an obligation to perform ablution twice. Rather, it indicates the ruling established by mass-transmitted reports of the Sunnah and upheld by the Muslim community: that ablution is obligatory for anyone who prays.

Thus, it is established in the two Sahīh collections, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah does not accept the prayer of any of you who has broken his ablution until he performs ablution again.”

A man from Hadramawt asked, “What breaks ablution, Abū Hurayrah?” He replied, “Passing wind, silently or audibly.”

In Sahīh Muslim and elsewhere, it is reported from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah does not accept prayer without purification, nor charity from misappropriated property.”

This accords with the noble verse, for it indicates that purification is indispensable. Whoever has ablution is already in a state of purification; only someone whose ablution has been broken needs to perform it. As he said:

“Allah does not accept the prayer of any of you who has broken his ablution until he performs ablution again.”

If someone performs ablution and then breaks it, the verse indicates that he is commanded to perform ablution when he rises to pray. If he has already performed ablution, he has done what he was commanded to do.

This is like saying, “Do not pray except with ablution,” or, “Do not pray until you have performed ablution,” and similar expressions. These make clear that he is commanded to perform ablution for prayer generally, encompassing all its kinds and individual instances. He is not commanded to perform a separate ablution for each kind or instance, distinct from the ablution for another. Nor does the wording indicate any such requirement. However, this line of reasoning does not establish that ablution may precede prayer in general, as in the case of someone who embraces Islam