than that, or shorter, he should do so, just as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would sometimes lengthen it beyond that and sometimes shorten it.

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

One morning, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, summoned Bilāl and said:

“Bilāl, how have you preceded me into Paradise? Whenever I have entered Paradise, I have heard you moving ahead of me. Last night I entered Paradise and heard you moving 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 man.’

“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 a man from Muhammad’s nation.’

“I said, ‘I am Muhammad. 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 has been invalidated, I have renewed it immediately and felt bound to offer Allah two units of prayer.”

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Keep to them both.”

Al-Tirmidhī said, “This is a good and authentic hadith.” This indicates that performing ablution whenever it is invalidated is recommended, and this is not contradicted by