with the right before the left, starting at the front of the head, making a return pass with the hands when wiping it, washing the bare skin between the side of the beard and the ear as stated by ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, wiping the ears in their entirety, and observing the prescribed order between the obligatory and Sunnah acts.

As for its recommended practices, there are eight: saying “In the name of Allah”; placing the vessel on the right; not performing ablution in a privy; interlacing the fingers; passing the fingers between the toes; running the fingers through the beard—although the view that this is obligatory in ablution has been attributed to Mālik, this is not correct; and using a toothstick during ablution—a finger suffices if no toothstick is available, as Mālik stated. Remembering Allah during ablution is also recommended. Success comes from Allah.