Scholars other than Abū al-Khattāb distinguished rinsing the mouth and nose from the other acts of ablution, arguing that observing the prescribed order is obligatory only for what is mentioned in the Quran, whereas these two are not mentioned there. Abū al-Khattāb and those who followed him considered this a weak distinction: had the nose and mouth not been part of the face, washing them would not have been obligatory.

Accordingly, the school’s jurists deduced that both are part of the face, as al-Khiraqī and others stated:

“The mouth and nose are part of the face.”

Moreover, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would begin washing his face by rinsing them, starting with its internal parts. He rinsed the mouth first because it is closer to the exterior than the nose. Hence the command to rinse the nose was more emphatic, and authentic hadiths expressly command it. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would then wash the rest of his face. Thus, if rinsing both is held to be obligatory despite the disagreement, they are like the other areas whose inclusion is disputed.

One example is the bare skin between the sideburn and the ear: Mālik and others say that it is not part of the face. There are three juristic views concerning the two hairless recesses flanking the forelock and the fine-haired areas between those recesses and the upper ends of the sideburns. One view regards both as part of the head; another regards both as part of the face. The correct view is that the two recesses are part of the head, while the fine-haired areas are part of the face. If someone forgets these areas, his case is therefore like that of someone who forgets to rinse the mouth and nose. Thus, Abū al-Khattāb’s treating these cases alike is the stronger position.