1025 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) also reported: I heard my close friend—peace and blessings be upon him—say, “The believer’s adornment will reach only as far as his ablution reaches.” Narrated by Muslim.

1026 – ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever performs ablution and perfects it, his sins leave his body, even from beneath his fingernails.” Narrated by Muslim.

[Explanation]
These hadiths are quoted by Imām al-Nawawī (d. 676 AH) in his Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, in the chapter on the merits of ablution. In the hadith of Abu Hurayrah he relates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “My community will be summoned on the Day of Resurrection with radiant faces and shining limbs from the traces of ablution. So whoever of you can extend his radiance, let him do so.” This indicates that the nation of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) will be called forth on that Day with two luminous marks: ghurra—the brightness of the face—and tahjīl—the brightness of the extremities, namely the hands and feet. Those parts will gleam with light for this ummah, and this distinction is unique to us, praise be to Allah. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, it is “a distinguishing sign not shared with anyone else,” a mark by which the ummah of Muhammad will be recognized on that momentous Day.