32 – ʿAbd Allāh b. Zayd b. ʿĀṣim (may Allah be pleased with him) described the Prophet’s ablution, saying: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ wiped over his head, drawing his hands forward and backward.” Agreed upon.

In another wording preserved by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim: “He began at the front of his head, ran his hands to the nape, and then returned them to the place from which he had started.”⦗1⦘

Vocabulary notes
• “He drew his hands forward and backward”: the other narration clarifies the expression—he started at the front hairline, moved his hands to the back of the head, then brought them back to the point of departure.
• “He began” (badaʾa): badaʾtu al-shayʾ means “I commenced it.” The same form can also denote “to do something first.” The verb badā (without the final hamzah) means “to appear” or “to become manifest.”
• “Front of the head”: the usual starting line where the hair customarily grows.
• “Qafā” (nape): normally pronounced with a short final vowel, though it may be lengthened. It is masculine; its plurals are aqf and aqfiyah. It denotes the back of the neck, and in this context refers to the upper part of that area.