to purify themselves” (Q 9:108; see no. 35 of Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd).

7 – Wuḍūʾ (Ritual Ablution)

Its obligation is established by the verse: “O you who believe! When you rise (i.e., while in a state of minor impurity) for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe over your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles.” (Q 5:6)

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah does not accept a prayer without purification.” (The compilers, except al-Bukhārī) He used to perform wuḍūʾ for every prayer (al-Bukhārī, 4) and declared, “Were it not that I would burden my community, I would command them to perform wuḍūʾ for every prayer and to use the siwāk with every wuḍūʾ.” This is reported by Aḥmad with a sound chain, as stated in al-Muntaqā; Aḥmad also records it (2/258-259) through Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr—Abū Salama—Abū Hurayrah, and that isnād is ḥasan. See al-Targhīb, 99.

Intention (niyyah) is obligatory.

The Prophet’s manner of wuḍūʾ was as follows:
• Siwāk.
• Pronouncing the basmalah: “Perform wuḍūʾ in the name of Allah.” (1)
• Washing the hands three times—this is sunnah.
• Rinsing the mouth, inhaling water into the nose, and expelling it; these are obligatory. He would combine the mouth-rinse and the inhalation, taking half a handful of water for his mouth and the other half for his nose. He drew the water in with his right hand and expelled it with his left, and he instructed exaggeration in sniffing water up the nose—unless one is fasting.
• Washing the face is obligatory, and running the fingers through the beard is recommended.
• Washing the arms, including the elbows, with an instruction to interlace the fingers.
• Wiping the entire head is obligatory; he would place his wet hands