then spread his four fingers over the cup and said, “Rise and perform your ablution.” They were about seventy in number.

In the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections it is also related from Anas that “the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was with his Companions at al-Zawrāʾ—al-Zawrāʾ being a spot in Madinah near the market and the mosque there—when he asked for a cup containing water. He placed his palm in it, and water started to spring forth between his fingers until every one of his Companions had performed ablution.”

And in the two Ṣaḥīḥs Anas further said:

“I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when the time for the ʿAṣr prayer arrived. The people looked for water to perform ablution but could not find any. Then some water suitable for ablution was brought to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He placed his hand in that vessel and told the people to make ablution from it. I watched the water gush from beneath his fingers until the very last of them had finished his ablution.”