The Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to follow the Prophet’s Sunnah and to learn it and teach it to the Muslims who came after them in both word and deed. That includes the description of how the Messenger of Allah blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did wudu’. In this hadith, the scholar of the ummah, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) describes the steps of wudu’ in practical terms. He began by washing his face, but what is meant by the phrase, when he said that he started with the face, is something additional to what is obligatory and what is Sunnah, based on the fact that he mentioned the face a second time, after he mentioned rinsing the mouth with a new handful of water. So he began washing his face by rinsing his mouth, which means moving the water around in the mouth, then spitting it out. Then he rinsed his nose, by sniffing water into the nose then blowing it out, to clean the inside of the nose. Then he took a handful of water in one hand, then brought up his other hand, and washed his face with it once, using both hands, because one hand may not reach all over the face properly. The definition of the face in terms of length is from the hairline to the chin and beard, and in terms of width it is from one ear to the other. Then he took another handful of water and washed his right forearm with it, up to the elbow, then he took another handful of water and washed his left forearm with it, up to the elbow. Then he wiped his head, and wiping is less than washing. What is meant by the head here is where the hair grows. According to a report narrated by Abu Dawood: Then he took a handful of water, shook it off his hand, then wiped his head. According to another report narrated by Abu Dawood: He wiped his head and ears, inside and out. Then he took a handful of water and sprinkled it on his right foot, meaning that he poured the water little by little, until he washed his foot. Then he took another handful of water and washed his left foot with it. He washed his feet up to the ankles, as is narrated in the reports. It was said that the reason for mentioning sprinkling, rather than washing, was to highlight how little water is used to wash a part for which it is likely that people would use too much water. This is supported by the words “until he washed it.” This is an indication that what is meant by sprinkling is washing. Then ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, after he finished: This is how I saw the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) doing wudu’. So ‘Abdullah’s wudu’ was a precise imitation of the wudu’ of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and it was done to teach those around him of the Tabi‘in and others who wanted to learn the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). In this hadith, we see that teaching by doing is more effective than teaching by speaking alone..