Thus, O Muslim, Allah has legislated ablution for you so that He may cleanse you of your sins and thereby complete His favor upon you.

Consider how the verse of ablution begins with that noble summons: “O you who believe.” The Almighty addresses those distinguished by faith because they are the ones who heed Allah’s commands and benefit from them. For this reason the Prophet ﷺ said, “No one maintains his ablution except a believer.”

Whatever lies beyond the compulsory description of ablution is recommended. Whoever performs these additional acts receives extra reward, and whoever omits them is not blameworthy. The jurists call these practices the “sunan of ablution,” meaning its recommended elements. They are:

1. The siwak. Its virtue and manner have already been explained. It is used when rinsing the mouth, so that together with the mouth-rinsing it cleanses the mouth in preparation for worship, for reciting the Qur’an, and for intimate supplication to Allah.

2. Washing the hands three times at the very start of ablution, before washing the face, because the hadiths instruct it and because the hands are the means by which water is conveyed to the other limbs; washing them, therefore, safeguards the entire ablution.

3. Beginning with rinsing the mouth and sniffing water into the nose before washing the face, as this order is reported in the hadiths, and performing these two acts thoroughly if one is not fasting.