Perform your ablutions thoroughly… inhaling deeply unless you are fasting.”

Abû Hurayrah relates that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Perform your ablutions thoroughly, running your fingers through each other, and inhaling the water deeply unless you are fasting.” This hadîth is related in Sunan al-Tirmidhî, Sunan Abî Dâwûd, Sunan al-Nasâ’î al-Kubrâ, Sunan Ibn Mâjah, Sahîh Ibn Khuzaymah, Mustadrak al-Hâkim and Musnad Ahmad, among other sources. It is an authentic hadîth. It has been determined to be authentic by a number of hadîth authorities. Al-Tirmidhî declared it “a good and authentic hadîth”. [Sûnan al-Tirmidhî (3/129)] It has also been authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibbân, al-Hâkim, al-Baghawi, al-Nawawî, Ibn al-Mulaqqin, Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalâni, and others. The meaning of the hadîth: The story behind this hadîth is that Laqît b. Sabirah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) as part of the delegation from the tribe of Banû Muntafiq and asked him about how to perform wudû’. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied by making this statement. [Sunan Abî Dâwûd (142)] Inhaling the water deeply means to do so until it reaches the very back of the nasal cavity. Its legal implications: This hadîth indicates the ruling of istinshâq that we have already discussed in the article “Then he rinsed his mouth and inhaled and exhaled water…”. This hadîth also introduces the ruling on inhaling deeply when doing so, since the Prophet (peace be upon him) is here commanding us to do so, and a command is generally assumed to indicate obligation. However, Ibn Qudâmah says: “This is a Sunnah act that is preferred for wudû’ except for one who is fasting. In that case, it is not preferred. We do not know of any difference of opinion about this matter.” [al-Mughnî (1/147)] Likewise, al-Nawawî says: “Inhaling deeply and taking water to the back of the mouth when rinsing it are both preferred acts, about which there is no difference of opinion.” [al-Majmu` (1/356)] The Prophet’s words: “unless you are fasting” indicate to use that inhaling deeply is not obligatory. If inhaling deeply had been obligatory, we would have been required to carry out this obligation with care while fasting, so as not to break our fasts, since we can easily do so without allowing water to reach the throat. Indeed, one of the rulings of fasting is that if a person does inhale water deeply without letting it reach his throat, then his fast is intact. The non-obligatory nature of inhaling deeply in wudû’ is further emphasized by the fact that the instruction not to do so when we are fasting is general for all fasts, those that are voluntary as well as those that are obligatory. If inhaling deeply were an obligatory act of wudû’, we would not be able to leave it off on account of our voluntary fasts. Obligatory acts of worship are not dispensed with to facilitate voluntary ones. Also, none of the hadîth that describe the Prophet’s wudu’ mention that he inhaled deeply. The texts simply mentioned that he inhaled water into his nostrils and that he rinsed his mouth. This supports the interpretation that the command to inhale deeply that was given to Laqît was a recommendation and not an obligation. Some benefits of this hadîth: 1. The hadîth indicates that it is obligatory for us to perform our ablutions thoroughly, since the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded this. Thoroughness in wudû’ means that water must reach all the parts of the body that it is obligatory to wash. We must wash our faces thoroughly. Our hands and forearms must be completely washed to the elbows. Our feet must be washed completely. Likewise, those jurists who subscribe to the view that the head must be wiped thoroughly in wudû’ would regard it as also being included in this instruction. There is, however, another meaning to thoroughness in performing our ablutions – in which this thoroughness is a recommended act – and that is for us to take care to carry out our ablutions as perfectly and completely as possible without going to any excesses which would be at variance with the Sunnah. A person who washes each limb completely three times and who takes care to observe all the Sunnah acts of wudû’ is one who has performed his ablutions thoroughly. The opposite of a thorough wudû’ according to this understanding would be a “light” wudû’, like what Ibn `Abbâs said on thenight that he stayed at his aunt Maymûnah’s house and observed the Prophet’s wudû’: “He performed his ablutions from a suspended waterskin and made a light wudû’.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (138)] 2. The hadîth also points to the practice of running our fingers through each other when performing wudû’. This act, according to the strongest opinion, is a recommended act of wudû.’