The Purpose of Wudu

(Ablution)

By : A. Muhammad

"O you who believe, when you observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) you shall wash your faces, wash your arms to the elbows, wipe your heads and wash your feet to the ankles." 5:6

This is the ablution that God has decreed for the believers in the Quran. It consist of four simple steps:

1- Wash the face

2- Wash the arms to the elbows

3- Wipe the head

4- Wash the feet to the ankles.

But is this the ablution that is performed by 99% of Muslims today?  No it is not !

In spite of this very clear command in the Quran, the majority of Muslims today perform their ablution in a different way. The ablution they perform is taken from the 'Sunna', they believe that it was the way the prophet did his ablution. To the four steps prescribed in the Quran they add washing the hands to the wrists, the mouth, the nose (nostrils), the ears, and the neck.

They argue that since 'Al-Nazafah min al-Imaan' or (cleanliness is a component of a good faith), as the hadith says, then the more clean one is before the Salat the better. These additional steps to the command given by God in the Quran raise the following questions:

1- Is it conceivable that the prophet whom we are told in the Quran was a 'fine example' for the believers, and who was blessed with receiving the Quran, has in fact disregarded the Quranic ablution and followed a different one?

2- Is the ablution prescribed to us by God inadequate? Has the prophet in fact devised a better and cleaner method of ablution?

3- All this ultimately leads to the crucial question; is physical cleanliness the purpose and aim of ablution after all?

The only answer to the first and second questions must be the negative. The prophet could never have devised or followed a different format for ablution than what God gave him in the Quran.

As to the third question one must pose and reflect on the following thoughts:

If the purpose of ablution was in fact cleanliness why did God not command us to wash under our arms (arm pits), or better still to bath? Surely one's arm pits is more in need of washing than ones's face! If the purpose of ablution was cleanliness why did God say "wipe your heads" and not 'wash your heads'? Surely, wiping the head does not properly clean it!

The obvious and rational answer to these questions is that the purpose of ablution cannot be primarily for physical cleanliness. Ablution is nothing more than a simple command from God to test our obedience. Are we going to obey God in four simple steps or will the devil dupe us into changing God's command? This test is in fact identical to the test given to Adam and Eve with regards to the forbidden tree. Why did God place the forbidden tree among all the others and warn Adam not to eat its fruit? Obviously there was nothing wrong with the fruit of the tree because when Adam and Eve ate its fruit no physical harm befell them, however Adam and Eve failed in the simplest of tests. The devil tricked them exactly in the same way he is tricking millions of Muslims today into disobeying the simplest of God's commands!

Satan's tricks are always the same, God Almighty has warned us that the devil will entice us with lies and illusions. In the case of Adam, the devil tricked him into believing that the fruit of the forbidden tree is better than the others saying:

"O Adam let me show you the tree of eternity and unending kingship" 20:120

Similarly, in the case of ablution the devil has enticed the millions into believing that there is a better way than the one prescribed by God! To make it more convincing, he has tricked us into believing that the prophet followed the 'improved ablution'! In reality the prophet is innocent of all these fabricated lies ascribed to him. There is no doubt whatsoever that the prophet must have followed God's commands of the Quran and nothing else.

If cleanliness was the issue exploited by Satan to instil his poison, we find that God has given us sufficient indications in the Quran to confirm that ablution is merely a test of obedience and not a matter of cleanliness, they are:

First: The parts of the body addressed in the Quranic ablution (5:6) are not the parts of the body that need cleansing the most (under the arm pits and genitals need more cleansing).

Second: Why did God command us to wash the faces, arms and feet but only wipe the heads? Since wiping the head does not really clean it, it must be taken as another indication from God to confirm that physical cleanliness is not the main issue, and that obeying God's simple commands is the real issue and test.

Third: The third confirmation is found in the following verse:

"………… if you are ill or travelling, or you had urinary or fecal-related excretion, or physically contacted the women, and you cannot find water, you shall observe 'Tayammum' (dry ablution), by touching clean dry soil, then wiping your faces and hands therewith." 4:43

The very important remark here is that he who has just been to the toilet or he who has just had sex with his wife really needs to wash his genitals and not his face and hands! However, and in the absence of water, the command from God is to wipe the face and the hands in dry ablution (which obviously will not clean the genitals). Once again this confirms that the whole issue of ablution is not one of physical cleanliness, but simply a test of obedience.

Sadly, this is the route taken by millions of Muslims throughout the world. Not only do they add their own regulations to God's simple commands, but they also add the most ridiculous conditions possible. Some will tell you that if the water slides from your elbow to your wrist that your ablution is void, and that the correct method is for the water to slide in the opposite direction, and some will say all sorts of other equally ridiculous arguments!

God tells us in the Quran two pieces of knowledge that come to mind in connection to the issue of ablution and the arguments of such people:

1- God has created us all, and thus he knows us perfectly well.  God knows that no matter how simple His commands may be, yet the human being will always argue unnecessarily …..

"We have cited in this Quran every kind of example, but the human being is the most argumentative creature."18:54

2- Note also the story of the people of Israel when they were commanded to sacrifice a heifer (young cow), but they went on dithering and demanding all sorts of unnecessary clarifications, when the command was very simple for them to execute (see Sura 2, verses 67-74)

Finally, we must also mention the word 'taharah' (purification) and its connection to the subject of ablution. Does 'taharah' mean physical cleanliness as many Muslims believe or does it have a different meaning?

Let us read some of the Quranic verses that speaks of 'taharah':

1- "The angels said, "O Mary, GOD has chosen you and 'tahharik' (purified you). He has chosen you from all the women."3:42

It is obvious here that God did not take Mary and physically clean her! The word 'tahharik' used here is related to spiritual purity.

2-  "Take from their money a charity to 'tuttaherahum' (purify them) and sanctify them." 9:103

Once again it is clear that this (command which is directed to the messenger), is to take a donation to charity from the believers so as to purify them spiritually (and not to clean them physically).

3- "God does not wish to 'yotahir qulubahum' (purify their hearts). They have incurred humiliation in this world, and in the Hereafter, they will suffer a terrible retribution." 5:41

Once again, the meaning here is of spiritual cleansing and not the physical cleansing of the heart.

The Quran stresses that the concept of 'taharah' (spiritual purity) is attained through worshipping God and submitting to His commands and to His Will ….. and not through scrubbing away at our limbs!

Through our obedience to God and His law (the command in 5:6 is one example) and without arguing, amending and altering His commands, we would indeed attain the 'taharah' (spiritual purity) that moves us closer to our God and our Creator.

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