Hadithcore
Sunan Abi Dawud, 135

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As:

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked him: Messenger of Allah, how is the ablution (to performed)? He (the Prophet) then called for water in a vessel and washed his hands up to the wrists three times, then washed his face three times, and washed his forearms three times. He then wiped his head and inserted both his index fingers in his ear-holes; he wiped the back of his ears with his thumbs and the front of his ears with the index fingers. He then washed his feet three times. Then he said: This is how ablution should be performed. If anyone does more or less than this, he has done wrong and transgressed, or (said) transgressed and done wrong.

حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ أَبِي عَائِشَةَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ الطُّهُورُ فَدَعَا بِمَاءٍ فِي إِنَاءٍ فَغَسَلَ كَفَّيْهِ ثَلاَثًا ثُمَّ غَسَلَ وَجْهَهُ ثَلاَثًا ثُمَّ غَسَلَ ذِرَاعَيْهِ ثَلاَثًا ثُمَّ مَسَحَ بِرَأْسِهِ فَأَدْخَلَ إِصْبَعَيْهِ السَّبَّاحَتَيْنِ فِي أُذُنَيْهِ وَمَسَحَ بِإِبْهَامَيْهِ عَلَى ظَاهِرِ أُذُنَيْهِ وَبِالسَّبَّاحَتَيْنِ بَاطِنَ أُذُنَيْهِ ثُمَّ غَسَلَ رِجْلَيْهِ ثَلاَثًا ثَلاَثًا ثُمَّ قَالَ ‏"‏ هَكَذَا الْوُضُوءُ فَمَنْ زَادَ عَلَى هَذَا أَوْ نَقَصَ فَقَدْ أَسَاءَ وَظَلَمَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ أَوْ ‏"‏ ظَلَمَ وَأَسَاءَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 1, Hadith 135
English Reference
Book 1, Hadith 135
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was keen on teaching the Companions by doing things in front of them so that it would be firmly established in their minds.In this Hadith, `Abdullah ibn `Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, how is Tuhur?" The meaning of the question is: How is Wudu’ performed? "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called for water in a vessel, then washed his hands three times, then washed his face three times, then washed his arms three times, then wiped his head, without mentioning a number, then inserted his two index fingers (Sabbahatayn) into his ears," referring to the index fingers of the right and left hands, and they were called Sabbahatayn because they are pointed with during Tasbih (glorifying Allah), "wiped the outer part of his ears with his thumbs and the inner part of his ears with his index fingers , then washed his feet three times each," then he said: " This is how Wudu’ is done. Whoever adds to this", meaning: more than three - "or omits from it" doing less than three "has done wrong" by abandoning the Sunnah and the proprieties of Shari`ah, "and acted unjustly" by not following the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and opposing him. He mentioned here the mandatory acts of Wudu’, and did not mention rinsing the mouth or sniffing water into the nose (and then blowing it out); perhaps they are included in washing the face, or they are not mandatory; so he did not mention them.A group of scholars have considered the addition of "or omits from it" to be inauthentic and counted it among what was criticized about `Amr ibn Shu`ayb; because its apparent meaning is a condemnation of doing it less than three, while it is permissible; for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did it. So, how can it be expressed as a "wrongdoing"? It was said: If the wording is not due to doubt from the narrator, then it is one of the clear errors that leave no room for ambiguity; for performing Wudu’ once or twice is unanimously permitted, and the reports regarding the matter are authentic. It was said regarding his statement “or omits from it” that there is an ellipsis, and its implied meaning is: whoever falls short in the single washing, such as by leaving a patch unwashed during a single rinse, has done wrong. This is supported by what Nu`aym ibn Hammad ibn Mu`awiyah narrated through Al-Muttalib ibn Hantab in a Marfu` narration (a narration attributed to the Prophet): “Wudu’ may be done once, twice, or up to three times, but whoever falls short of one or exceeds three has erred.”This Hadith highlights the importance of learning through action, along with verbal instruction..
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