Wudhu’1in the Holy Qur’an

The Holy Qur’an, describing the method of Wudhu’, says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ

O you who believe!2When you stand up for prayer, then wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe a part of your heads and your feet, up to the ankles… (Surah al-Ma’aida, 5:6).

To establish the authenticity of the method of our Wudhu’, it is important for us to briefly consider the above verse. Due to conflicting opinions about the verse, our duty is to refer to the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) who, according to the Holy Prophet (S), are the peers of the Qur’an3 and most knowledgeable in all its intricacies.4

The authorities of Islamic law, in light of the Qur’an, enumerate the fundamental parts of Wudhu’ as follows:

• Intention (al-niyyah):

This is not a kind of vocalisation. Obeying the command, ‘O you who have faith, when you stand up for prayer, then wash…’ reveals that one already has an intention. Hence the moment one intends to perform Wudhu’ to attain the proximity of Allah, niyyah is actualised; the oration of this is unnecessary, but nevertheless not prohibited.

• Washing of the face (ghasl al-wajh):

This act is derived from the phrase فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ faghsilu wujuha-kum

(then wash your faces) of the aforementioned verse (5:6) of the Qur’an.

• Washing of the two hands (ghasl al-yadayn):

This act is derived from the second object أَيْدِيَكُمْ aydiya-kum (your hands) of the imperative verb in the phraseفَاغْسِلُوا faghsilu (then wash) of the aforementioned verse (5:6). The verse says: ‘…then wash your faces and your hands…’ Here the phrase: الْمَرَافِقِ إِلَى ila al-marafiq (up to the elbows) does not imply that one has to start washing from the palms and end with the elbows as some Muslims have wrongly interpreted. The preposition إِلَى ila (until) is grammatically linked to aydiya-kum (your hands) and not faghsilu (then wash) and thus employed to expound the limit of washing of the hand, and not the place where the washing must end. And this is clearly apparent for anyone who understands Arabic grammar well. Hence those who try to grammatically link the preposition ila to the phrase faghsilu have overlooked the apparent order of the sentence.

• Wiping a part of the head (mash ba‘d al-ra’s):

This act is derived from the phrase وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ wamsahu bi-ru’usi- kum (and wipe a part of your heads) of the aforementioned verse. The preposition bi in بِرُءُوسِكُمْ bi-ru’usi-kum signifies partitioning (al-tab‘id) or ‘to consider only a part of something’. And the phrase ru’usi-kum (lit. your heads) is the first object (maf‘ul) of the imperative verb امْسَحُوا imsahu (wipe). The reason why the apparent diacritical marks in the verse are in the genitive case (majrur) and not the accusative (mansub), is due to the preposition ba prefixed to it, which renders it to be in the genitive case. Therefore the meaning of ‘wamsahu bi-ru’usi- kum’ is ‘and wipe a part of your heads…’

• Wiping the two feet (mash al-rijlayn):

This act is derived from the second object arjula-kum أَرْجُلَكُمْ

(your legs) of the imperative verb اِمْسَحُوا imsahu (wipe) in the phrase

وَامْسَحُواْ … أَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ

wamsahu… arjula-kum ila al-ka‘bayn (and wipe your feet, up to the ankles) of the aforementioned verse.

The preposition إِلَى ila (until) in the phrase ila al-ka‘bayn (until the ankles), as in the previous case, defines the limit of wiping the feet and not its order. In simpler words, we are told that we should wipe our feet, and that the length of wiping is up to the ankles.

Some Muslims instead of wiping their feet, wash them,5 because they say that the phrase arjula-kum (your feet) is in the accusative case (al-mansub) and thus cannot be reckoned as a continuation of ru’usi-kum (your heads) which is in the genitive case (al-majrur). Therefore, it must be a continuity of aydiya-kum (your hands) which is in the accusative case and whose verb is ighsilu (wash). In short, they say that Allah is commanding us ‘…then wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows…and [wash] your feet up to the ankles’.

Scholars of authority deem such kinds of expression as being against the eloquence of the Arabic of the Qur’an. They say that separating the Qur’anic phrase wa arjulakum and faghsilu wujuhakum wa aydiyakum with the Qur’anic phrase imsahu bi-ru’usi-kum, is to separate two connected phrases (al-muta‘atifayn) with a performative statement, and this is something that is far-fetched.

In this regard, Shaykh Ibrahim al-Halabi (d. 956 AH) says:

والصحيح أنّ الاَرجل معطوفة على الروَوس في القراءتين، ونصبها على المحل، وجرّها على اللفظ، وذلك لامتناع العطف على وجوهكم، للفصل بين المعطوف والمعطوف عليه بجملة أجنبية، هي (وَامْسَحُوْا بِرُئُوسِكُمْ) والاَصل أن لا يفصل بينهما بمفرد، فضلاً عن الجملة ولم يسمع في الفصيح نحو ((ضربت زيداً ومررت ببكر وعمراً)) بعطف ((عمراً)) على ((زيداً))

The correct understanding is that al-arjul is joined to al-ru’us in both recitations [that which considers arjula-kum to be accusative and that which considers arjuli-kum to be genitive]. It is accusative (al-mansub) in terms of its grammatical place (al-mahall), and genitive (al-majrur) in terms of following the literal diacritical marks of the phrase it is connected to, for it [al-arjul] cannot be joined to wujuha-kum, because that would be to separate two connected phrases with a foreign phrase that is wamsahu bi- ru’usi-kum.

Fundamentally, such a connection cannot be separated with a single word, leave alone a sentence, and in eloquent speech of Arabic it is unheard of for one to say, for example, ‘I beat Zayd and I passed by Bakr, and (also beat) ‘Amr,’ connecting the word ‘Amr to the word Zayd.6

Therefore, the reason for arjula-kum to be in the accusative case, is because although ru’usi-kum is in the genitive case, its actual grammatical state is accusative, because it represents the second object of the verb imsahu, which renders it accusative.

In fact, we have clear indications narrated from Sunni sources that reveal that Wudhu’ during the time of the Holy Prophet (S) contained two actions of washing and two actions of wiping.

Consider the following narrations:

• Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim, says: ‘Amr ibn Dinar narrates from ‘Akrimah who narrates from Ibn ‘Abbas who said:

اَلْوُضُوْءُ غَسْلَتَانِ وَمَسْحَتَانِ

Wudhu’ consists of two washings and two wiping.7

This narration has also been mentioned by al-Suyuti in his exegesis of the Qur’an called al-Durr al-Manthur8

• Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his al-Durr al-Manthur fi Tafsir al- Ma’thur narrates from ‘Abd al-Razzaq and ‘Abd al-Hamid who narrate the following from Ibn ‘Abbas:

اِفْتَرَضَ اللهُ غَسْلَتَيْنِ وَمَسْحَتَيْنِ

Allah made two washings and two wipings obligatory.9

• In the same work, al-Suyuti narrates from Ibn Jurayr who narrates the following from al-Shu‘bi:

نَزَلَ جِبْرِيْلُ بِالْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْقَدَمَيْنِ

Gabriel came down with [the ruling of] wiping over the two feet.10

• And in another narration Ibn al-A‘mash and al-Nuhas narrate the following from al-Shu‘bi:

نَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ بِالْمَسْحِ وَجَرَتِ السُّنَّةُ بِالْغَسْلِ

The Holy Qur’an came down with [the ruling of] wiping, but the Tradition (Sunnah) took the course of washing [of the feet].

Analysing this statement is beyond the scope of this limited work. However, in light of the traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) who are the authorities of religious law, anything that contradicts the Book of Allah must be negated. Besides, the authentic Prophetic Sunnah never went against the Book of Allah, but rather elucidated it and made it clear.

Hence the Sunnah that al-Shu‘bi speaks about in the above tradition is Sunnatu ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (the Sunnah of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan), for historic evidence shows that the new Wudhu’ that contradicted the common Wudhu’ of the Holy Prophet (S) and his companions, began during a part of the reign of Ibn ‘Affan, who innovated it in the beginning and invited others to follow thereafter. Unfortunately, all the four schools of Sunni Islam embraced it and left the Wudhu’ of the Holy Prophet (S) that even Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are reported to have accepted during their time.

Whatever we have so far mentioned are only the obligatory parts of Wudhu’, the details of which scholars of Islamic law have explained in their works after referring to the Sunnah of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a). Our purpose here was only to enumerate the fundamental parts of the Wudhu’ in light of the Qur’an. We have also skipped the recommended and supererogatory acts of this important devotion for the sake of brevity.

Those who desire to know about these details can refer to the ample works of Islamic law written by scholars of Islamic jurisprudence, examples of which are the Minhaj al-Salihin of Ayatullah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khu’i (d. 1413/1992) and the Tahrir al-Wasilah of Imam Ruhullah al-Khumayni (d. 1410/1989).

• 1. Wudhu’ is a canonical ablution that prepares one to begin the obligatory prayer prescribed by Allah for mankind. It is not aimed to cleanse the physical parts of the human being, but to purify his spiritual dimension.
• 2. Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) is reported to have said about the phrase ‘O you who believe’ in the Qur’an that: ‘the pleasure derived from listening to the divine call removes the fatigue and difficulty of worship (ladhhatu ma fi al-nida’ azala ta‘b al-‘ibada wa al-‘ana)’ (al-Rawandi, Fiqh al-Qur’an, v.1, p. 72)
• 3. A reference to the successively narrated tradition of al-Thaqalayn: The Holy Prophet (S) said: ‘I leave behind for you two weighty things (al- thaqalayn), the book of Allah and my progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt (S), and indeed they would never part from one another until they come to me at the Fountain.’ (Al-Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir, v.5, p. 17).
• 4. When asked about the verse ‘…Say, Allah suffices as a witness between me and you, and he who possesses the knowledge of the Book.’ (13:43), Imam al-Baqir (‘a) said: ‘He means us, ‘Ali (‘a) being the foremost, superior, and best of us after the Prophet (S). (iyya-na ‘ana, wa ‘Aliyyun ‘alayhi al-salam awwalu-na wa afdalu-na wa khayru-na ba‘d an-Nabiyyi sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa alihi).’ (Sayyid Hashim al-Bahrani (d. 1107/1695), al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, v.3, p. 273).
• 5. It is important to know that all the four Sunni schools of thought believe today that the feet must be washed and not wiped. This is while history tells us that the washing of the feet began during a part of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan’s caliphate. He is reported to have practically showed the people how to do Wudhu’ and then attributed this to the Holy Prophet (S). Prior to him, all the Muslims would wipe their feet, and there was no contradiction among them. For a detailed historical discussion on this subject, the esteemed readers are advised to refer to Sayyid ‘Ali Shahristani’s Wudhu’ al-Nabi, a detailed exposition of the history of the Wudhu’ of the Holy Prophet (S), and perhaps a unique masterpiece on the subject.
• 6. Ibrahim al-Halabi, Ghunyat al-Mutamalli fi Sharh Munyat al-Musalli, p. 16
• 7. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim, v.3, p. 47.
• 8. Al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur fi Tafsir al-Ma’thur, v.2, p. 262.
• 9. Al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur fi Tafsir al-Ma’thur, v.2, p. 262.
• 10. Al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur fi Tafsir al-Ma’thur, v.2, p. 262.