The Holy Prophet
has stated "The key to paradise is Prayer (Salaat), and the key to Prayer is cleanliness." (Saheeh Muslim). Here cleanliness means that the place of Prayer and the person’s clothes, should be clean. Furthermore, the person should be clean from the greater and smaller impurities - i.e. he should not be in need of a bath (Ghusl) and should be with ablution (Wuzu).
The Holy Prophet
said: “The angels of mercy do not enter a house in which there is an image, a dog or a person in a state of greater impurity (Janabah)." (Abu Dawood).
The water to be used
Water used for bathing or for ablution must be in its natural state - i.e. free from colour, smell and taste. Furthermore, it must be unused. If the body is free from impurities, the water once used for bathing or ablution still remains pure, but cannot be used again for bathing or ablution. Similarly if one is in need of ablution or bath, and he dips or touches the water with any unwashed (un-purified) part of his body (finger, nail, hand etc), it will render the water as used - and therefore not useful for ablution or bathing. Using such water for drinking or cooking is disliked (Makrooh). However this water can be used for washing clothes.
In order to make "used" water capable of being used for bathing or ablution, add clean unused water in greater quantity to it - or simply pour more clean unused water in the utensil so that the utensil begins to overflow. This will make the entire water usable for bathing or ablution.
Ablution (Wuzu)
The obligations in ablution (wuzu)
The following four (4) acts are obligatory in ablution:
The Holy Prophet
The water to be used
Water used for bathing or for ablution must be in its natural state - i.e. free from colour, smell and taste. Furthermore, it must be unused. If the body is free from impurities, the water once used for bathing or ablution still remains pure, but cannot be used again for bathing or ablution. Similarly if one is in need of ablution or bath, and he dips or touches the water with any unwashed (un-purified) part of his body (finger, nail, hand etc), it will render the water as used - and therefore not useful for ablution or bathing. Using such water for drinking or cooking is disliked (Makrooh). However this water can be used for washing clothes.
In order to make "used" water capable of being used for bathing or ablution, add clean unused water in greater quantity to it - or simply pour more clean unused water in the utensil so that the utensil begins to overflow. This will make the entire water usable for bathing or ablution.
Ablution (Wuzu)
The obligations in ablution (wuzu)
The following four (4) acts are obligatory in ablution:
- Washing the entire face: that is from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin and from ear to ear. Water must flow over the entire skin area at least once. If the moustache or eyebrows have thick hair, it is obligatory only to wash the hair. If the hair is sparse, the skin must also be washed. Similarly, if hair in the beard is not thick, the inner skin must be washed. The area around the lips which remains exposed in the natural state when the mouth is closed, must also be washed.
- Washing both hands, up to and including the elbows. Washing any body part means that at least two drops of water must have flowed over each and every spot of it (not leaving out any spot equal to the breadth of a hair). Simply wetting the body part or spreading water over it like oil, or the flowing of just drop is not classified as "washing" - and will not complete the ablution or bath. All types of ornaments which are tight to the skin must be removed and the skin below it washed, as described above. If nail polish has been applied, ablution or bath cannot be complete without removing it. However, ablution or bath will be complete in cases where the thing remaining on the skin is such that it is continuously or sometimes required and to remove it causes a burden - whether such a thing is above or below the nails or on any other part of the body - or whether such a thing is hard and water does not reach the skin below it - such as dough on the hands of kneaders, paint on the hands of a painter, henna for women, ink for the writer, sand or mud for the labourer and kohl under the eyelids or ordinary dirt for the common man.
- "Masah" (Stroking with wet hands) of one fourth of the head: Hands should be wet for performing the "Masah" whether due to water remaining from washing the hands, or by wetting them with fresh water. If the hands remain wet after "Masah", it will not suffice for "Masah" of any other body part.
- Washing both feet: It is necessary to wash both feet fully - i.e. all sides of toes, inner parts of the toes, top part of the toes, heels, soles and the entire ankles. If water does not reach between the toes naturally, it is necessary to do “Khilaal”, i.e. pass the little finger between them to make the water reach there.