Chapter: The Recommended Acts and Etiquette of Ablution

Rinsing the mouth, drawing water into the nose, expelling it, and wiping the ears are all acts of sunnah. Whoever neglects any of these and then performs the prayer is not required to repeat it, though he should observe the omitted practice in the ablutions he performs thereafter. By contrast, anyone who forgets an obligatory element of ablution, prays, and only then remembers must perform that missing act and repeat the prayer; the obligatory elements of ablution are those we have already set out in the preceding chapter.

When reaching the ears, the worshipper should take fresh water, wiping both their inner and outer surfaces; if he leaves off wiping the inside of his ears, no liability falls upon him. With every limb that is wiped rather than washed, complete saturation is not a condition. Our statement that “the ears are part of the head” means only that they are wiped, not washed.

It is recommended for anyone who intends to perform ablution—whether out of a state of lesser impurity or simply in pursuit of additional merit—not to begin with anything before washing his hands and not to dip them into his water vessel. This recommendation is even more emphatic for the one who has just awakened from sleep, for a textual proof specifically addresses that case. If, in the midst of his ablution or ritual bath, he invalidates his state, Imam Malik considered it commendable for him to wash his hands again; if he chooses not to, there is no blame upon him.