When I begin the ablution and wash my face, I doubt whether I mentioned the basmalah at the beginning or not?
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The questioner : When I begin the ablution and wash my face, I doubt whether I mentioned the basmalah at the beginning or not. I would like to know if it is obligatory for me to repeat the ablution or if I should continue to complete the ablution. May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : If a person doubts whether he said the basmalah during the ablution or not, he should say it at that moment, and that does not harm him in any way. This is because the most that can be said is that he forgot the basmalah at the beginning. If a person forgets the basmalah at the start of the ablution and then remembers it in the middle, he says it and builds upon what has already passed of his ablution. Moreover, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on whether the basmalah in the ablution is obligatory or a recommended practice.
The closer view is that it is a recommended practice and not obligatory, because the hadith reported regarding it was described by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) as: "Nothing is established in this chapter".
And all those who described the ablution of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention the basmalah, as far as we know. Therefore, the basmalah is a recommended practice; if a person performs it, that makes his ablution more complete, and if he does not perform it, his ablution is valid.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : If a person doubts whether he said the basmalah during the ablution or not, he should say it at that moment, and that does not harm him in any way. This is because the most that can be said is that he forgot the basmalah at the beginning. If a person forgets the basmalah at the start of the ablution and then remembers it in the middle, he says it and builds upon what has already passed of his ablution. Moreover, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on whether the basmalah in the ablution is obligatory or a recommended practice.
The closer view is that it is a recommended practice and not obligatory, because the hadith reported regarding it was described by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) as: "Nothing is established in this chapter".
And all those who described the ablution of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention the basmalah, as far as we know. Therefore, the basmalah is a recommended practice; if a person performs it, that makes his ablution more complete, and if he does not perform it, his ablution is valid.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.