between two washed limbs; He placed it there solely to preserve this particular ordering of the body parts, and the noble texts customarily begin with what is most important and then what follows.

4 – As for the order between madhmada (rinsing the mouth) and istinshaq (drawing water into the nose) in relation to washing the face, the order between one hand and the other, one foot and the other, or the ears and the head, there is consensus that it is recommended (sunnah), not obligatory, because each pair is treated as though it were a single limb. Nevertheless, giving precedence to the right side is preferable, as noted earlier.

5 – In one narration the ḥadith comes as a command to begin, and in another as a report that the Prophet actually began in that manner; thus it combines two Sunnahs: his ﷺ instruction and his practice.

6 – The ḥadith was mentioned in the rites of Hajj to establish the precedence of al-Safa over al-Marwah, in keeping with Allah’s words: “Indeed, al-Safa and al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allah” (al-Baqarah 158). Accordingly, it is legislated to apply the same principle to every matter that Allah, exalted is He, has arranged, carrying it out in the very order He has set.

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cited this excerpt from the description of the Prophet’s Hajj to show that the decisive factor is the general wording, not the specific occasion. Although the directive was revealed concerning the saʿy in particular, its universal phrasing points to a comprehensive principle under which the verse of wuḍūʾ also falls—His words: “wash your faces …” (al-Māʾida 6). Hence, one must begin with whatever Allah has begun with.