Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAqil ibn Abi Talib, from his father, from his grandfather, in a report attributed directly to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the same wording. It was recorded by Ibn Majah (270). I say: This is a weak chain of transmission.
- As for the hadith of Jabir, it is narrated by Salim ibn Abi al-Jaʿd, from Jabir, in a report attributed directly to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the same wording. It was recorded by al-Hakim (1/161), who said: “Authentic according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs.” Al-Dhahabi concurred with him. I say: It is authentic, but no more than that, since Harun ibn Ishaq al-Hamadani, one of its narrators, was not among the narrators of the two Shaykhs. Through him, Ibn Khuzaymah also recorded it in his Sahih (117) and said: “It indicates that the specification of a mudd of water for minor ablution means that this amount suffices; it does not mean that using less or more than it is impermissible.”
I say: It is as he said. However, extravagance in the water used for minor ablution and the ritual bath should be avoided, for it is prohibited.
- As for the hadith of Anas, it is narrated by Sharik, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿIsa, from Ibn Jabr ibn ʿAtik, from Anas, with the wording: “Two ratls of water suffice for minor ablution.” It was recorded by Ahmad (3/179) and al-Tirmidhi (2/507/609—Shakir), who said: “This is a singular hadith; we know it only through Sharik’s narration with this wording.”
I say: Sharik—who is Ibn ʿAbdullah, the judge—had poor retention, but he was not alone in narrating it. Sufyan corroborated him, narrating it from ʿAbdullah ibn Jabr with the same wording. Abu ʿAwanah recorded it in his Sahih (1/233): Al-Hasan ibn ʿAli ibn ʿAffan narrated to us; Muʿawiyah ibn Hisham narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, with the wording: