باب مَا جَاءَ فِي فَضْلِ الطُّهُورِ Chapter: What has come from the virtue of purification
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ مُوسَى الأَنْصَارِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْنُ بْنُ عِيسَى الْقَزَّازُ، حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ سُهَيْلِ بْنِ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ،
On the authority of Abu Hurairah:   Allah’s Messenger said: “When a Muslim, or believer, performs Wudu’, washing his face, every evil that he looked at with his eyes leaves with the water – or with the last drop of water, [or an expression similar to that] – and when he washes his hands, every evil he did with his hands leaves with the water – or with the last drop of water – until he comes out of it clean of sin.“	عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ ‏”‏ إِذَا تَوَضَّأَ الْعَبْدُ الْمُسْلِمُ أَوِ الْمُؤْمِنُ فَغَسَلَ وَجْهَهُ خَرَجَتْ مِنْ وَجْهِهِ كُلُّ خَطِيئَةٍ نَظَرَ إِلَيْهَا بِعَيْنَيْهِ مَعَ الْمَاءِ أَوْ مَعَ آخِرِ قَطْرِ الْمَاءِ أَوْ نَحْوِ هَذَا وَإِذَا غَسَلَ يَدَيْهِ خَرَجَتْ مِنْ يَدَيْهِ كُلُّ خَطِيئَةٍ بَطَشَتْهَا يَدَاهُ مَعَ الْمَاءِ أَوْ مَعَ آخِرِ قَطْرِ الْمَاءِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ نَقِيًّا مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ ‏“‏ ‏.‏ ‏.
قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ وَهُوَ حَدِيثُ مَالِكٍ عَنْ سُهَيْلٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ‏.‏ وَأَبُو صَالِحٍ وَالِدُ سُهَيْلٍ هُوَ أَبُو صَالِحٍ السَّمَّانُ وَاسْمُهُ ذَكْوَانُ ‏.‏ وَأَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ اخْتُلِفَ فِي اسْمِهِ فَقَالُوا عَبْدُ شَمْسٍ وَقَالُوا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو وَهَكَذَا قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ وَهُوَ الأَصَحُّ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ وَثَوْبَانَ وَالصُّنَابِحِيِّ وَعَمْرِو بْنِ عَبَسَةَ وَسَلْمَانَ وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو ‏.‏ وَالصُّنَابِحِيُّ الَّذِي رَوَى عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ لَيْسَ لَهُ سَمَاعٌ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَاسْمُهُ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عُسَيْلَةَ وَيُكْنَى أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَحَلَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُبِضَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ وَهُوَ فِي الطَّرِيقِ وَقَدْ رَوَى عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَحَادِيثَ ‏.‏ وَالصُّنَابِحُ بْنُ الأَعْسَرِ الأَحْمَسِيُّ صَاحِبُ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُقَالُ لَهُ الصُّنَابِحِيُّ أَيْضًا وَإِنَّمَا حَدِيثُهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏”‏ إِنِّي مُكَاثِرٌ بِكُمُ الأُمَمَ فَلاَ تَقْتَتِلُنَّ بَعْدِي ‏”‏

 

This narration was also recorded by Imam Muslim.

 

Hadeeth Terminology Benefit

In English, we say, for example, Imam al-Tirmidhi or Imam Muslim “collected” this hadeeth or “recorded” it. What do they say in Arabic? The word used most often is akhraja or kharraja, from the word takhreej. For example,

أخرج / روى الإمام الترمذي عن أبي هريرة

The root khaa raa jaa has the meaning of exiting. A person can exit, leave or come out khurooj, while extended forms mean to expel or extract [istikhraj or ikhraj or takhreej]. How is that appropriate here? The scholars of hadeeth saw the various narrations that were trapped in the notebooks and minds of the thousands of narrators and students of the sahaabah and other imams, being meticulously passed around in their circles, and so they freed those narrations from being a secret. They essentially helped those narrations, that legacy of the Prophet ﷺ escape being forgotten or lost, and make it to the light of publication.

Al-Bukhari wrote in kitab al-`ilm in his Sahih: And ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz wrote to Abu Bakr bin Hazm, “Look for the knowledge of Hadith and get it written, as I fear knowledge may vanish, and the passing of the scholars. Do not accept anything except the traditions of the Prophet. Circulate knowledge and teach the ignorant, for knowledge does not vanish except when it is kept secret.”

By the will of Allah, the hadeeth scholars and transmitters literally saved the Sunnah, by “exiting it” or bringing it out of the darkness, into the light. This transparency is one of the great blessings of our Ummah, which has no “secret libraries” or “secret manuscripts” which only “the initiated” or people with special clearance are allowed to view—unlike some other religions. Islam, alhamdulillah is a transparent and decentralized religion. We Muslims recommend people learn and apply things gradually and in logical order, but we cannot prevent anyone from jumping around, to their detriment.

 

Variant Wordings

 

As al-Tirmidhi said, there are many companions are reported to have narrated good hadeeth in this chapter title, but those he alluded to specifically highlight how ablution expiates sins. The wordings of many of these are relatively similar. It is likely that the Prophet ﷺ reminded his companions of this very often, and with different wordings each time. He may have reminded some, ablution expiates sins, even so that the sins leave your fingertips. And to another he said, ablution expiates sins, even to the point that they leave through your nose and ears.

In some instances like this, where the Prophet ﷺ told a consistent story or narration, but different transmitters each caught different part of it, some hadeeth scholars may combine the texts of multiple narrations when they compliment each other, especially if those narrations are from the same companion, or depict the same incident, topic or speech.

A composite narration, from Abdullah al-Sanaabiji, goes:

When the believing slave washes [for prayer] and rinses their mouth, past mistakes exit from his mouth; and when he sniffs and removes the water from his nostrils, iniquities leave through his nose; and if he rinses his face,	إذا توضأ العبد المؤمن فتمضمض , خرجت الخطايا من فيه فإذا استنثر , خرجت الخطايا من أنفه , فإذا غسل وجهه (س) 103 , (م) 32 – (244) , (جة) 282 , (حم) 19087
then every sin he looked at with his two eyes leaves his face with that water,	خرج من وجهه كل خطيئة نظر إليها بعينيه مع الماء (م) 32 – (244) , (ت) 2 , (س) 103 , (جة) 282 , (حم) 19087
to that point that they leave from his eyelids;	حتى تخرج من تحت أشفار عينيه (س) 103 , (جة) 282 , (حم) 19087
then when he rinses his arms, then every sin he grabbed with his two hands leaves them with the water,	فإذا غسل يديه، خرج من يديه كل خطيئة كان بطشتها يداه مع الماء (م) 32 – (244) , (ت) 2 , (س) 103 , (جة) 282 , (حم) 19087
even exiting from beneath his fingernails; so when he wipes over his scalp, the sins leave from his head, even coming out of his ears; and then when he washes his feet, then the iniquities would leave from his two legs, even exiting from beneath his toenails;	حتى تخرج من تحت أظفار يديه , فإذا مسح برأسه , خرجت الخطايا من رأسه , حتى تخرج من أذنيه , فإذا غسل رجليه , خرجت الخطايا من رجليه , حتى تخرج من تحت أظفار رجليه (س) 103 , (م) 32 – (244) , (جة) 282 , (حم) 19087
so then he would come out clean of sins,	فيخرج نقيا من الذنوب (م) 32 – (244) , (ت) 2 , (حم) 8007
so that his walking to the masjid and prayer would become supererogatory for him.	ثم كان مشيه إلى المسجد وصلاته نافلة له (س) 103 , (جة) 282 , (حم) 19087 , صحيح الجامع: 449 , صحيح الترغيب والترهيب: 185

 

The variations from Abu Umamah contains some noteworthy variations, underlined.

And man who stands for ablution to pray, then rinses their hands, every sin from his hands would fall with the first drop. Then if he swishes water in his mouth, spits and sniffles water, then his sin would fall from his tongue and lips with the first drop; then if he washes his faces, their mistake from their hearing and seeing would fall with the first drop; then when he washes his hands until the elbows, and legs until the ankles, then he is saved from everyone he has, and from every misdeed, like the day his mother gave birth to him. So if he stands for prayer, Allah would raise hi status. And if he sits, he sits in safety. [OR] if he sits, he sits forgiven.

قال رسول الله – ﷺ -: ” أيما رجل قام إلى وضوئه يريد الصلاة , ثم غسل كفيه، نزلت خطيئته من كفيه مع أول قطرة، فإذا مضمض واستنشق واستنثر نزلت خطيئته من لسانه وشفتيه مع أول قطرة، فإذا غسل وجهه نزلت خطيئته من سمعه وبصره مع أول قطرة، فإذا غسل يديه إلى المرفقين , ورجليه إلى الكعبين , سلم من كل ذنب هو له , ومن كل خطيئة , كهيئته يوم ولدته أمه، فإذا قام إلى الصلاة , رفع الله بها درجته، وإن قعد , قعد سالما ” وفي رواية: ” فإن قعد , قعد مغفورا له “

(حم) 22321 , انظر صحيح الجامع: 2724، الصحيحة: 1756 , صحيح الترغيب والترهيب: 187 (2) (حم) 22225 , (طب) 7560 , انظر صحيح الجامع: 448

 

For reference.

More narrated virtues of ablution and purification

 

Some narrations, like the one we’re studying, espouse the virtues of ablution and purification solely, and other narrations mention a virtue for ablution or purification along with the virtues of other acts, like prayer, remembrance, charity, etc. Our purpose here are the narrations that only promote ablution, and do not enumerate other good deeds.

Imam Muslim (and al-Bukhari) recorded from Abu Hurairah:

وحَدَّثَنِي هَارُونُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الأَيْلِيُّ، حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَمْرُو بْنُ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي هِلَالٍ، عَنْ نُعَيْمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، ” أَنَّهُ رَأَى أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ يَتَوَضَّأُ، فَغَسَلَ وَجْهَهُ وَيَدَيْهِ حَتَّى كَادَ يَبْلُغُ الْمَنْكِبَيْنِ، ثُمَّ غَسَلَ رِجْلَيْهِ حَتَّى رَفَعَ إِلَى السَّاقَيْنِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ أُمَّتِي يَأْتُونَ [يُدْعَونَ] يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ غُرًّا مُحَجَّلِينَ مِنْ أَثَرِ [/آثارِ] الْوُضُوءِ، فَمَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يُطِيلَ غُرَّتَهُ، فَلْيَفْعَلْ “

Nu’aim ibn Abdullah al-Mujmir (he and his father before him used to burn incense in the Prophet’s masjid) said he [was on the roof of the masjid and] saw Abu Huraira perform ablution. He washed his face and washed his hands up to the arms. He then washed his feet and reached up to the shanks and then said: I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) say: My ummah will come [al-Bukhari: “be called”] on the Day of Resurrection, blazed faces and whitened limbs from the remnants of ablution, so whoever can increase their blaze should do so.

Al-Bukhari’s version states the Prophet’s ummah would be called by that description. Another variation from Muslim has Abu Hurairah say, “I saw the Prophet make ablution this way.” Nu’aim ibn Abdillah told his listeners, “I didn’t know if the last [italicized] statement was Abu Hurairah’s or the Prophet’s.” And this final statement was not mentioned by any other narrator who told of this foretelling of the Prophet, nor even any other narrator from Abu Hurairah except Nu’aim. However, the Prophet’s action witnessed by Abu Hurairah, and his own action, along with similar being authentically narrated from ibn ‘Umar all suggest that it qualifies as having come from the Prophet . And Allah knows best.

And Imam Muslim recorded a similar narration from Abu Hurairah, recommending the extension of ablution water:

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا خَلَفٌ يَعْنِي ابْنَ خَلِيفَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي مَالِكٍ الأَشْجَعِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي حَازِمٍ، قَالَ: ” كُنْتُ خَلْفَ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَهُوَ يَتَوَضَّأُ لِلصَّلَاةِ، فَكَانَ يَمُدُّ يَدَهُ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَ إِبْطَهُ، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، مَا هَذَا الْوُضُوءُ؟ فَقَالَ: يَا بَنِي فَرُّوخَ، أَنْتُمْ هَاهُنَا، لَوْ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّكُمْ هَاهُنَا مَا تَوَضَّأْتُ هَذَا الْوُضُوءَ، سَمِعْتُ خَلِيلِي ﷺ يَقُولُ: ” تَبْلُغُ الْحِلْيَةُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ، حَيْثُ يَبْلُغُ الْوَضُوءُ “

Abu Jaazim said: I was behind Abu Hurairah as he was washing for prayer, and he would move his hand up to his arm pit [/shoulder], so I said, “Abu Hurairah, what is this kind of ablution?” So he said, “O child of Farrookh, you are right here, but if I knew you were here, I would not have done this. I heard my dearest friend say, “The believer’s adornment [in the Hereafter] will extend as far as his ablution reached.”

Ahmad and Malik recorded on the authority of Thawban and ibn Maajah from ibn `Umar:

عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ “اسْتَقِيمُوا [وفي رواية: سددوا وقاربوا] وَلَنْ تُحْصُوا  [تفلحوا]، وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ [واعملوا] خَيْرَ أَعْمَالِكُمُ الصَّلاةَ ، وَلَنْ يُحَافِظَ عَلَى الْوُضُوءِ إِلا مُؤْمِنٌ“

[Remain consistent/follow a middle course] even though you won’t be wholly successful, and [work hard / know that] the best of your actions is the prayer, and no one preserves their ablution except a believer.

Abu Nu`aim (d. ) recorded in Akhbār Aṣbaḥān (no. 1691) with a chain containing someone accused of fabrication (متّهم بالوضع) whom I’ve underlined:

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، ثنا، ثنا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ خُرَّزَاذَ، ثنا عَمْرُو بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ الْمُكْتِبُ، ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ عُبَيْدٍ الأَنْصَارِيُّ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ، عَنْ أَبِي عُمَرَ، أَنَّهُ كَانَ إِذَا تَوَضَّأَ مَسَحَ عُنُقَهُ وَيَقُولُ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ ” مَنْ تَوَضَّأَ وَمَسَحَ عُنُقَهُ لَمْ يُغَلَّ بِالأَغْلالِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ “

That Abu `Umar used to wipe his neck whenever performing ablution and say the Prophet ﷺ said: whoever performs ablution and wipes their neck would not be collared by the chains on the Day of Resurrection

Another weak or fabricated text collected by Abul-Hussein al-Baghdadi (d. 390) in Fawa’id ibn Akhi Mīmī al-Daqqāq, and contains a known fabricator, underlined:

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ الْعَبَّاسِ الْوَرَّاقُ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَيُّوبَ الْمُخَرِّمِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا دَاوُدُ بْنُ الْمُحَبَّرِ[الطائي]، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ كَانَ ” يَتَوَضَّأُ مِنَ الْحَدَثِ وَأَذَى الْمُسْلِمِ قُلْتُ لأَنَسٍ: فَأَنْتُمْ؟ قَالَ: وَنَحْنُ “

Anas ibn Malik said: the Prophet ﷺ used to perform ablution from being tainted and from offending any Muslims. Qatadah asked, “And you all as well Anas?” Anas said, “And us.”

 

What we can learn…

What do we mean by faḍā’il

فضائل

• Faḍā’il or “virtues” refer to the specific rewards an action may have with Allah that makes that action unique from other acts of worships; and to any secondary benefits (حِكَم ومَصالِح) and “secrets” obtained by following the Prophet’s Sunnah, other than merely obeying and imitating for the sake of Allah for ḥasanāt in general.

Knowing and contemplating the virtues of any act reminds us how merciful Allah is towards us, that He only prescribed upon us that which contains the greatest of wisdom, not only in of itself—as ablution does clean the worshiper to a degree—but also virtue that Allah created for the act.

• While all good deeds help to erase bad deeds, ablution specifically has greater added potential to expiate sins. For example, the sins of the eyes—what they may look at without right; the sins of the ears, like music; the sins of the hands, what we may work on that hurts ourselves; the sins of the legs, where we go that Allah did not sanction for us; and all our sins.

Scholars differed on how this expiation occurs. Some, like ibn al-Arabi (d. 543 ah), simply believed these words were metaphor, and that all that was intended was forgiveness, plain and simple. Al-Suyuti (d. 911 ah) disagreed, saying that it was best to interpret the words literally (حقيقة). For example, we know that sin causes spots to cover the heart, just as sins of the polytheists turned the Paradise stone black, and similar to other narrations of prayer, that sins are held above the slave, and then fall off when bowing and prostrating. Allah is Able and Powerful, full of Wisdom, and decrees many things to take place in elaborate fashion, when He could simply say “Be” and it becomes, registered in a database with Him, without the assistance of angels or creating other entities that witness a show without our feeling—except when we recall these narrations.

• Allah rewards all good deeds at least 10 times their value, but all evil deeds are counted as one. The value of a good deed, as we know from other narrations, could be as much as 700 times its value, or even more. Factors that increase this value are the degree of sincerity, truthfulness and penitence that the worshiper has, along with mimicking, without going beyond, the Prophet’s Sunnah.
• One such created virtue is a true mark of distinction for believers in the Hereafter. The description of believers having a blaze on their foreheads and whiteness on their limbs is a unique attribute of the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, who will inshaAllah be the largest group in the Hereafter, other than Gog and Magog.
• Another virtue we heard concerns the adornment of believers in Paradise. As humans, we enjoy looking good and decorating ourselves, looking handsome, beautiful, and brilliant to others, in front of a mirror, etc. It can be fun to dress up and shop for designer clothing and jewelry. A way of making that preparation for the Hereafter is consistency with ablution, and by extending the wetness further up our arms, to extend where the jewelry of your potential self in Paradise will reach up your arms.
• Being in a continuous state of ritual purification, always ready for prayer, is something that only a true believer would maintain. Even performing ablution for prayer, is the act of a Muslim believer, since it is often an act that no one can “verify” you’ve done it, except Allah, since it is often performed in private, and people simply line up for prayer assumedly all in a state of purification and having performed ablution at home. But the true believer status goes out to those who, after becoming tainted—which is not sinful or disliked in of itself—quickly perform ablution, or make tayammum until they can perform ablution, so that they are always ready to pray and always ready to handle a muṣḥaf and recite Qur’an.

Fiqh benefits:

• The scholars differed: how much should a worshiper extend their rinsing? Just past the joint (elbow and ankle) or half way to the next (shoulder and knee) or all the way to or through that next joint? The actions of Abu Hurairah suggest all the way to the shoulder and through the knee. Of the Four Madhabs, only the Malikis disliked spreading the water beyond the elbow and ankle–but many Hanafis, Shafi’is and Hanbalis among others of the Salaf recommended it.

And this subject could not be complete without mentioning Allah’s words, praising the worshipers of Masjid Quba’:

{فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَن يَتَطَهَّرُوا ۚ وَاللَّـهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَ} ﴿١٠٨﴾ سورة التوبة

“Therein are men who love to make themselves pure, and Allah loves those who purify themselves.”

 

Also from the virtues of ablution and purification, from one of the narrations we heard last week, purification provides blessings for the congregational prayer, and its neglect gives shaytaan power among us which could lead to forgetfulness from the imam when reciting or counting the prayer units.

More virtues of purification and ablution mentioned in other narrations, or as part of enumerated virtues:

• Purification is shatr [half or part] of faith
• Regular performance of ablution protects against the punishment of the grave from other sins, while its neglect can lead to its own cause for punishment.
• Safeguarding one’s ablution, when done collectively, is a cause for harmony in the masjid, during prayers.

Hadeeth benefits:

• Action virtues are a subject of spurious tales. Some of those who made up words of the Prophet ﷺ were known to be dedicated worshipers and Sufis, like Dawud al-Ta’I, who narrated one of the false hadeeth mentioned above. They would say they weren’t fabricating against the messenger, but for him, to incite people to worship more. Alhamdulillah the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ has enough of a reminder for those who learn and contemplate.
• A final benefit from the two main narrations we looked at, from al-Tirmidhi, as well as Nuaim’s narration from Abu Hurairah, we note the honesty of the transmitters, admitting what they’re uncertain of, so that the words of the Prophet ﷺ are accurately preserved for those who will come later. For one narration, the narrator said, “Muslim or believer”, etc. As for Nu’aim, he had such reverence haibah of Abu Hurairah that he did not ask him about his final word—was it his own, or the Prophet’s? Either that, or he later reflected and realized he didn’t know Abu Hurairah’s intention—narration or extraction.

And Allah knows best