Bulugh al-Maram
The Book of Purification
كتاب الطهارة
Chapter 4
الوضوء
Talhah ibn Musarrif, from his father, from his grandfather, reported: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) distinguish between rinsing the mouth and sniffing water into the nose.’ Abu Dawud reported it with a weak chain. (1)
(1) Weak. Reported by Abu Dawud (139).
Translation notes
يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَ اَلْمَضْمَضَةِ وَالِاسْتِنْشَاقِ
The English witness expands this as use of separate scoops of water, while the Arabic says only that he distinguished between the two acts.
Does the Arabic indicate separate handfuls of water, or only that mouth rinsing and nasal inhalation were separate actions?
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), describing ablution, reported: Then he (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) rinsed his mouth and snuffed water out of his nose three times, rinsing and expelling it from the handful of water he had taken. Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i reported it. (1)
(1) Authentic. It is part of the preceding hadith, no. (34).
‘Abdullah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), describing ablution, reported: Then he (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) put his hand in, rinsed his mouth, and inhaled water into his nose from a single handful, doing that three times. Agreed upon. (1)
(1) Authentic. It is part of the preceding hadith, no. (35).
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man with a spot on his foot the size of a fingernail that had not been touched by water. He said: ‘Go back and perform your ablution well.’ Abu Dawud reported it. (1)
(1) Authentic. Reported by Abu Dawud (173). Al-Hafiz (may Allah have mercy on him) erred in attributing it to al-Nasa’i, for he did not report it in either al-Kubra or al-Sughra. And Allah knows best.
Translation notes
The Sunnah.com witness attributes the hadith to both Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i; the Arabic annotation says the al-Nasa’i attribution is an error.
And from him: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used one mudd for ablution and bathed with one sa‘ up to five mudd measures. Agreed upon. (1)
(1) Authentic. Reported by al-Bukhari (201) and Muslim (325) (51).
Translation notes
The units mudd and sa‘ are retained as transliterated measures.
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘There is no one among you who performs ablution and completes it, then says, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger,” but the gates of Paradise are opened for him.’ Muslim reported it. (1)
(1) Authentic. Muslim (234) reported from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir: We used to tend camels, and my turn came, so I brought them back in the evening. I found the Messenger of Allah standing and addressing the people, and I heard him say: ‘There is no Muslim who performs ablution and does it well, then stands and prays two rak‘ahs, devoting his heart and face to them, but Paradise becomes due for him.’ I said, ‘How excellent this is!’ Then a man in front of me said, ‘What came before it is even better.’ I looked and saw that it was ‘Umar. He said, ‘I saw you had just arrived.’ Then he mentioned the report. He added: ‘The eight gates—he may enter through whichever he wishes.’
Translation notes
وزاد: "الثمانية، يدخل من أيها شاء".
The Arabic annotation presents the eight-gates wording as an addition in the corroborating account, whereas the English witness incorporates the eight gates into its translation of the main report.
Should the distinction between the main report and the annotation’s added wording be preserved?
Al-Tirmidhi added: ‘O Allah, make me among those who constantly repent, and make me among those who purify themselves.’ (1)
(1) Sunan al-Tirmidhi (55). This addition found in al-Tirmidhi is not authentic, as explained in al-Asl.
Chapter 5
المسح على الخفين
Al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he performed ablution. I reached to remove his leather socks, but he said: ‘Leave them, for I put them on while they were clean.’ Then he wiped over them. Agreed upon. (1)
(1) Authentic. Reported by al-Bukhari (206) and Muslim (274) (79).
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘There is no one among you who performs ablution and completes it, then says, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger,” but the gates of Paradise are opened for him.’ Muslim reported it. (1)
(1) Authentic. Muslim (234) reported from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir: We used to tend camels, and my turn came, so I brought them back in the evening. I found the Messenger of Allah standing and addressing the people, and I heard him say: ‘There is no Muslim who performs ablution and does it well, then stands and prays two rak‘ahs, devoting his heart and face to them, but Paradise becomes due for him.’ I said, ‘How excellent this is!’ Then a man in front of me said, ‘What came before it is even better.’ I looked and saw that it was ‘Umar. He said, ‘I saw you had just arrived.’ Then he mentioned the report. He added: ‘The eight gates—he may enter through whichever he wishes.’
Translation notes
The Arabic annotation gives a corroborating account and attributes the eight-gates wording as an addition; the English witness merges that wording into the main report.
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘If religion were based on personal opinion, the underside of the leather sock would have greater right to be wiped than its upper side. Yet I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wipe over the upper part of his leather socks.’ Abu Dawud reported it with a good chain. (1)
(1) Authentic. Reported by Abu Dawud (162).
Safwan ibn ‘Assal (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When we were traveling, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would instruct us not to remove our leather socks for three days and nights, except in the case of major ritual impurity; but not for defecation, urination, and sleep. Al-Nasa’i and al-Tirmidhi reported it, and this is al-Tirmidhi’s wording; Ibn Khuzaymah reported it and they graded it authentic. (1)
(1) Good. Reported by al-Nasa’i (1/83–84), al-Tirmidhi (96), and Ibn Khuzaymah (196). Al-Tirmidhi said: ‘Good and authentic.’
Translation notes
The contrast after ‘except’ is elliptical in Arabic. The English witness expresses the same practical contrast as wearing the socks despite answering the call of nature or sleeping, and removing them for major ritual impurity.
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set three days and nights for the traveler and one day and night for the resident—that is, for wiping over the leather socks. Muslim reported it. (1)
(1) Authentic. Muslim (276) reported it through Shurayh ibn Hani’: I came to ‘A’ishah to ask her about wiping over leather socks. She said, ‘Go to Ibn Abi Talib and ask him, for he used to travel with the Messenger of Allah.’ We asked him, and he mentioned it, without the words ‘that is, wiping over leather socks,’ for this phrase was formulated by al-Hafiz.
Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out a detachment and ordered them to wipe over the turbans and the warming garments—that is, the leather socks. Ahmad and Abu Dawud reported it, and al-Hakim graded it authentic. (1)
(1) Authentic. Reported by Ahmad (577), Abu Dawud (146), and al-Hakim (169). The hadith has been criticized on grounds that do not undermine it.
From ‘Umar (as a report whose chain stops at him) and from Anas (as a report traced to the Prophet): If one of you performs ablution and puts on his leather socks, let him wipe over them and pray in them, and let him not remove them for as long as he wishes, except in the case of major ritual impurity. Al-Daraqutni reported it, and al-Hakim graded it authentic. (1)
(1) See al-Daraqutni (103–204) and al-Hakim (181).
Translation notes
The source labels the report from ‘Umar mawquf (stopping at a Companion) and the report from Anas marfu‘ (traced to the Prophet); the English witness renders these terms as ‘untraceable’ and ‘traceable,’ which is misleading.
Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he granted the traveler permission to wipe over his leather socks for three days and nights, and the resident for one day and night, if he had purified himself and then put on his leather socks: that he wipe over them. Al-Daraqutni reported it, and Ibn Khuzaymah graded it authentic. (1)
(1) Good. Reported by al-Daraqutni (194) and Ibn Khuzaymah (192). Although its chain is weak, it has corroborating reports that I mentioned in al-Asl; for that reason al-Bukhari regarded it as good, as al-Tirmidhi quoted him in al-‘Ilal.
Ubayy ibn ‘Imarah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, may I wipe over the leather socks?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘For one day?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘And for two days?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘And for three?’ He said, ‘Yes, and for as long as you wish.’ Abu Dawud reported it and said: ‘It is not strong.’ (1)
(1) Weak. Reported by Abu Dawud (158).
Translation notes
The English witness appears to repeat the first time limit in its answer to the question about two days; the Arabic has an affirmative reply, without repeating the duration.
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: In the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his Companions would wait for the ‘Isha prayer until their heads nodded, then pray without performing ablution. Abu Dawud reported it, and al-Daraqutni graded it authentic. (1)
(1) Authentic. Reported by Abu Dawud (200) and al-Daraqutni (1/131/3). Al-Daraqutni said: ‘Authentic.’
Its basis is in Muslim. (1)
(1) Muslim (376), with this wording: The Companions of the Messenger of Allah used to sleep, then pray without performing ablution. It has other versions that I mentioned in al-Asl.
Translation notes
The English witness includes only the note that the report’s basis is in Muslim; the Arabic annotation supplies Muslim’s wording and mentions other versions.
‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: ‘Messenger of Allah, I am a woman with persistent irregular bleeding and do not become pure. Should I stop praying?’ He replied: ‘No. That is only a vein, not menstruation. When your menstrual period begins, refrain from prayer; when it ends, wash the blood from yourself, then pray.’ Agreed upon. (1)
(1) Authentic. Reported by al-Bukhari (328) and Muslim (333).
Translation notes
The Arabic uses istihadah for non-menstrual bleeding; the witness’s explanatory phrase ‘even after the menstruation’ is not separately stated in the Arabic.
Al-Bukhari’s version adds: ‘Then perform ablution for every prayer.’ (1)
(1) Fath al-Bari (1/332).