Page 87 - World Religions I - Islam

• To perform salat, Muslims must be in a state of ritual purity, which is mainly achieved by a process of ablution
known as wudu.
o Both the Qur'an and Hadith refer to cleanliness.
 "For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure
and clean." - Al- Baqara (The Cow) 2:222b
 Traditions record Muhammad saying that "Cleanliness is half of faith".4
o Washing should be done with fresh, clean water.
o The Qur'an dictates the general washing guidelines before prayer.
 "O ye who believe! when ye 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. If ye are in a state of
ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you
cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water,
then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth
not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you,
that ye may be grateful." - Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread) 5:6
 The four acts specified in Surah 5:6 are considered fard (obligatory). If one of the acts is
omitted, one must return and complete the successive acts until ceremonially pure.
• Washing of the face once.
• Washing both arms including the elbows once.
• Performing masah (the act of washing the head in a particular fashion, including the
neck and the ears) on one-fourth of the head.
• Washing both feet and ankles once. Muhammad warned that those who do not wash
their feet thoroughly before prayers are in danger of hell- fire. (Al-Bukhari 1:4:164)
o Additional acts defined by the Sunnah are optional, but regularly practiced. If these acts are omitted,
wudu is still considered valid.
 Reciting bismillah.
 Rinsing the inner mouth.
 Sniffing water and blowing it out.
 Brushing the teeth, preferably with a miswak (or siwak, a teeth cleaning twig)
 Performing wudu towards the Qibla (the direction of the Ka'aba).
o According to the traditions, a perfect washing before prayers results in God's forgiveness of sins.
 Uthman narrates: "I heard the Prophet saying, 'If a man performs ablution perfectly and then
offers the compulsory congregational prayer, Allah will forgive his sins committed between that
(prayer) and the (next) prayer till he offers it."5
 Uthman reported: "The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said: He who performed
ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from underSahih Al-
Bukhari 1:4:161.

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