Friday 3 February 2012


Bismil Laahir Rahmaanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful



Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh)


Wudu
Wudu is the Islamic procedure for washing certain parts of the body in preparation of salah (prayer). It is also mandatory that a Muslim is pure and clean when handling and reading the Qur’an. According to the Qur’an, it states in surah Al-Bakara ayah 222 that, “...Truly Allah loveth those who turn unto Him, and loveth those who have a care for cleanness.” Another verse from the Qur'an highlights a similar message: "That (this) is indeed a noble Qur'an. In a Book kept hidden. Which none toucheth save the purified..." (Qur'an 56:77-79)

Water requirements

Permitted water types include
  • Rain water
  • Well water
  • Spring, sea or river water
  • Water of melting snow or hail
  • Water of a big tank or pond
Prohibited water types
  • Unclean or impure water
  • Water extracted from fruit and trees
  • Water that has changed its color, taste and smell and becomes thick because something was soaked in it
  • Small quantity of water in which something unclean has fallen, eg. urine, blood, stool or wine or some animal had died after falling into it
  • Water left over after drinking by animals, eg. dogs, pigs or predatory animals
  • Used water of wudu

The Act of Wudu
In order to have wudu, one must complete four (4) acts. They are obligatory or fard, meaning if one of these acts is omitted, wudu is not complete and one must repeat the procedure. 

Fara’id according to Sunni Muslims
Al-Qur’an
The Qur’anic mandate for wudu comes from Al-Maeda ayah 5, which sates:

O ye who believe! When ye rise up for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. And if ye are unclean, purify yourselves. And if ye are sick or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have had contact with women, and ye find not water, then go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it. Allah would not place a burden on you, but He would purify you and would perfect His grace upon you, that ye may give thanks.(Qur’an 5:6)

From the above text, it is established that Muslims are required to:
  • Wash the face once.
  • Wash both the arms including the elbows once.
  • Run the wet hands over the head
  • Wash both the feet once up to and including the ankles. 
Sunnah of the Prophet
  • Narrated by Abd-Allah ibn Amr: "...we were just passing wet hands over our feet (not washing them thoroughly) so he addressed us in a loud voice saying twice or thrice.”
  • Narrated by Ubaid Ibn Juraij: “...and he used to perform ablution while wearing the shoes (i.e. wash his feet and then put on the shoes)."
  • Narrated by Yahya Al-Mazini: "Can you show me how Allah's Apostle used to perform ablution? ...and washed his feet (up to the ankles)."
  • Narrated by Amr: "...and then he washed his feet up to the ankles."
  • Narrated by Humran: "...and washed his feet up to the ankles..."
  • Narrated by Amr bin Yahya: "...and washed his feet up to the ankles..."
  • Narrated by Abdullah bin Zaid: "...and washed his feet (up to the ankles).”


Sunnah (athendic practices and sayings of the prophet Mohammed (pbuh)
It is optional to preform the following acts during wudu:
  • Reciting bismillah
  • Intention of performing wudu
  • Washing both the hands up to the wrists
  • Rinsing the inner mouth
  • Sniffing water and blowing it out
  • Passing of wet fingers between the fingers of the hand and feet
  • Passing of wet fingers into the beard
  • Brushing the teeth, preferably with a miswak
  • Wudu is done systematically
  • Washing of each part one after the other without pause, so no part dries up before wudu is completed
  • Washing each limb thrice
  • Performing wudu towards the Qiblah

Invalidation of Wudu
One can preform one wudu for salah (prayer) and it can be considered valid for the entire day, however; it is be broken if any one of the following acts are committed: 
  • Defecation
  • Sleep while reclining
  • Vomiting
  • Loss of senses
  • Fainting
  • Laughing aloud or whistling while preforming salah
  • Blood or pus leaving the body so that it leaves the point of exit (however if the blood or pus exits from the private parts than any amount breaks wudu) 
  • Touching the private with the bare hands
  • Emission of semen (ghusl is required) 
  • Sexual contact with another person (ghusl is required)

Tayammum
Tayammun is procedure preformed in the place of wudu when access to water is restricted or when water is unavailable. Tayammun can we preformed when:
  • Sufficient amounts of water for ritual washing is not available, including when using the available water for wudu or ghusl would leave insufficient water for drinking.
  • When obtaining water is hazardous or prohibitively expensive.
  • When using water poses a health risk.

Preforming Tayammum
When preforming tayammum, the following steps must be followed:
  • Find a piece of ground which is free of najaasah. This could be any natural surface such as rock, sand, or dust.
  • Recite bismillah.
  • Make niyyah, or intention to make tayammum.
  • Place the hands on the surface of the ground.
  • Lift hands with palms downwards, ensuring that no dust remains, may rub them together.
  • Rub face with hands.
  • Press hands to ground and touch sides of hands together.
  • Rub right arm with left hand, from the fingers to the elbow, and back along the inner arm to the hand. Do the same with the other arm.
Tyammum is permitted on the following items:
  • Taahir (pure) earth
  • Sand
  • Stone
  • Limestone
  • Baked earthen pots (unglazed)
  • Walls of mud, stone or brick
  • Clay
  • All items which have thick dust on them
Tyammum is not permitted on the following items:
  • Wood
  • Metal
  • Glass
  • Food items
  • All items that burn ash, rot, or melt
Is ablution (wudu) required before touching the Qur’an

Dr.Zakir Naik on Wudu




References



Alhamdulillah rabbil alamin.











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