A Sunnah not often practiced Wudu for Every Prayer
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Allah (تعالى ) said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ
أَنَسٍ أَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ أَنَّ النَّبِىَّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- أُتِىَ بِإِنَاءٍ صَغِيرٍ فَتَوَضَّأَ. قُلْتُ أَكَانَ النَّبِىُّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- يَتَوَضَّأُ لِكُلِّ صَلاَةٍ قَالَ نَعَمْ. قَالَ فَأَنْتُمْ قَالَ كُنَّا نُصَلِّى الصَّلَوَاتِ مَا لَمْ نُحْدِثْ قَالَ وَقَدْ كُنَّا نُصَلِّى الصَّلَوَاتِ بِوُضُوءٍ.
Allah The Most High said: O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salat (the prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to ankles . [1]
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned: The Messenger of Allah was given a small vessel of water and he made wudu.” I said: “Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) make wudu for every prayer?” He said “Yes” Then he was asked: “What about you?” He said: “We used to pray all the prayers as long as we did not break our wudu, and we used to pray all the prayers with one wudu.[2]
Benefits for this subject:
- Allah The Most High said: O you who believe! When you intend to offerAs-Salat (the prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to ankles .- Imam Al-Baghawi said: This verse refers to those who intend to stand up for prayer and although its apparent wording implies wudu as an obligation every time a person intends to pray, we are certain from the sunnah that Wudu is only an obligation for the person who is in an ritual impure state.The Prophet(صلى الله عليه وسلم) on the Day of Khunduq prayed four prayers with only on Wudu. [3]
- Imam At-Tirmithi said: The People of knowledge view that performing Wudu for every prayer is Sunnah and not [4]
- Muhammad Adam Al-Ethiopee commented on this hadeeth in his explanation for Sunnan An-Nisa’i. He wrote:
- The hadeeth proves that it’s legislated to make wudu for every prayer, regardless if a person needs to or not.
- It’s permissible to pray the five daily prayers with only one wudu.
- Ibn Seereen narrated that Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman used to make wudu for every prayer.”[5]
- Making wudu without invalidating it is a recommended act. Reason being, wudu is an act that wipes away sin.
- This hadeeth shows that wudu is a must for the person who intends to pray and has broken his/her wudu.
- The Shia view the resident and not the traveler must perform wudu for every prayer.
- The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Only the believer maintains himself in the state of wudu.” [6]
Taken from Sharhu Sunnan An-Nisa’I Vol 3/176
Presented by Abu Aaliyah Abdullah ibn Dwight Battle
Doha, Qatar 1431 ©
Republished with minor additions on ,2016-04-25
[1] Quran : Al-Ma’idah : 6
[2] sunnan An-Nisa’I 131 graded as being Sahih by Imam Al-Albani
[3] Tafsir Al-Baghwai
[4] Jam’I At-Tirmithi Hadith 58-61
[5] [Musanaf Ibn Abee Shaybah]
[6] [Ibn Majah and others with an authentic chain of narration