What is the description of ablution? What is minor ablution in islam? What are the rules of ablution?
The word abdest in Turkish originally comes from Persian and is a compound word consisting of the words āb (water) and dest (hand) meaning “hand water”. Ablution is called “wuḍū” in Arabic because of its beauty and service to cleanliness. According to the Ḥanafis, wuḍū is not an act of worship in itself but an act of worship done to fulfill some other worship and it helps a person to benefit fully from these acts of worship spiritually. It consists of washing or wiping certain limbs systematically and according to a method. Through performing wuḍū, the parts of the body that are most open to contamination and germs from outside, such as hands, face, mouth, nose, teeth, and feet, are washed several times a day. It also assists the nerve system and blood circulation on a regular basis. The ultimate objective is to assist the believer to come to the presence of Almighty Allah in a peaceful and tranquil state.
It is reported that the Prophet (saw) did not do anything without being in the state of wuḍū.[1] The minor ablution is mentioned in the Qur’an as a prerequisite for the ritual prayer as follows: “O you who believe! when you prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. … and you find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth…”[2] This verse was revealed in Medina. Taking into account that the ritual prayer was made obligatory on the night of Ascension (Mi’raj) in Mecca about a year and a half before the migration to Medina, it is postulated that ablution was initially practiced as a recommended act, and only after the Medinan period was it been made obligatory, especially for the ritual prayer.
According to the Ḥanafis, there are three types of minor ablution farḍ (obligatory), wājib (necessary), and mandūb (recommended). The majority of the schools agree that being in the state of wuḍū is farḍ (obligatory) in order to perform the ritual prayer (ṣalah), circumambulate the Ka’ba, perform the prostration of recitation, and touch the Qur’an. Yet, according to the Ḥanafis, it is not farḍ (obligatory) but wājib (necessary) to be in the state of ablution while circumambulating the Ka’ba. Moreover, it is considered mandūb to be in the state of wuḍū while going to bed, to perform ablution separately for each prayer even if the person is already in the state of wuḍū, and while reciting (without touching) parts of the Qur’an, and reciting the call for prayer. It is also recommended (mandūb) to perform wuḍū before eating, drinking, or going to sleep when the person is in a state of major ritual impurity yet does not have the opportunity to perform the major ablution (ghusl).
It is well known that the Prophet has shown the actual way of performing wuḍū many times, and clearly stated that a prayer performed without wuḍū will not be accepted by Allah.[3] Every Muslim who is sane, adolescent, and able to use water is obliged to perform the wuḍū when it is required.
By performing the wuḍū, many worldly and otherworldly virtues and beauties are obtained. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said the following about it: “He who performed ablution like this ablution of mine and offered prayer like this prayer of mine, all his previous sins would be expiated.”[4], and “When a bondsman-a Muslim or a believer-washes his face (in course of ablution), every sin he contemplated with his eyes, will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water or with the last drop of water with the result that he comes out pure from all sins.”[5]
[1] Elmalılı, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili, II, 1583.
[2] Al-Mā’ida, 5: 6.
[3] Al-Bukhari, Wuḍū, 2; Ibn Maja, Ṭaḥāra, 47; Zayd Ibn ‘Ali, Musnad, H. No:1, p. 47 ff.
[4] Al-Bukhari, Wuḍū’, 28; Tawḥīd, 24; Abū Dawūd, Ṭaḥāra, 51.
[5] Muslim, Ṭaḥāra, 32,33; al-Tirmidhī, Ṭaḥāra, 2; al-Darimī, Wuḍū, 45; al-Nasā’ī, Ṭaḥāra, 107.
Source: Basic Islamic Principles (ʿilmi ḥāl) According to the Four Sunni Schools With Evidence From The Sources of Islamic Law, Prof. Hamdi Döndüren, Erkam Publications