The Obligatory and Recommended Acts of Ablution

Question:
His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz, we have received two letters from Sa'id ibn Muhammad from the Sultanate of Oman, and Salim Muhammad Salim also agreed with Sa'id ibn Muhammad from the Sultanate of Oman on the question. We begin with Sa'id's letter from the Sultanate of Oman, which contains several questions:
First: He praises the efforts of the shaykhs and asks for long life for them to increase in righteous deeds. He says: Define for us the obligatory and recommended acts of ablution?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his guidance. As for what follows:
Indeed, Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) prescribed ablution for His servants when they intend to pray. He, the Exalted, said: [Surat al-Ma'idah: 6], this verse. This indicates the obligation of performing the prescribed ablution in light of what the noble verse mentioned. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained this through his action (peace and blessings be upon him), so it indicates that it is necessary for anyone who stands to pray to perform the prescribed ablution if he is not in a state of ritual purity. This is as Allah clarified: washing the face, then washing the hands with the elbows, then wiping the head, then washing the feet. This is obligatory, and the obligatory act is done once.
The recommended practice is to wash his hands three times before putting them into the vessel, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified. So he washes his hands three times, meaning his palms, then he begins the ablution. It is recommended to precede the washing of the hands with the invocation, so he says: In the name of Allah, before he washes his hands.
The majority of scholars hold that it is a recommended practice, and some scholars held that the invocation is obligatory with the remembrance, and it is dropped in cases of ignorance and forgetfulness; because it was reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: This is a hadith with various chains, and there is weakness in them, but their totality indicates that it has a basis and that it is good. It is recommended for anyone who intends to perform ablution to invoke Allah when he begins by washing his hands, then he rinses his mouth and sniffs water, then he washes his face, from the hairline at the top to the chin at the bottom, and across to the tips of the ears. This is the face, so he washes it entirely. Then he washes his hands to the elbows, and the meaning of "to" is "with," meaning: with the elbows. His action (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates this, for he used to wash his hands until he began to wash the upper arm, meaning he washed his elbows with the forearm. Then he wipes his head with his ears, as the Sunnah came. This is also obligatory. Then he washes his feet to the ankles, meaning: with the ankles. His action (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates this; for he used to wash his feet until he began to wash the lower legs, as Muslim narrated in the Sahih from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah.
This is the obligatory ablution: washing the face with rinsing the mouth and sniffing water once, washing the hands with the elbows once, wiping the head with the ears once, washing the feet with the ankles once. This is the obligatory part. If he repeats it twice, it is better and a recommended practice. If he repeats it three times, it is more complete and more perfect, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified in his work and action (peace and blessings be upon him). He rinses his mouth and sniffs water once, and this is obligatory. If he repeats the rinsing and sniffing three times, this is more complete and better.
Then after that, he says: This is how it came in the authentic hadith, and this is a recommended practice, after finishing. He says: Muslim narrated it in his Sahih from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) , from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: or he said: This is a great virtue. This is a great virtue in this testimony after the ablution. It is recommended to add: ; because al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it with a sound chain from al-Mughirah with this addition.
And by this, the obligatory and recommended acts of ablution are known. So the invocation at the beginning of ablution is a recommended practice. Repeating the rinsing and sniffing twice or three times is a recommended practice. Washing the face more than once is a recommended practice. Washing the hands with the elbows once is obligatory. Repeating that twice or three times is a recommended practice. Wiping the head with the ears is obligatory, and repetition is not prescribed. Washing the feet with the ankles once is obligatory. Repeating that twice or three times is a recommended practice. The testimony after the ablution and the supplication is a recommended practice, as mentioned above. Yes.