The Shaykh of Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) says: It is not permissible for a person to exceed one sa' in his ghusl, and whoever exceeds it is an innovator. What is your opinion on this?
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The questioner : The Shaykh of Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says regarding ghusl that it is not permissible for a Muslim to exceed one sa' in his ghusl, and if he exceeds it, he is an innovator. What is your opinion of this statement?
The Shaykh : If he exceeds what?
The questioner : If he exceeds the sa' in ghusl, he is an innovator.
The Shaykh : Yes, we say that this is contrary to the Sunnah without a doubt. The increase was such that a mudd was sufficient for him, and he would perform wudu with it, and the sa' was 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 in wudu or ghusl. As for the specific limit of the sa' or the mudd, it is not intended in itself, because it is not a material limit. Rather, this should be taken into consideration. In fact, I mentioned this in some of my treatises, and it was one of the issues that this Abdullah al-Habashi, who is currently residing in Lebanon, raised against me. He claimed that this was strictness in the religion. But when I clarified that the intent of what came in the Sunnah regarding the limit of the sa' and the mudd, even in some hadiths—perhaps you remember this, he would perform wudu with a third of a mudd—do you remember this or not? Is that not so, Ya Ali?
Al-Halabi : Yes, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : 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 also think that Ibn Taymiyyah does not intend anything other than this, because the legal principle is [Al-Baqarah 2:286] , otherwise there is something else in it, or else it is time to leave.
The Shaykh : If he exceeds what?
The questioner : If he exceeds the sa' in ghusl, he is an innovator.
The Shaykh : Yes, we say that this is contrary to the Sunnah without a doubt. The increase was such that a mudd was sufficient for him, and he would perform wudu with it, and the sa' was 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 in wudu or ghusl. As for the specific limit of the sa' or the mudd, it is not intended in itself, because it is not a material limit. Rather, this should be taken into consideration. In fact, I mentioned this in some of my treatises, and it was one of the issues that this Abdullah al-Habashi, who is currently residing in Lebanon, raised against me. He claimed that this was strictness in the religion. But when I clarified that the intent of what came in the Sunnah regarding the limit of the sa' and the mudd, even in some hadiths—perhaps you remember this, he would perform wudu with a third of a mudd—do you remember this or not? Is that not so, Ya Ali?
Al-Halabi : Yes, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : 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 نهر جارAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يكلف الله نفسًا إلا وسعها
Source
www.al-albany.com
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