Next, the author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites the hadith of Abū Mūsa al-Ashʿarī, may Allah be pleased with him. On one occasion he performed ablution in his house and set out to look for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saying, “Today I shall stay close to the Messenger of Allah; I will remain with him wherever he goes and returns.”

This report shows that a person should, when leaving home, be in a state of ablution so that he is ready for prayer while outside. If the time for prayer arrives and he is somewhere with no water, he is already pure and may pray. Should a funeral prayer be announced while he is out, he can join it as well. At the very least, being ritually pure is better than being without purity, and death itself may surprise him at that moment—better, then, that he meet it in a state of purity. One should therefore strive, as far as possible, to remain in ablution, especially when stepping out of the house.

Accordingly Abū Mūsa went out in search of the Prophet. He first came to the mosque, for the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—would either be in the mosque, or at home assisting his family, or attending to the needs of his Companions. Not finding him there, he asked about him. They said, “He went that way,” and pointed toward the area of Arīs, a well