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Concerning His words, exalted is He:
“Wash your faces” [al-Māʾidah: 6].
The word “face” derives from the notion of facing someone. The area of the face that must be washed in ablution extends from the hairline down to the lower jaw and across to the temple. There are three opinions concerning the bare skin between the temple and the ear: first, that it is part of the face and must therefore be washed; second, that it is not part of the face and need not be washed; and third, that a beardless man must wash it, whereas a bearded man need not. It has also been said that washing it is a sunnah; this was mentioned by ʿAbd al-Wahhāb.
There is disagreement concerning the beard hair that has grown long. It has been said that one need not wash it, which is the apparent meaning of Mūsā’s transmission from Ibn al-Qāsim. In his transmission from Mālik, Sahnūn related that the beard is part of the face and that one must run water over it and wash it; otherwise, repetition is required. Sahnūn also adopted this position.
There is likewise disagreement concerning passing the fingers through the beard during ablution. Ibn Wahb and Ibn Nāfiʿ narrated from Mālik that this is obligatory. Ashhab narrated from Mālik, as did Ibn al-Qāsim from Mālik in al-ʿUtbiyyah, that the fingers are not to be passed through it. It has also been said that this is recommended rather than obligatory.
The correct position is that passing the fingers through the beard is not obligatory in ablution, because the obligation concerns washing the outer surfaces of the body parts, not what lies beneath them. Thus, when the beard hair covering the face is thick, the obligation shifts to the hair, and one need not pass the fingers through it to bring water to the skin, since the skin lies beneath it. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb explicitly stated this in one of his works.
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As for washing the arms and feet in ablution, Allah, blessed and exalted is He, has specified their limits in His Book, saying concerning the arms:
“Up to the elbows” [al-Māʾidah: 6],
and concerning the feet:
“Up to the ankles” [al-Māʾidah: 6].
However, the scholars disagreed over whether washing the elbows and ankles themselves is obligatory. The apparent meaning of the position recorded in al-Mudawwanah is that washing them is obligatory. Ibn Nāfiʿ narrated from Mālik that one need not go beyond