Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)

Al-Miqdam b. Ma’dikarib reported : I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) perform ablution. When he reached the stage of wiping his head, he placed his palms on the front of the head. Then he moved them until he reached the nape. He then returned them to the place from where he had started.

Another version says: He wiped his ears inside and outside. Hisham adds: He inserted his fingers in the ear-holes.

AbulAzhar al-Mughirah ibn Farwah and Yazid ibn AbuMalik reported: Mu'awiyah performed ablution before the people, as he saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution. When he reached the stage of wiping his head, he took a handful of water and poured it with his left hand over the middle of his head so much so that drops of water came down or almost came down. Then he wiped (his head) from its front to its back and from its back to its front.

Another version says: He performed each part of the ablution three times and washed his feet times without number.

Narrated Ar-Rubayyi' daughter of Mu'awwidh ibn Afra': The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to come to us. He once said: Pour ablution water on me. She then described how the Prophet (ﷺ) performed ablution saying: He washed his hands up to wrist three times and washed his face three times, and rinsed his mouth and snuffed up water once. Then he washed his forearms three times and wiped his head twice beginning from the back of his head, then wiped its front. He wiped his ears outside and inside. Then he washed his feet three times.Abu Dawud said: The tradition narrated by Musaddad carries the same meaning.

Ibn ‘Uqail reported this tradition with a slight change of wording. In his tradition he said: He rinsed his mouth three times and snuffed up water three times.

Al-Rubayyi’ daughter of Mu’awwidh b. ‘Afra’ reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution in her presence. He wiped the whole of his head from its upper to the lower part moving every side. He did not move the hair from their original position.

Al-Rubayyi’ daughter of Mu’awwidh b. ‘Afra’ said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performing ablution. He wiped his head front and back, his temples and his ears once.

Al-Rubayyi’ reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) wiped his head with water which was left over in his hand.

Narrated Ar-Rubayyi' daughter of Mu'awwidh ibn Afra': The Prophet (ﷺ) performed ablution. He inserted his two fingers in the ear-holes.

Narrated Talhah ibn Musarrif: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wiping his head once up to his nape.Musaddad reported: He wiped his head from front to back until he moved his hands from beneath the ears.Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad say: People thought that Ibn 'Uyainah had considered it to be munkar (rejected) and said: What is this chain: Talhah - his father - his grandfather ?

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: Sa'id ibn Jubayr reported: Ibn Abbas saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution. He narrated the tradition which says that he (the Prophet) performed each detail of ablution three times. He wiped his head and ears once.

Narrated AbuUmamah: AbuUmamah mentioned how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution, saying that he used to wipe the corners of his eyes, and he said that the ears are treated as part of the head.Sulaiman b. Harb said: the wording "the ears are treated as part of the head" were uttered by Abu Umamah.Hammad said: I do not know whether the phrase "the ears are treated as part of the head" was he statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) or of Abu Umamah.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked him: Messenger of Allah, how is the ablution (to performed)? He (the Prophet) then called for water in a vessel and washed his hands up to the wrists three times, then washed his face three times, and washed his forearms three times. He then wiped his head and inserted both his index fingers in his ear-holes; he wiped the back of his ears with his thumbs and the front of his ears with the index fingers. He then washed his feet three times. Then he said: This is how ablution should be performed. If anyone does more or less than this, he has done wrong and transgressed, or (said) transgressed and done wrong.

Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (my peace be upon him) washed the limbs in ablution twice.

‘Ata’ b. Yasar quoting Ibn ‘Abbas said: Do you like that I should show you how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution? He then called for a vessel of water and took out a handful of water with his right hand. He then rinsed his mouth and snuffed up water. He then took out another handful of water and washed his face by both his hands together. He then took out another handful of water and washed his right hand and then washed his left hand by taking out another. He then took out some water and shook off his hand and wiped his head and ears with it. He then took out a handful of water and sprinkled it over his right foot in his shoe and wiped the upper part of the foot with his one hand, and beneath the shoe with his other hand. He then did the same with his left foot.

‘Ata’ b. Yasar quoting Ibn. ‘Abbas said: May I not tell you how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution? He then performed ablution washing each limb once only.

Narrated Grandfather of Talhah: I entered upon the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was performing ablution, and the water was running down his face and beard to his chest. I saw him rinsing his mouth and snuffing up water separately.

Abu Hurairah reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When any of you performs ablution, he should snuff up water in his nose and eject mucus.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Cleanse your nose well (after snuffing up water) twice or thrice.

Narrated Laqit ibn Sabirah: I was the leader of the delegation of Banu al-Muntafiq or (the narrator doubted) I was among the delegation of Banu al-Muntafiq that came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When we reached the Prophet, we did not find him in his house. We found there Aisha, the Mother of the Believers. She ordered that a dish called Khazirah should be prepared for us. It was then prepared. A tray containing dates was then presented to us. (The narrator Qutaybah did not mention the word qina', tray). Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came. He asked: Has anything been served to you or ordered for you? We replied: Yes, Messenger of Allah. While we were sitting in the company of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) we suddenly saw that a shepherd was driving a herd of sheep to their fold. He had with him a newly-born lamb that was crying. He (the Prophet) asked him: What did it bear, O so and so? He replied: A ewe. He then said: Slaughter for us in its place a sheep. Do not think that we are slaughtering it for you. We have one hundred sheep and we do not want their number to increase. Whenever a ewe is born, we slaughter a sheep in its place. (The narrator says that the Prophet (ﷺ) used the word la tahsabanna, do not think). I (the narrator Laqit) then said: Messenger of Allah, I have a wife who has something (wrong) in her tongue, i.e. she is insolent. He said: Then divorce her. I said: Messenger of Allah, she had company with me and I have children from her. He said: Then ask her (to obey you). If there is something good in her, she will do so (obey); and do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl. I said: Messenger of Allah, tell me about ablution. He said: Perform ablution in full and make the fingers go through the beard and snuff with water well except when you are fasting.

Laqit b. Sabirah reported that he was the leader of Banu’l-Muntafiq (name of a tribe). He came to ‘A’ishah. He then narrated the tradition in a similar manner. He said: The Prophet (ﷺ) then came shortly with rapid strides inclining forward. The narrator used the word ‘asidah (name of a dish) in this version instead of Khazirah.

The version of Ibn Juraij has the working: “If you perform ablution, then rinse your mouth.”

Narrated Anas ibn Malik: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution, he took a handful of water, and, putting it under his chin, made it go through his beard, saying: Thus did my Lord command me.

Narrated Thawban: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent out an expedition. They were affected by cold. When they returned to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he commanded them to wipe over turbans and stockings.

Narrated Anas ibn Malik: I saw the Messenger (ﷺ) perform ablution. He had a Qutri turban. He inserted his hand beneath the turban and wiped over the forelock, and did not untie the turban.

Narrated Al-Mustawrid ibn Shaddad: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) rubbing his toes with his little finger when he performed ablution.

Al-Mughirah b. Shu’bah reported: I was in the company of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the expedition of Tabuk. He abandoned the main road before the dawn prayer, and I also did the same along with him. The Prophet (ﷺ) made his camel kneel down and (went to ) relieve himself. He then came back and I poured water upon his hands from the skin-vessel. He then washed his hands and face. He tried to get his forearms out (of the gown), but the sleeves of the gown were too narrow, so he entered back both his hands, and brought them out from beneath the gown. He washed his forearms up to the elbows and wiped his head and wiped over his socks.80 He then mounted (his camel) and we began to proceed until we found people offering the prayer. They brought forward ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf who was leading them in prayer. The Prophet(ﷺ) stood in the row side by side with other Muslims. He performed the second rak’ah of the prayer behind ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf. Then ‘Abd al-Rahman uttered salutation. The Prophet(ﷺ) stood to perform the remaining rak’ah of the prayer. The Muslims were alarmed. They began to utter tasbih (Subhan Allah) presuming that they had offered prayer before the Prophet (ﷺ) had done. When he uttered the salutation (i.e. finished his prayer), he said: You were right, or (he said) you did well.

Al-Mughirah b. Shu’bah said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution and wiped his forelock and turban. Another version says : The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wiped his socks and his forelock and his turban. Bakr said: I heard it from Ibn al-Mughirah.

‘Urwah b. al-Mughirah reported his father as saying : We accompanied the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to a caravan, and I had a jug of water. He went to relieve himself and came back. I came to him with the jug of water and poured upon him. He washed his hands and face. He had a tight-sleeved Syrian woolen gown. He tried to get his forearms out, but the sleeve of the gown was very narrow, so he brought his hands out from under the gown. I then bent down to take off his socks. But he said to me : Leave them, for my feet were clean when I put them in, and he only wiped over them. Yunus said on the authority of al-Sha’bi that ‘Urwah narrated his tradition from his father before him, and his father reported it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).