40 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘My Ummah will arrive on the Day of Resurrection with radiant faces and gleaming limbs from the traces of wudu. So whoever among you can extend his radiance, let him do so.’” Agreed upon; the wording is Muslim’s. (1)

Glossary of terms:
• Ummati (my community): An ummah is a group of people united by inherited traits, common interests, or a single religion. Here it refers to the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ—those who follow his guidance.
• Yawm al-Qiyamah (the Day of Resurrection): The day on which Allah will revive all creatures for reckoning and recompense. It is so named because people will rise from their graves, because Allah’s justice will be established, or because the witnesses will stand.
• Ghurran (radiant): Plural of agharr. A ghurra is the white blaze on a horse’s forehead; the term is applied here to the light that will shine on the faces of this Muhammadan Ummah. “Ghurran” functions as a circumstantial accusative related to “they will come.”
• Muhajjalin (shining-limbed): Plural of muhajjal, from tahjil—the whiteness on the four legs of a horse. In the hadith it refers to the light of these limbs on the Day of Resurrection.
• Min athari l-wudu (because of the trace of ablution): A causal phrase explaining the preceding radiance. Athar (trace), plural athar, denotes the mark or remainder of something.
• Al-wudu: With a damma on the waw it signifies the act of ritual ablution, derived from wadaʾa (beauty and cleanliness); one says, “waduʾa al-rajul,” meaning “the man became handsome.” Al-wadu, with a fatha on the waw, refers to the water used for ablution—the explanation most widely accepted by the linguists.