44 – Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, in his account of the Prophet’s Hajj, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Begin with whatever Allah began with.” Al-Nasaʾi records it in this imperative wording, whereas Muslim transmits it in the indicative form. (1)

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Degree of authenticity
The ḥadith is sound. It is a passage from Jabir’s long narration of the Farewell Pilgrimage, which Muslim related in full. The sole difference here is that Muslim reports it as a statement, while al-Nasaʾi sets it out as a command.

Vocabulary
• “Begin” (ibdaʾū) is an imperative verb with the final nūn dropped; the wāw is the subject pronoun.
• “With what Allah began with” points to the ordering of the limbs in wuḍūʾ, as established in the verse.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – Allah, exalted is He, detailed the manner of ablution in the verse of al-Māʾida: “O you who believe, when you rise for the prayer, wash your faces …” (al-Māʾida 6). In it He arranged the limbs in the wise sequence of face, then hands, then wiping the head, and finally washing the feet.
2 – That sequence mentioned in the verse is obligatory in wuḍūʾ. Should one perform the acts out of order, his ablution is invalid—though some jurists deem it valid.
3 – Among the evidences for the necessity of this order is the inclusion of the wiped limb—the head—