the fact that the head is wiped rather than washed, and that this wiping is carried out only once without repetition, is meant as a facilitation for the community. The head is covered with hair, and repeatedly pouring water over it could cause discomfort or even illness, so Allah—exalted is He—eased the matter for His servants.

2 – The ḥadith of ʿAbd Allah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) clarifies how the wiping is to be performed: one starts at the front of the head, moves the hands to the nape, and then returns them to the point from which one began. This narration explains the earlier wording, “he brought his hands forward and back.” “Brought them forward” means he began from the front of the head, while “back” means he returned them from its rear. This forward-and-back motion counts as a single wipe, not two, because the hair at the front grows toward the face and the hair at the back grows toward the nape. Thus, when he started at the front he wiped the outer surface of the front hair and the roots of the back hair; when he moved back he wiped the outer surface of the back hair and the roots of the front hair. The wisdom behind moving forward and back is therefore to wipe both sides of the hair. Some have said: “This manner of wiping rouses the drowsy and lulls the wakeful.” In any case, it is deemed one wipe, not two, and this precise method is not obligatory—any form of wiping suffices.

3 – Ibn al-Qayyim states in Zād al-Maʿād that the sound view is that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) never repeated the wiping of his head. Even when he repeated the washing of other limbs, he would still wipe the head only once, and nothing to the contrary is authentically reported from him at all.

4 – He also said: The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to wipe his entire head, and there is not a single authentic report in which he limited himself to wiping only part of it.

5 – The scholars have said: One who is bald or has shaved his head is not recommended to return the hands for a second pass, because there is no benefit in it; the same applies to someone with abundant, plaited hair. The ruling was expressed in view of what is most common.

6 – The ḥadith of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr (may Allah be pleased with them both) indicates that the ears are wiped along with the head. The manner of wiping them is to insert the index fingers into the ear-canals while wiping the outer surfaces of the ears with the thumbs.