except by expelling the water after inhaling it, so that any impurity in the nose is removed.

Should one rinse the mouth and inhale water into the nose thoroughly? The scholars said: One should do so thoroughly unless one is fasting, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Laqīṭ ibn Ṣabirah: “...and inhale water deeply into the nose, unless you are fasting.” (1)

Likewise, one should not inhale water deeply if one has enlarged nasal sinuses, because with excessive inhalation the water may settle in these cavities and then decay, producing an unpleasant odor and causing illness or other harm. Such a person should be told: It is sufficient for you to inhale water until it enters the nostrils.

And he washes his face, from the usual hairline of the head ........................

His statement, “and he washes his face”: the face is that by which one faces another, and it is the noblest part of the body.

His statement, “from the usual hairline of the head”: what is meant is the place where hair normally grows, unlike the person whose hair hangs down over his forehead and the one whose hairline has receded.

The former is one whose hair falls over the forehead. The latter is one whose head hair has receded. A poet, advising his wife, said:

Do not marry, should time part us, a man thick-haired at the nape and face, but not receding at the hairline. (2)

His statement, “from the usual hairline of the head”: this is how the author, may Allah have mercy on him, defined it. Some scholars said: from the curve of the forehead at the head;