He was asked:

Which is better: always maintaining a state of ablution, or not doing so?

He replied:

As for performing ablution whenever it is invalidated, there is the well-known hadith concerning Bilāl, reported from Buraydah ibn Husayb, who said:

“One morning, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, summoned Bilāl and said, ‘Bilāl, by what deed did you precede me into Paradise? I have never entered Paradise without hearing your footsteps ahead of me. Last night I entered Paradise and heard your footsteps ahead of me. Then I came upon a lofty, square palace made of gold and asked, “Whose palace is this?” They replied, “It belongs to an Arab.” I said, “I am an Arab. Whose palace is this?” They replied, “It belongs to a man of Quraysh.” I said, “I am a man of Quraysh. Whose palace is this?” They replied, “It belongs to Umar ibn al-Khattāb.”’

“Bilāl said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have never given the call to prayer without praying two units of prayer afterward. Whenever my ablution was invalidated, I performed ablution immediately and considered that I owed Allah two units of prayer.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘It is because of those two.’”

Al-Tirmidhī said: “This is a good and authentic hadith.”

This indicates that it is recommended to perform ablution whenever it is invalidated. This does not contradict the hadith in the Sahīh, reported from Ibn Abbās, who said:

“We were with the Prophet