His first question states: I performed wudu in front of a person, washing my hands up to the middle of the upper arms and my feet up to the middle of the lower legs. He objected to my doing this, saying that whoever exceeds the limits of washing the limbs in wudu has transgressed the limit set by Allah and His Messenger.
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The questioner : In his first question, he states: I performed wudu in front of a person, washing my hands up to the middle of the upper arms and my feet up to the middle of the lower legs. He objected to my doing this, saying that whoever exceeds the limits of washing the limbs in wudu has transgressed the limit set by Allah and His Messenger. I told him that a hadith was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the meaning of which is that he said: "My Ummah will be called on the Day of Resurrection with bright faces and bright limbs from the traces of wudu, so whoever among you can lengthen his brightness, let him do so." He said this hadith is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I hope you will inform us about this. May Allah reward you abundantly.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for the hadith he mentioned, it is authentic and established in "al-Sahihayn" and others, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 136.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is established without doubt. As for his statement:Sahih Muslim 246b, the scholars of hadith have differed on this. Some said: It is from the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And some said: It is from the words of Abu Hurayrah. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) preferred this in his book "al-Nuniyyah", where he said:
"And Abu Hurayrah said this from his own bag, so tomorrow those with knowledge will distinguish it".
And based on this, the beginning of the hadith is from the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which is his saying:Sahih al-Bukhari 136.
As for the practical aspect, which is that this man who performed wudu exceeded the limit until he reached the middle of the upper arm and the middle of the lower leg, this is also a matter of disagreement among the scholars, based on the authenticity of the end of the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So whoever holds that it is from his saying says: It is recommended to go beyond the place of the obligation. And whoever holds that it is not from his saying says: Allah the Exalted specified in the Qur'an up to the ankles in the feet and up to the elbows in the hands, so we do not exceed what Allah the Exalted has specified. And likewise, the hadiths reported regarding the description of the wudu of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specify the hands up to the elbows and the feet up to the ankles. And the most that was reported in this, as far as I know, is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that he performed wudu and washed his hands until he reached the upper arms, and washed his feet until he reached the lower legs. And this "reaching" means that he went beyond the place, but not to this extent. And this is what Abu Hurayrah did; he mentioned that it was the wudu of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And based on this, what is recommended is to go slightly beyond the ankles and slightly beyond the elbows. And the benefit of that is: ensuring the washing of what Allah has obligated to be washed, up to the elbows and up to the ankles.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for the hadith he mentioned, it is authentic and established in "al-Sahihayn" and others, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
On the Day of Resurrection, my followers will be called "Al-Ghurr-ul- Muhajjalun" from the trace of ablution
إن أمتي يُدعون يوم القيامة غراً محجلين من أثر الوضوءThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is established without doubt. As for his statement:
so he who can increase the lustre of his forehead (and that of his hands and legs) should do so.
فمن استطاع منكم أن يُطيل غرته وتحجيله فليفعل"And Abu Hurayrah said this from his own bag, so tomorrow those with knowledge will distinguish it".
And based on this, the beginning of the hadith is from the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which is his saying:
On the Day of Resurrection, my followers will be called "Al-Ghurr-ul- Muhajjalun" from the trace of ablution
إن أمتي يُدعون يوم القيامة غراً محجلين من أثر الوضوءAs for the practical aspect, which is that this man who performed wudu exceeded the limit until he reached the middle of the upper arm and the middle of the lower leg, this is also a matter of disagreement among the scholars, based on the authenticity of the end of the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So whoever holds that it is from his saying says: It is recommended to go beyond the place of the obligation. And whoever holds that it is not from his saying says: Allah the Exalted specified in the Qur'an up to the ankles in the feet and up to the elbows in the hands, so we do not exceed what Allah the Exalted has specified. And likewise, the hadiths reported regarding the description of the wudu of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specify the hands up to the elbows and the feet up to the ankles. And the most that was reported in this, as far as I know, is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that he performed wudu and washed his hands until he reached the upper arms, and washed his feet until he reached the lower legs. And this "reaching" means that he went beyond the place, but not to this extent. And this is what Abu Hurayrah did; he mentioned that it was the wudu of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And based on this, what is recommended is to go slightly beyond the ankles and slightly beyond the elbows. And the benefit of that is: ensuring the washing of what Allah has obligated to be washed, up to the elbows and up to the ankles.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.