were here, I would not have performed my ablution in this manner. I heard my close companion ﷺ say, “The believer’s adornment of light will extend wherever the water of his ablution reaches.”

Those who consider it recommended to wash the upper arm and to lengthen the area of radiance cite this ḥadith as proof. Among the jurists who held this view are some Ḥanafīs, Shāfiʿīs, and Ḥanbalīs. Yet the Prophet ﷺ limited himself to washing the face, the elbows, and the ankles, and then said, “Whoever goes beyond this has behaved badly and acted unjustly.” This statement overturns their argument.

Consequently, the sound position is that extending the wash is not recommended; this is the view of the scholars of Madinah, and on the authority of Aḥmad there are two reports.

The ḥadith itself does not point to extending the wash, for the adornment in question is an embellishment on the forearm and wrist, not on the upper arm or shoulder.

As for the words, “Whoever of you can extend his blaze, let him do so,” this addition is interpolated into the report—it is Abū Hurayrah’s own remark, not the Prophet’s ﷺ—as more than one ḥadith master has clarified.

In the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad, concerning this very narration, Nuʿaym said, “I do not know whether the statement, ‘Whoever of you can extend his blaze, let him do so,’ is from the Prophet ﷺ or something Abū Hurayrah said on his own.”

Our teacher (1) used to say: This wording cannot possibly be from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, for the blaze (ghurra) is not in the hand; it is confined to the face, and lengthening it is impossible, as it would encroach upon the head and would no longer be called a blaze. End of his words ﵀.