so that if one washes the face once, one should not wash the hands twice, and so on.

The correct view is that this is not disliked, for it is established that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, varied the number of washings: he washed his face three times, his hands twice, and his feet once.

What is best is to do it one way on one occasion and another way on another occasion.

It may be said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, performed ablution once to demonstrate its permissibility, not as an act of worship through varying the forms of worship; and he performed ablution twice likewise to demonstrate its permissibility.

He also varied the number of washings to demonstrate permissibility. But we say: the basic principle is that this is an act of worship and is legislated as such.

What appears correct, then, is that a person should vary his practice. According to the author’s view, washing three times is better than washing twice, and washing twice is better than washing once.

Some scholars posed a riddle based on this issue, saying: “We have a sunnah that is better than an obligation (1)!” Yet Allah, Exalted is He, says in the hadith qudsi: “My servant does not draw nearer to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him.” (2) Washing the limbs in ablution three times is a sunnah, yet it is better than washing each of them once, which is obligatory. Likewise, initiating the greeting of peace is a sunnah, yet it is better than returning it, which is obligatory.

The answer is that this riddle is fundamentally mistaken. Washing the limbs of ablution three times includes what is obligatory and adds to it. As for initiating the greeting of peace, it may be challenged from two angles:

First: it may be said that we do not concede that initiating it is better; rather, returning it is better