40).
The Shafi'is hold that it is among the conditions of ablutions to wash, together with the washed part, a portion adjoining the washed part. Al-Khatib al-Shirbini (may Allah have mercy on him) said: its conditions are that there be washed, together with the washed part, a portion adjoining it and surrounding it, so that complete coverage of the washed part is realized (Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/147).
Second condition: the removal of what prevents water from reaching the body by its substance forming a screen. The Hanafis and the Malikis count in it wax, fat, dough, mud, fish skin, dried chewed bread and the dried crust in the nose; unlike the tibb and the ramas (dried eye secretions), which designate what has hardened in the corner of the eye: the muq, the rear part of the eye, or the maq, its front part, when it remains outside the eye after closing the eyelids. Also among [the screens to remove] are ink, meaning the ink on the scribe's hand, and similar solidified filth on bodies (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/196, al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya 1/4, Hashiyat at-Tahtawi 1/40, al-Khulasa al-Fiqhiyya 1/14, az-Zarqani 1/54, al-Fawakih ad-Dawani 1/135).
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis count the removal of the screen preventing water from reaching the skin among the conditions of ablution. The Shafi'is added that there must be nothing on the member that alters water in a harmful way; it is said in al-Imdad: this includes the perfume used to beautify the hair, for it may dry and prevent water from reaching within: its removal becomes obligatory. Al-Shirwani said in his commentary: this is the preferred view on this point of divergence (Hawashi al-Shirwani 1/186, I'ana at-Talibin 1/35, Ma'una Awli an-Nuha 1/279, al-Insaf 1/144).
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: if someone has coated his head with a substance that screens between the water and his hair and their roots, he must wash it until water reaches his skin and his hair; if he has coated it with a substance that does not screen, it is like braided or plaited hair that does not prevent water from arriving: he is not required to undo it, and it suffices him that water reach hair and skin (al-Umm 1/40).
A preceding discussion concludes as follows: the cases are five in number, two valid for both the layman and the scholar, two void for both, and one valid for the layman but void for the scholar. This condition, with this level of detail, applies to all acts of worship such as prayer and fasting; some excepted the pilgrimage (al-Bajirmi ala al-Khatib 1/115, Nihayat az-Zayn 1/17, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/147, I'ana at-Talibin 1/35, al-Manhaj al-Qawim 1/52, Hawashi al-Shirwani 1/189, Fath al-Mu'in 1/226).
Fifth condition of validity: the absence of any diverting factor from ablutions. The Shafi'is mentioned it and counted it among the conditions of ablution; it is expressed as the continuance of the intention in law: not committing what contradicts the intention, such as apostasy or a conditional suspension of the type "if Allah wills" uttered without intention of blessing, nor severing the intention. Whoever severs the intention in the middle of ablution needs a new intention for the remaining members (Asna al-Matalib 1/28, Nihayat al-Muhtaj 1/154, Hashiyat al-Jamal 1/101, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/147, Ghayat al-Bayan 1/45, Hawashi al-Shirwani 1/188, I'ana at-Talibin 1/45).
Sixth condition of validity: the flowing of water over the member. The Shafi'is stated explicitly that it is among the conditions of ablution, without disagreement: it does not suffice that water touch the member, for such contact is not called a washing, and what is commanded in the noble verse is washing.
A preceding passage recalls the general rule: the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever performs a deed not in accordance with our command, it is rejected."Reported by Muslim 1718
Ablutions are therefore not valid with water whose use is forbidden, such as stolen water or the like. A narration from Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) holds that purification with stolen water is valid, but with dislike (al-Insaf 1/28, 1/29 and 1/144, Matalib Awli an-Nuha 4/62, Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/85).
The jurists agree on the permissibility of performing ablutions before the entry of the prayer time: Ibn al-Mundhir and al-Nawawi, among others, transmitted this consensus. Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: they agreed that whoever purifies himself with water before the time of prayer, his purification is complete (al-Ijma' 19).
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis excepted, however, persons in a situation of necessity: one afflicted with a permanent hadath, such as the woman in istihada or the person affected by incontinence of urine, wind or stool, and similar cases. For his ablution they required the entry of the prayer time, even by supposition: whether the entry is certain, or conjectured when the time is uncertain and his personal effort of judgment leads to its entry. His purification being a purification of necessity, it is tied to the entry of the time like tayammum: if he performs ablutions before the entry of the time, they are annulled by it, like tayammum, for there is no need for them then.
They also required that istinja or istijmar precede the ablution, for the obligation of purity presupposes that the removal of impurity has come first. The Shafi'is added protection (tahaffuz), such as padding or bandaging when needed, continuity between the istinja and the protection, between the two combined and the ablution, and between the ablution and the prayer (I'ana at-Talibin 1/35-36, al-Iqna' of al-Shirbini 1/37, al-Majmu' 1/528, Nihayat az-Zayn 1/18, Hashiyat al-Bajirmi 1/116, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj 1/189, Kifayat al-Akhyar p. 63, ar-Rawd al-Murbi' 1/21, Ma'una Awli an-Nuha 1/280, al-Insaf 1/144).
The sheet opens with the end of the question of combing through the beard with the fingers: Imam Malik, his companions and a group of the people of Medina hold that combing it through is not obligatory in the washing of janaba. Ibn Abd al-Hakam transmitted from Malik: he moves the beard during ablution if it is full, without combing it through; in the full washing, let him move it even if it is short, and combing it through is more beloved to us. Ibn al-Qasim transmitted from Malik: the one performing ablution moves the outer part of his beard without inserting his hand into it; it is, he said, like the toes, in that it is not combed through (at-Tamhid 20/119-120, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/140, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/30, al-Bahr ar-Raiq 1/22, al-Awsat 1/384, al-Majmu' 1/434, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/176, Kifayat al-Akhyar p. 69, al-Ifsah 1/67, ar-Rawd al-Murbi' 1/47).
The second obligation of ablution is the washing of the hands up to the elbows. The scholars of the umma do not differ on its being obligatory in purification: this washing is a pillar (rukn) of ablution and one of its obligations, and they support it with the Quran, the Sunna and consensus. As for the Quran, the words of Allah:
"So wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows"
Surat al-Ma'ida, 6
As for the Sunna, it is abundant. There is notably the hadith of Humran, the freed servant of Uthman, already cited in the description of the Prophet's ablutions (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him):
He called for water for his ablutions, washed his hands three times, rinsed his mouth and sniffed water into his nose, washed his face three times, washed his right hand up to the elbow three times, then the left likewise, wiped his head, washed his right foot up to the ankles three times, then the left likewise. He then said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) perform ablutions similar to these. The Messenger of Allah then said: whoever performs ablutions similar to these, then stands up and prays two rak'as without talking to himself therein, has what preceded of his sins forgiven.Reported by al-Bukhari 159 and Muslim 226
There is also what Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported in the description of the Prophet's ablutions:
"He performed ablutions, washed his face while performing the ablutions fully, then washed his right hand up to engaging the upper arm, then the left likewise."Reported by Muslim 246
As for consensus, there is no disagreement among the scholars of the umma on the obligation of washing the hands up to the elbows in ablution, and a great number of scholars transmitted this consensus (Bada'i as-Sana'i 1/19, Radd al-Muhtar 1/211, al-Istidhkar 1/127-128, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/141, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/31, Rawdat at-Talibin 1/198, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/156, Kifayat al-Akhyar p. 65, al-Mughni 1/150, Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/83, ar-Rawd al-Murbi' 1/94, Manar as-Sabil 1/33, al-Ifsah 1/62).
The jurists differed: must the elbows be washed together with the arms in ablution, or not? Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad, in the best-known view from him, hold that washing the elbows together with the arms is obligatory, by the words of Allah:
"and your hands up to the elbows"
Surat al-Ma'ida, 6
Zufar among the Hanafis, some companions of Malik and Imam Ahmad in one narration hold that washing the elbow together with the arm is not obligatory.
Ibn Rushd (may Allah have mercy on him) explains the cause of their disagreement: the ambiguity of the particle "up to" (ila) and of the word "hand" (yad) in Arabic speech. The particle "ila" sometimes indicates the limit, sometimes means "with"; and the word "yad" applies to three senses: the palm only, the palm and the forearm, or the palm, the forearm and the upper arm. Whoever understands "ila" as "with", or "yad" as the totality of the three, makes their inclusion in the washing obligatory; whoever understands "ila" as the limit, and "yad" as what is below the elbow, the boundary not entering into what it bounds, does not include them.
Muslim transmitted in his Sahih, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), that he washed his right hand up to engaging the upper arm, then the left likewise, washed his right foot up to engaging the shin, then the left likewise, and said: this is how I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) perform ablutions. This report is an evidence for those who make their inclusion in the washing obligatory: when the wording oscillates between two meanings equally, one must not decide for either meaning except with a proof; even though "ila" is, in Arabic, more apparent as a limit than as "with", and "yad" more apparent for what is below the upper arm than for what is above it.
Thus the view of those who do not include them is weightier from the point of view of lexical induction, and the view of those who include them is clearer in light of this report, unless it be carried upon recommendation: the question, as one sees, remains open to interpretation. Some authors said: "The limit, if it is of the same kind as what it limits, enters into it; if not, it does not enter into it" (Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/31, al-Istidhkar 1/128, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/141, Radd al-Muhtar 1/212, Bada'i as-Sana'i 1/20, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/156, Kifayat al-Akhyar 65, al-Mughni 1/150, Manar as-Sabil 1/33, al-Insaf 1/157, al-Awsat 1/393).
Among the Malikis, another view holds that the elbows enter into the washing, not because washing them with the arms is obligatory, but out of precaution: the obligation is not reached except by their inclusion, and whatever the obligation cannot be completed without is itself obligatory; their inclusion is the safer way, for it removes the burden of delimitation (Mawahib al-Jalil 1/191, al-Fawakih ad-Dawani 1/139).
The jurists do not differ on the fact that wiping the head is among the pillars and obligations of ablution, by the words of Allah:
"and wipe your heads"
Surat al-Ma'ida, 6
the hadiths reported on this, notably the hadith of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) on the ablutions of the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him), in which appears: "then he wiped his head"; and the consensus of the jurists (Radd al-Muhtar 1/213, Bada'i as-Sana'i 1/21, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/143, Rawdat at-Talibin 1/199, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/159, Kifayat al-Akhyar p. 65, al-Mughni 1/156, Manar as-Sabil 1/33).
They differed on the sufficient quantity of this wiping. First view: Imam Malik and Ahmad in one narration hold that wiping the entire head is obligatory. It is also transmitted from Imam Ahmad that wiping part of it suffices: Abu al-Harith said: I asked Ahmad: what if he wipes his head while leaving part of it? He answered: it suffices him, then said: who is able to cover the whole head? Ibn Qudama (may Allah have mercy on him) notes however that the more apparent view from Ahmad is the obligation of covering the whole head for the man, the woman sufficing herself with wiping the front of her head.
Al-Khallal said: the practice in the school of Ahmad is that if the woman wipes the front of her head, it suffices her. Muhanna transmitted: Ahmad said: I hope that the woman has greater ease regarding the wiping of the head. I asked him: why? He said: Aisha used to wipe the front of her head (reported by al-Nasa'i 1/72, isnad authenticated by al-Albani).
The Hanafis, the Shafi'is and some companions of Malik hold that wiping part of the head is the obligation, while differing on the measure of this part. Among the Hanafis, in the best-known narration, the required measure is a quarter of the head: it is the relied-upon view of the school. A second narration: the measure of the forelock (nasiya). A third: the width of three fingers, transmitted by Hisham from the Imam; some called it the apparent narration, it was authenticated in at-Tuhfa and elsewhere, and in adh-Dhahiriyya, and the fatwa follows it. Ibn Abidin (may Allah have mercy on him) concludes: in short, the relied-upon narration is that of the quarter, followed by the later scholars (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/213, Bada'i as-Sana'i 1/21).
The companions of Malik differed on the delimitation of this part: Ashhab said that wiping half suffices, and it is also transmitted from him that wiping the forelock suffices; Muhammad ibn Muslama said that wiping two thirds suffices; Abu al-Faraj said that wiping one third suffices (Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/143, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/32, al-Istidhkar 1/130-132, Mawahib al-Jalil 1/202, Rawdat at-Talibin 1/199, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/159, Kifayat al-Akhyar p. 65, Asna al-Matalib 1/33, al-Mughni 1/156-157).
The Shafi'is, for their part, hold that the obligation is to wipe whatever the name of wiping falls upon, however little: it is not quantified, and what is possible suffices. The partisans of partial wiping rely on the hadith of al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him)
"performed ablutions and wiped his forelock and over his turban."Reported by Muslim 274
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: this is what our companions used as evidence that wiping part of the head suffices, the totality not being required; for if the totality were obligatory, he would not have contented himself with the turban for the remainder, since combining the original and the substitute on one and the same member is not permitted, just as wiping one khuff and washing the other foot (Sharh Sahih Muslim 3/142, Radd al-Muhtar 1/213, Bada'i as-Sana'i 1/21, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/143, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/32, al-Istidhkar 1/130-132, Mawahib al-Jalil 1/202, Rawdat at-Talibin 1/199, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/159, Kifayat al-Akhyar p. 65, Asna al-Matalib 1/33, al-Mughni 1/156-157).
The jurists differed on the hair that hangs down: is wiping it obligatory? The majority of jurists, Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, hold that wiping the hair that hangs below the head is not obligatory, for it does not share with the head the quality of "head", and wiping it does not count as wiping the head, whether one has gathered it and tied it above the head or not. If the hair hangs from its growth place without going below the place of the obligation, wiping over it suffices, even if what lies beneath the hanging hair is shaved, like some hair lying over other hair (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya 1/5, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/159-160, Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/99, Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat 1/56, al-Mubdi' 1/124).
The Malikis expressly stated the obligation of wiping what hangs loose of the hair. Al-Dardir said: even if it is very long, for it is part of the hair of the head (ash-Sharh al-Kabir with Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/144).
Sheikh Ahmad as-Sawi, the Maliki (may Allah have mercy on him), notes by way of admonition that it benefits women, for ablution, to follow al-Shafi'i or Abu Hanifa, and, for the full washing, to follow Abu Hanifa: he contents himself, for ghusl, with water reaching the skin, even without covering the hanging hair, even if the hanging part is dry according to him, as mentioned in ad-Durr al-Mukhtar (Bulghat as-Salik ala ash-Sharh as-Saghir 1/76).
Regarding shaving the hair of the head after ablution, the vast majority of jurists, Hanafis, Malikis in the prevalent view of the school, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, hold that it does not affect the ablution. It is said in ad-Durr al-Mukhtar: ablution is not repeated for having shaved the head (ad-Durr al-Mukhtar 1/216).
Ibn Nujaym, the Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him), explains: for wiping the hair of the head is not a substitute for wiping the skin, since it is permitted even when one is able to wipe the skin; were it a substitute, it would not be permitted; and it is not repeated (al-Bahr ar-Raiq 1/16).
Al-Qarafi, transmitting from the author of at-Tiraz among the Malikis, said: no opponent is known in this question except Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, who likened [shaving the head] to removing the khuffs after wiping them. He said: for the obligation fell first, and the removal of the hair does not restore it, like one who washes his face or performs tayammum and then cuts off his nose; and because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to shave at Mina and then go down for the tawaf of al-ifada, no one among them being reported to have repeated the wiping of the head; and because the ghusl of janaba is not repeated, which is more deserving, whereas the roots of the hair were not washed before the shaving though they are part of the skin whose washing is commanded. The difference between the khuffs and the wiping of the head is that the hair is the origin and the khuff the branch: when the latter disappears, one returns to the origin (adh-Dhakhira 1/263, Minh al-Jalil 1/82).
Al-Dasuqi transmitted a Maliki view making it obligatory to repeat the wiping of the head after shaving; al-Dasuqi said: it is weak (Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/145-146). Al-Buhuti transmitted from Ibn Rajab that Imam Ahmad recommended that whoever shaves his head touch it with water, without making it obligatory (Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/100; see also Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/160).
The jurists differed on repeating the wiping of the head in ablution: is the sunna to perform it once only, adding nothing, or are three times recommended? The Hanafis, the Malikis and Imam Ahmad in the best-known view from him, a view also held by some companions of al-Shafi'i, maintain that the wiping of the head is done once: repetition would turn it into a washing, whereas the command concerns wiping.
The Hanbalis say: repeating the wiping of the head is not recommended, for most of those who described the ablutions of the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) mentioned that he wiped his head once; their accounts of the Prophet's ablutions inform of his constant practice, and one is constant only upon what is best and most perfect. And because it is a wiping in a purification, whose repetition is not recommended, like the wiping in tayammum, the wiping over the splint and all wipings.
Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) said: all the sound hadiths of Uthman indicate that the wiping of the head is done once: their narrators described the ablutions three times by three, saying of the head: and he wiped his head, without mentioning a number, unlike the rest. Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said likewise: what is established from the Prophet regarding wiping is that it is done once.
For wiping is built upon lightness: it is not compared to washing, whose purpose is thoroughness in completion; and if number counted in wiping, it would take the form of washing, the reality of washing being the flowing of water. Abu Ubayd (may Allah have mercy on him) went so far as to say: we know of no one among the early generations who recommended tripling the wiping of the head, except Ibrahim al-Taymi.
The hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: his statement calls for reflection: Ibn Abi Shayba and Ibn al-Mundhir transmitted it from Anas, Ata' and others, and Abu Dawud related it through two paths, one of them authenticated by Ibn Khuzayma and others, in the hadith of Uthman: the tripling of the wiping of the head; and the addition of a trustworthy reporter is accepted (Fath al-Bari 1/312-313; see also al-Ikhtiyar 1/7, al-Hidaya 1/13, ad-Durr al-Mukhtar 1/213, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/33, at-Taj wa al-Iklil 1/261, Mawahib al-Jalil 1/52, Ahkam al-Qur'an of Ibn al-Arabi 2/67, Tafsir al-Qurtubi 3/460, al-Awsat 1/394 and 1/397, Sharh Sahih Muslim 3/92, al-Majmu' 1/495 and 1/500, al-Mughni 1/159 and 1/161, al-Insaf 1/163, Kashshaf al-Qina' 1/100-101, Ma'una Awli an-Nuha 1/291 and 1/298, Subul as-Salam 1/43, Nayl al-Awtar 1/196).
Imam al-Shafi'i and Ahmad in one narration, a view defended by Abu al-Khattab and Ibn al-Jawzi, hold that tripling the wiping of the head is recommended. Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I like that he wipe his head three times; once suffices him."
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: our prevalent school, the one al-Shafi'i textually fixed in his books and which the majority of the companions adopted, is that wiping the head three times is recommended, just as purifying the other members is recommended. Al-Shafi'i and the companions (may Allah have mercy on them) argued with hadiths and analogies.
The first hadith, the one al-Shafi'i relied upon: that of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him)
"performed ablutions three times by three."Reported by Muslim 230
The evidence would be drawn from the word "he performed ablutions", which encompasses wiping and washing. Al-Bayhaqi and others refused this inference: it is an unrestricted wording, whereas the explicit sound narrations of the Sahih specify that the washing of the members is done three times by three and that the wiping of the head is done once: they stated the triple for what is not the head, and said of the head: and he wiped his head, without a number, before adding: then he washed his feet three times by three. It comes in narrations of the Sahih: then he washed his hands three times, then he wiped his head once, then he washed his feet three times by three: no inference remains.
The second hadith: Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) performed ablutions and wiped his head three times, then said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) perform ablutions like this (reported by Abu Dawud 107 and 110, and by al-Bayhaqi in as-Sunan al-Kubra 1/63). Sheikh al-Albani said in Sahih Abi Dawud (98): a hasan authentic hadith; and in Tamam al-Minna (91): it is established from Uthman that the Prophet wiped his head three times, reported by Abu Dawud through two hasan isnads, with a third isnad likewise hasan; and the hafiz said in al-Fath: Abu Dawud related it through two paths, one of them authenticated by Ibn Khuzayma and others, and the addition of the trustworthy is accepted; he mentioned in at-Talkhis that Ibn al-Jawzi inclined, in Kashf al-Mushkil, toward authenticating the repetition. Al-Albani concludes: this is the truth, for the narration of the single time, however numerous, does not contradict the narration of the triple: the discussion concerns a sunna, whose nature is to be performed at times; it is the choice of al-San'ani in Subul as-Salam.
The isnad of Abu Dawud is hasan, as the sheikh Ibn al-Salah also said: a hasan hadith; it may rise to authenticity through its attestations and the multiplicity of its paths: al-Bayhaqi and others related it through many paths other than that of Abu Dawud.
The third hadith: Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) performed ablutions and wiped his head three times, then said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) do it. Al-Bayhaqi related it through several paths (as-Sunan al-Kubra 1/63), specifying: most narrators transmitted it from Ali without mention of repetition; and the best of what is transmitted from Ali on this point is what his son al-Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) transmitted with his isnad, mentioning the wiping of the head three times and saying: this is how I saw the Messenger of Allah perform ablutions; its isnad is hasan.
As for the analogies, they said: it is one of the members of purification, so its repetition is recommended like the others; and: it is the application of an origin upon an origin, so its repetition is recommended like the face.
Al-Nawawi continues: as for the proofs of the partisans of the single wiping, our companions answered them with many answers, the best of which: the narrators transmitted both the wiping three times and once, as preceded; they must therefore be combined: the single shows the permissibility, the double shows the permissibility and the added merit over the single, the triple shows completeness and merit. This is supported by the fact that ablution was reported in many forms: those mentioned, but also some members washed once and others twice, and other variants: this shows the breadth and the absence of blame, whichever of these forms is followed. No scholar said: it is recommended to wash some members three times and others twice, even though its hadith is thus in the two Sahihs; one thereby knows that the intent of the forms other than the triple is to expose the permissibility.
Had he persisted constantly in the triple, it would have been believed obligatory: this is why he exposed, at moments of permissibility, the form without it, and repeated his teaching at various moments and in various forms, so that knowledge settles, and because of the diversity of the listeners who had not attended the other session. And if it be said: if the triple is better, why did he leave it at certain moments? The answer is as given before: the Prophet intended exposition, which was obligatory upon him and whose reward is greater, and exposition through deed is more binding, stronger in souls and clearer than speech.
As for Abu Dawud and his statement about the sound hadiths, the answer is twofold. First: he spoke of the sound (sahih) hadiths, and this one is hasan, outside the scope of his words. Second: the generality of his unrestricted wording is particularized by the hasan hadiths and others that we have mentioned. As for their analogy with tayammum and the wiping over the khuffs, the answer is that these are two concessions, to which lightness befits, whereas the head is an origin, which it is more pertinent to attach to the other members of ablution. As for their saying that repetition leads to washing it, we do not concede it: washing is the flowing of water over the member, which is not achieved by wiping three times; and the scholars agreed that the junub who would wipe his body with water while repeating that does not lift his state of janaba: the flowing of water over the members is required (al-Majmu' 1/495 and 1/500, Sharh Sahih Muslim 3/92, al-Umm 1/26, al-Mughni 1/159 and 1/161, al-Insaf 1/163, at-Tahqiq of Ibn al-Jawzi 1/112, Subul as-Salam 1/43, Nayl al-Awtar 1/196).
Among the Malikis, what has been braided by the hair themselves is not to be undone in ablution, in any case, whether for a man or a woman, whether the braid is tight or not; unlike the full washing: what was braided by the hair themselves must there be undone if the braiding is tight. What has been braided with many threads, meaning three or more per braid, must be undone absolutely, in ablution as in full washing, tight or not. What has been braided with fewer than three threads must be undone if the braid is tight; if it is not, it is not to be undone.
Al-Dasuqi (may Allah have mercy on him) sums up: what is braided with three threads must be undone absolutely, tight or not, ablution or full washing; what is braided with fewer must be undone if tight, in ablution and full washing, otherwise not; what is braided by the hair themselves is not undone in ablution, absolutely, tight or not, and is undone in the full washing if tight, otherwise not (Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/88).
On wiping over the turban (imama) and the khimar, the Hanafis, the Malikis and the Shafi'is hold that it is not permitted, by the words of Allah: "and wipe your heads" (Surat al-Ma'ida, 6): the turban is not the head, the reality of wiping requires contact and the reaching of water, and whoever wipes the turban does not wipe his head; his prayer performed in this state is therefore not valid. And because it is a member whose purification is washing: wiping over a screen is not permitted for it, like the face and the hand in tayammum, by consensus; and because it is a member for which reaching water usually involves no hardship: wiping over a screen separate from it is not permitted, like the hand in the glove and the face in the niqab or the burqa (Radd al-Muhtar 1/457, al-Bahr ar-Raiq 1/193, Ahkam al-Qur'an of al-Jassas 3/357, al-Istidhkar 1/11, al-Muwatta 1/44, Mawahib al-Jalil 1/207, Hashiyat al-Dasuqi 1/263, al-Awsat 1/468-472, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/34, al-Umm 1/26, al-Majmu' 1/464-466, Sharh Sahih Muslim of al-Nawawi 3/142, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/176, Fath al-Bari 1/369).
Imam Ahmad holds that wiping over the turban and the khimar is permitted, supported by the established reports from the Prophet (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him), among them the hadith of al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet
"performed ablutions and wiped over the two khuffs and the turban."Authentic hadith: reported by al-Tirmidhi 100
And in Muslim, the Prophet
"wiped over the two khuffs and the khimar."Reported by Muslim 275
Imam Ahmad said: it reaches us through five paths from the Prophet; and because it is a screen in a place where the Law instituted wiping: it is therefore permitted to wipe over its screen, like the two feet. The verse does not negate this: the Prophet is the expositor of the speech of Allah, he interpreted it, he wiped over the turban and commanded wiping it, which shows that the verse intends the wiping of the head or of its screen.
They also supported this with the practice of Abu Bakr and Umar, saying that, had the hadith of the Prophet not been established on this matter, their practice would be binding, by the words of the Prophet: "Follow those who [come] after me: Abu Bakr and Umar", "If the people obey Abu Bakr and Umar, they will be well guided", and "Hold fast to my sunna and to the sunna of the rightly guided, well-directed caliphs after me". They said: such figures cannot be ignorant of the obligation of wiping the head, mentioned in the Book of Allah; without the Prophet's explanation and his permitting it, they would not have abandoned the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunna.
They further said: the argument of whoever objects that the Prophet removed the turban from his head and wiped his head overturns nothing: wiping over the turban is not an obligation for which nothing else suffices; the one purifying himself has the choice: if he wishes, he wipes his head; if he wishes, his turban, just as the one who wipes the khuffs has the choice: to wash his feet or to wipe his khuffs. And there is no proof in the denial of whoever denied the wiping over the turban, for no one encompasses the totality of the sunnas; whoever denied it, had he known the sunna, would most likely have returned to it. It is not permissible to think otherwise of a Muslim who is not among the people of knowledge, how then of one of the people of knowledge; and just as the denial of whoever denied the wiping over the khuffs does no harm, likewise the abstention of whoever refrained from permitting the wiping over the turban does not weaken it.
The Hanbalis conditioned, however, the permissibility of wiping over the turban on its covering the whole head, apart from what is customarily left uncovered, such as the front of the head, the ears and their like on the sides: this is excused. If beneath the turban there is a qalansuwa part of which shows, the apparent view is the permissibility of wiping over the whole, the two becoming like a single turban.
Among the conditions of permissibility is also that the turban be shaped in the manner of the turbans of the Muslims, with a part passing under the jaw: these are the turbans of the Arabs, which cover more than the others and whose removal is burdensome; wiping over them is permitted, whether there is a tail or not, whether it is small or large. If there is nothing under the jaw and no tail, wiping over it is not permitted, for it is then shaped in the manner of the turbans of the dhimmi people, and its removal is not burdensome.
If a part of the head customarily left uncovered is so in fact, it is recommended to wipe it together with the turban: Imam Ahmad stated this textually, for the Prophet wiped over his turban and his forelock in the hadith of al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba. Whether combining both is obligatory is a matter of two views among the Hanbalis.
Then, if he removes the turban after having wiped it, his purification is annulled: Imam Ahmad stated this textually. And it is not permitted for a woman who puts on a turban to wipe it, even if she put it on out of necessity, according to the correct view of the school.