Extra Reading:Hadeeth Explanation/Sh. Salman Al-Oada

“He wiped upon his head once”
“He wiped upon his head once”
Sheikh Salman al-Oadah

`Alî, while demonstrating the wudû' of the Prophet (peace be upon him), wiped upon his head once.

This is an authentic hadîth related by al-Tirmidhî, Abû Dâwûd, al-Nasâ'î, Ibn Mâjah, and others. Al-Tirmidhî says about it: “It is the most authentic hadîth related on this matter.”

The meaning of the hadîth:

The hadîth mentions wiping upon the head. The Arabic word used here is masaha . It means: “To pass the hand upon something. [ Lisân al-`Arab (2/592), al-Nihâyah fî Gharîb al-Hadîth (4/327)]

The hadîth states clearly that he wiped over the head only once. There are many other hadîth that mention this as well, among them the following:

1. There is the hadîth of `Abd Allah b. Zayd wherein it says: “And he wiped upon his head one time.” [ Sahîh Muslim (235)]

It is likewise related from `Abd Allah b. Zayd: “Then he put his hand (in the water) and wiped his head going back and forth with his two hands once.” [ Sahîh al-Bukhârî (186)]

2. It is related from Ibn `Abbâs wherein he mentioned each of the acts of the wudû' of the Prophet (peace be upon him) three times then says: “...and he wiped upon his head and his ears a single time.” [ Sunan Abî Dâwûd (133)]

3. It is related from Rubay` bint Mu`awwadh b. `Afrâ' who says: “I saw Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) perform wudû'... He wiped his head, wiping the front of it, the back of it, his temples, and his ears once.” [ Sunan Abî Dâwûd (219) al- Mu`jam al-Awsat (2409)]

4. It is related that Abû Mulaykah was asked about wudû' and said: “I saw `Uthmân b `Affân being asked about wudû'. He called for water and a basin was brought to him. He tilted it upon his right hand and then put his hand in the water and rinsed his mouth thrice, exhaled water from his nose thrice, and washed his face three times. Then he washed his right hand thrice and his left hand thrice. Then he put his hand in at took some water and wiped upon his head and his ears once, washing both the inside and outside of his ears. Then he washed his feet.

“Then he said: ‘Where are those who asked about wudû'? This is how I saw Allah's Messenger perform wudû'.” [ Sunan Abî Dâwûd (108), Sunan Ibn Mâjah (435), Musannaf Ibn Abî Shaybah (1/15), and Sunan al-Dâraqutnî (1/93)]

Abû Dâwûd comments after citing this hadîth: “All of the authentically narrated hadîth of `Uthman indicate that the head is to be wiped once, since they all mention the acts of wudû' are to be performed three times, and they go on to say: ‘ and he wiped upon his head ' without mentioning any number as is mentioned for the other acts.”

Its legal implications:

This hadîth raises the question of the desirability of wiping the head three times when performing wudû'. Scholars express two opinions on this matter.

The first opinion is that it is not preferable for a person to wipe over his head three times while performing wudû'. This is the view of the majority of scholars, including Mâlik and Abû Hanîfah. It is the correct view of Ahmad b. Hanbal and the one adopted as the official view of the Hanbalî school of law.

This opinion has also been narrated from al-Shâfi`î, as mentioned by al-Tirmidhî. It was the view of Ibn `Umar, `Alî, Talhah b. Masrif, al-Hakam, Hammâd, Ibrâhîm al-Nakha`î, Sâlim b. `Abd Allah, al-Hasan al-Basrî, Mujâhid, and Abû Thawr. It is one of the opinions related from `Atâ' and Sa`îd b. Jubayr.

Abû `Ubayd goes so far as to say: “We know of no one from the Pious Predecessors who ever mentioned wiping the head three times except what comes by way of Ibrâhîm (al-Taymî).” [ Kitâb al-Tahûr (240)]

They cite the following evidence to support this opinion:

1. The hadîth of Alî that is under discussion is brought as obvious evidence, with all of its supporting narrations, since in certain narration it mentions everything being washed three times, with the exception of the head, which is wiped upon only once. This indicates that the head takes a different ruling than the other body parts.

2. The same can be said for the hadîth of `Uthmân in some of its narrations, where it mentions the washing of all the body parts three times and then says: “ Then he put his hand in at took some water and wiped upon his head and his ears once .” This is equally obvious in its indication.

3. They cite the hadîth of many Companions where it is mentioned that the washing of other body parts takes place three times and then mentions the wiping of the head without stating any number of times. This is indicative that the head is to be wiped upon only once.

This is the case for those narrations where the Companions are cited as giving a detailed breakdown of how wudû' is to be performed, as opposed to the general narrations that simply state “the acts of wudû' are to be performed three times each.” The detailed narrations should be seen as explaining the general ones, so there is no reason to assume that there is any contradiction between them.

These detailed narrations include:

– Many of the hadîth related from `Uthmân, like those found in Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim .

– The hadîth of Alî as it appears in Sunan Abî Dâwûd (226) and elsewhere.

– The hadîth of `Abd Allah b. Zayd b. `Âsim al-Mâzinî in Sunan Abî Dâwûd and elsewhere.

– The hadîth of al-Miqdâm b. Ma`d Yakrib in Sunan Abî Dâwûd .

– The hadîth of Mu`âwiyah b. Abî Sufyân in Sunan Abî Dâwûd .

– The hadîth of Rubay` bint Mu`awwadh b. `Afrâ' in Sunan Abî Dâwûd .

4. From a theoretical angle, they argue that the act of wiping is of a lesser degree than the act of washing; therefore the lack of repetition suits it. This is the same as when we wipe over our socks. We do that only once though when we wash our feet, we do so three times. The same is the case for wiping over a bandage on an injured limb. We do so only once, though when we have to wash the same limb without a bandage, we do so thrice.

The second opinion is that wiping the head three times is preferred, just as washing the other limbs three times is preferred. This is the view of the Shâfi`î school of law and one of the narrations of the Hanbalî school.

It is related about Mâlik that “he used to wipe over his head three times.” [ Musannaf Ibn Abî Shaybah (1/15) al-Mu`jam al-Awsat (1/396)]

It was the opinion of Zâdhân, Maysarah, and Ibrâhîm al-Taymî. It is also one of the opinions narrated from `Atâ' and Sa`îd b. Jubayr.

1. They cite the various general hadîth that simply state the acts of wudû' as being performed three times each. This includes the hadîth of `Uthman where it states “he performed the acts of wudû' three times each” that appears in Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim . They argue that the head is one of the limbs and therefore this general statement applies to it.

2. They cite the hadîth of `Alî where it says that he wiped upon his head and upon his ears three times each, and said: “This is what the wudû' of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was like, and I wanted to show it to you.” [ Sunan al-Bayhaqî (1/63)]

However, al-Dâraqutnî says: “They agreed regarding this hadîth (from `Alî) that the head was wiped once, except for Abû Hanîfah, for he says in his narration from Khâlid b. `Alqamah from `Abd Khayr that ‘he wiped his head three times'.” [ al-`Ilal (4/51)

Al-Bayhaqî says about this hadîth: “Zâ'idah b. Qudâmah, `Abû `Awânah, and others relate this hadîth from Khâlid b. `Alqamah without mentioning the repeated wiping of the head. This is how many have related the hadîth of `Alî except for the isolated exception.” [ Sunan al-Bayhaqî (1/63)]

Ibn `Abd al-Hâdî writes: “The vast majority of the narrations from `Alî state that he wiped his head once.” [ al-Tahqîq (1/381)]

3. The hadîth of `Uthmân where it says that he washed his forearms three times and wiped his head three times, then said: “I saw Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) do this.” [ Sunan Abî Dâwûd (110), Sunan al-Bayhaqî (1/63), and Sunan al-Dâraqutnî (1/91)]

Al-Bayhaqî says: “It is related from unusual angles from `Uthmân that he wiped his head repeatedly. However, since these narrations are at variance to what is related by the most trustworthy and erudite narrators, they cannot stand as evidence for those who have knowledge in the field, even if some of our colleagues have cited them as evidence.”

Ibn `Abd al-Hâdî states that those narrations where: “…no repetition is stated for wiping the head, this is what is correct.” [ Tanqîh al-Tahqîq (3/179)]

Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalâni expresses two conflicting viewpoints about this hadîth.

On one occasion he sees the mention of repetition as an additional piece of information being conveyed by a reliable narrator, and information of this sort that is conveyed by a reliable narrator is to be accepted. He states this in Fath al-Bârî (1/260).

In another instance, he sees it as an unusual narration at variance with those of more trustworthy and erudite narrators. He states this elsewhere in Fath al-Bârî (1/298).

Al-Bayhaqî gives preference to the narrations of `Uthmân's hadîth that do not mention repetition in wiping the head. He writes: “The established narrations from Hamrân found in the two Sahîh compilations indicate that repetition occurred for all limbs besides the head and that he wiped upon his head once.” [ al-Ma`rifah (1/176)]

However, in al-Khilâfiyât (1/176) al-Bayhaqî cites as evidence the hadîth of `Uthman where it states “he performed the acts of wudû' three times each” and says: “As for the hadîth of `Uthman b. `Affân and others that mention wiping over the head once...they do not contain any negation of repetition, while what we have related asserts that repletion is a Sunnah for (the head) as it is for all the other limbs that are washed in wudû'. It is best, whenever possible, to reconcile the two narrations together.”

The preferred opinion is that it is best to wipe upon the head only once and not to do so three times. This is in consideration of the authenticity of the various hadîth that support this view and the weakness of the hadîth that are at variance with it. It is also in consideration of the fact that the matter of wiping is something naturally approached with greater ease than the matter of washing. And Allah knows best.

We need to consider that the overwhelming majority of the Companions who described the wudû' of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in detail sufficed with mentioning the wiping upon the head once. The only exception to this is some of what is related about `Alî and `Uthmân, and those narrations are false because they conflict with authentic narrations of the same hadîth.

We have already mentioned that Abû Dâwûd says: “All of the authentically narrated hadîth of `Uthman indicate that the head is to be wiped once.”

As we have also already mentioned that Ibn `Abd al-Hâdî says: “The vast majority of the narrations from `Alî state that he wiped his head once.” [ al-Tahqîq (1/381)]

And Allah knows best.

is there a link already in good format (bolded fitting to page etc...)... where was can print these... or is it in a book we can buy and so on?

www.islamtoday.com

Look under "Hadith and Law" Section

Doc2be, go to the link above. They give the option to print.. that should be the easiest and neatest way.

Originally Posted by Doc2be

Jazzakumul'llaahu khayran for sharing Umm Sarah

wa iyyaaki

SubhanAllah, so much more information. JazaakAllah Khairun.

[Abdur Rahman Mirza]

May Allah reward you for Jannatul Firdaws!!!

So much knowledge at our fingertips.

iA, we plan to give you reward, sr. UmmSarah, by spreading this stuff world wide and first and foremost, to Sh. Salman al Owdah.