What is your opinion regarding the statement of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah that it is not permissible for a Muslim to exceed one sa' in his ghusl, and that whoever exceeds it is an innovator?
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The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says regarding ghusl that it is not permissible for a Muslim to exceed one sa' in his ghusl, and that whoever exceeds it is an innovator. What is your opinion of this statement?
The Shaykh : Exceed what?
The questioner : Exceeding one sa' in ghusl, he is an innovator.
The Shaykh : Ah, we say this is contrary to the Sunnah without a doubt. The excess means that the mudd is sufficient for him, and he washes with it in wudu, and the sa' for ghusl. But this is without a doubt intended to encourage the Muslim to avoid extravagance, because precise measurement is not possible. What is possible is for the Muslim to keep frugality in spending water in mind, whether that is in wudu or in ghusl. As for the specific measurement indicated by the sa' or the mudd, it is not intended in itself, because it is not a material count. Rather, it should be considered in that regard. And the truth is, I mentioned this in some of my treatises, and it was one of the issues that Abdullah al-Habashi, who is currently residing in Lebanon, raised against me. He claimed that this is strictness in the religion. But when I clarified that the intent of what came in the Sunnah regarding the measurement by the sa' and the mudd, even in some hadiths—perhaps you remember this: a third of the mudd. Do you remember this or not? Is that not so, Ya Ali, or...
The student : Yes, O Shaykh, it is true.
The Shaykh : Yes, so the intent of this is to accustom the Muslim to applying the meaning of the famous hadith, even if there is weakness in its chain, which is: This is the intent of this hadith. And I think—also—that Ibn Taymiyyah does not intend anything other than this; because the legal principle is: [Al-Baqarah 2:286].
The questioner : He is the one who transmitted it from Ibn Taymiyyah.
The student : Yes.
The Shaykh : Is there anything else from him?
The questioner : Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says regarding ghusl that it is not permissible for a Muslim to exceed one sa' in his ghusl, and that whoever exceeds it is an innovator. What is your opinion of this statement?
The Shaykh : Exceed what?
The questioner : Exceeding one sa' in ghusl, he is an innovator.
The Shaykh : Ah, we say this is contrary to the Sunnah without a doubt. The excess means that the mudd is sufficient for him, and he washes with it in wudu, and the sa' for ghusl. But this is without a doubt intended to encourage the Muslim to avoid extravagance, because precise measurement is not possible. What is possible is for the Muslim to keep frugality in spending water in mind, whether that is in wudu or in ghusl. As for the specific measurement indicated by the sa' or the mudd, it is not intended in itself, because it is not a material count. Rather, it should be considered in that regard. And the truth is, I mentioned this in some of my treatises, and it was one of the issues that Abdullah al-Habashi, who is currently residing in Lebanon, raised against me. He claimed that this is strictness in the religion. But when I clarified that the intent of what came in the Sunnah regarding the measurement by the sa' and the mudd, even in some hadiths—perhaps you remember this:
He used to perform wudu with a third
كان يوضئه الثلثThe student : Yes, O Shaykh, it is true.
The Shaykh : Yes, so the intent of this is to accustom the Muslim to applying the meaning of the famous hadith, even if there is weakness in its chain, which is:
Beware of extravagance with water, even if you are on a flowing river
إياك والإسراف في الماء ولو كنت على نهرٍ جارٍAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَاThe questioner : He is the one who transmitted it from Ibn Taymiyyah.
The student : Yes.
The Shaykh : Is there anything else from him?
Source
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