The Sunnahs of
Purification [sought in Wuḍū’]
Two types of Sunnah:
- Emphasised Sunnah: A act which the Prophet or companions did most of the time and was not from the their worldly habits. Habitually leaving a emphasised sunnah will be sinful, upon occasion will be blameworthy. It is sinful because of turning away from the command of Allah, “Obey Allah & Obey the Rasul”.
- Non Emphasised Sunnah: A act which the Prophet did sometimes or was from his worldly habits. Performing the recommended is rewarded, leaving is not sinful nor blameworthy.
The Sunnah definitions
vary according to the respective school of thought.
The Author has
mentioned nine Sunnats in order:
1. Washing both
hands thrice before entering them into the pot [of water] when the
person awakes from the sleep.
Hadith : Narrated by
Abu Huraira that the Prophet said when one wakes up from sleep, do
not dip your hands directly into the pot until they are washed
three times. As one does not know where the hands spend the night.
(Muslim, 136,278)
The Wisdom for this
ruling is that the water will become impure, ruining the purpose of
water for everyone. Hence the ruling is that it is not only Sunnah
when a person wakes up but also normal circumstances.
Allah Knows Best.
2. Mentioning the
name of Allah at the commencement of wuḍū’,
A Hadith in which the
Prophet narrated that, "Whoever does not pray Bismillah at the
beginning his whudu will not be accepted".(Tirmidhi,
13;25)Majority of the scholars agree that the meaning of this hadith
is that it is denoting the fact the entire reward will be lost, not
the literal meaning that the whudu will not be accepted.
The four Imams agree
that saying Bismiallah is sunnah the hadith to prove this ruling is
Why a person should
start with Bismillah:
The prophet said, every
action you do start in the name of allah, whudu is an act which is
the foundation of other acts so starting it with the name of Allah is
spiritually beneficial.
The Prophet said,O Abu
Huraira when you perform whudu say "In the name of Allah, and
praise belongs to Allah". for the angels who will protect you
will continue to write good deeds for you until you break your
whudu". (Tabrani with a good narration according to Haytami)
A persons concentration
in Salah starts in whudu so praying bismillah will help a person
focus.
According to Imam Abu
Hanifa & Imam Sha'fee saying the words bismiialh are required.
If the person has
forgot to say it at the beginning, it can be said during whudu.
Allah Knows Best.
3. Using the tooth
stick,
Hadith to emphasize its
sunnah: "If I did not want to make it hard for my ummah I would
have given the command of miswak for every salah". (Muslim, 127:
252) Imam Bayhaqi & Imam Bukhari (Muallaq) narrates the Prophet
said "every whudu"
Does this hadith
mean for every salah or for every whudu?
Imam Shafee is of the
view every salah and Imam Abu Hanifa holds the opinion of every
whudu.
Miswak itself has many
benefits, its benefits are scientifically and Isalmically. The lowest
is removing bad odour from the mouth and the highest benefit having
the ability to say kalima at the deathbed.
The Ahadith prove the
Prophet the time and places the Prophet used Miswak.
Someone asked Aysha
what did the Prophet begin with when enter the house she replied, the
toothpick. (Bukhari & Tirmidi)
When the Prophet woke
at night he would clean his mouth with a tooth stick. (Everyone
except tirmidhi)7
Allah Knows Best.
4. Rinsing the mouth
(maḍmaḍah),
Meaning: To Gargle
Three Different types
of gargling:
1)Spit in Spit out
2)Gargle both sides
3)Mubalaga, to gargle
extensively till the water reaches near the throat- (This is sunnat
according to most scholars in both gargle and nose)
Hadith to prove ruling:
Hadith:Someone asked
Uthman bin Affan about Whudu, he asked for water, a bowl was brought
and then he placed it in his right hand and placed in his mouth and
gargled three times and placed it in nose three times. (Abu Dawood,
123/226)
Allah Knows Best.
5. Rinsing the nose
(istinshāq),
Different types:
1)Istinshaaq 1) tip of
nose 2) up to the nose 3) up to the bone. Intinshaar is a process to
snuff and force the water up.
In English it is called
Natal Irrigation which has many scientific benefits.
Does gargling &
rinsing the nose be done together or separate?
3 Imams & Jamhoor
combined are of the view 3 times, hence combined. It is proven by a
hadith in Muslim, 123/225 & Bukhari. Prophet did both acts with
one water.
Imam Abu Hanifa: 6
times/Not combined
Hadith to prove the
view of 6 times:
Talha narrates that his
father went to the Prophet as the Prophet was doing whudu, water was
flicking/coming down from his head, beard and face and he took a gap
between gargling and rinsing the Nose. (Abu Dawood, 20/139)
Note: According to Imam
Malik Number 4 & 5 are Fardh in whudu.
Allah Knows Best.
6. Wiping both ears,
Hadith to prove this
action: Prophet did masah of both head and ears from the outside and
inside. (Tirmidhi, 12/36)
Does both the head and
ears have to be done with the same water in the same act?
Prophet did masah of
the head and said the ears are part of the head. (Tirmidhi, 37) Hence
he used the same water.
Imam Sha'fee - to use
separate water is sunnah.
Allah Knows Best.
7. Combing the beard
[with wet fingers],
Hadith to prove this
action: Uthman narrates the Prophet did Khilal (combing) of the
beard. (Tirmidhi, 14/31) (Abu Dawood, 21/145)
Difference in beard
means difference in washing. All four schools agree if the beard is
thin then that one can see through, then then water can just pass
through however if it is thick then it is obligatory to wash the
outer part. Combing it will be sunnah. (Al Jziri, 78)
Allah knows best.
8. Combing the
fingers [of each hand with wet fingers of the opposite hand],
Hadith to prove this
action: Ibn Abbass said the Prophet said, "when you do whudu do
Khilal of the fingers and the feet. (Tirmidhi, 16/39)
Asim said that his
father asked the Prophet about whudu, the Prophet said, "Do your
whudu properly, run your wet fingers in the gaps between the fingers
and snuff water into your nose except if you are fasting." (Abu
Dawud, Nasai, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)
If the fingers are very
close then wajib.
Wisdom: to ensure the
water has reached every place.
Allah Knows Best.
9. Repetition of the
washing up to three times.
Either once, twice or
three. All are proven, the reason of difference is because the Whudu
procedure is narrated by 20 companions.
Doing it once is fardh.
Three times is Sunnah.
Three times allow
conviction in whudu as mention in Bukhari, 27/159)
Conclusion: Majority
scholars: 3 times is preferred and sunnah.
Hanafi scholars state
if it is Waqf water then to do it more than 3 times is Haram if home
water then Makrooh.
For more Ahadith read
page 70 to 81 of Atharus Sunnan.
Allah Knows Best.
No comments:
Post a Comment