Is it a legal stratagem for a person to perform wudu' when he does not need to, in order to pray the two rak'ahs of the wudu' sunnah and make du'a' while prostrating at 'Arafah?

The questioner: I mean, my Shaykh, I saw a student of knowledge at 'Arafah, and the people were standing at 'Arafah, and he went to perform wudu' so that he could pray two rak'ahs of the wudu' sunnah and make du'a' while prostrating. Is this action prescribed? I mean, deliberately performing wudu' when one does not need to, is this considered a legal stratagem like this?

The Shaykh: So that I understand you, Abu Anas, why did he perform wudu'?

The questioner: He performed wudu' so that he could make permissible for himself the prayer of two rak'ahs of the wudu' sunnah.

The Shaykh: And was he not in a state of wudu', or was he in a state of wudu'?

The questioner: It seems to me that he was in a state of wudu'.

The Shaykh: No, this phrase "it seems to me" is not... correct, because it ruins your question.

The questioner: And I, my Shaykh, approximately discussed this issue with him.

The Shaykh: No.

The questioner : Approximately.

The Shaykh: No, don't go on, this is a sister of that.
The student: Approximately this one.

The questioner: That is to say ...

The Shaykh: Let's go back...

The questioner: The case is from years ago, I do not remember all its details.

The Shaykh: May Allah forgive you, and we mean, you burdened yourself by putting yourself in a rabbit hole, you are the one who...

The questioner: It is a rabbit hole that fits me, my Shaykh, if it fits me.

The Shaykh: This is what is confusing, this is what is confusing.

The questioner: Even if they entered a rabbit hole, but praise be to Allah, it does not fit me.

The Shaykh: This is a response to you in a question now, embarrassing for whoever fits?

The questioner: This is not embarrassing, this is a Shaykh who does not fit except in a tight squeeze.

The Shaykh: Yes, you now need to rephrase the question in a way that can be answered, rather than saying "by Allah, the issue is old and maybe like this and approximately" and so on. I, this does not solve the problem. This is why he performed wudu'? In the name of Allah.

The questioner: I discussed it with him, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh: I am waiting for the answer.

The questioner: Yes, I discussed with him why he did this, and he said it is permissible, and I performed wudu' to pray two rak'ahs and make du'a' in my prostration.

The Shaykh: This is a deviation from the answer.

The questioner: My Shaykh, a question.

The Shaykh: May Allah forgive you, how many times do I have to repeat the question.

The questioner: What is predominant in my opinion is that he was in a state of wudu'.

The Shaykh: This is another deviation.

The questioner: No, my Shaykh, I am reporting based on the predominant opinion.

The Shaykh: It is based on the predominant opinion.

The questioner: I can say that he was in a state of wudu'.

The Shaykh: This is not the answer to the question, may Allah guide you, as evidenced by the fact that Abu Anas, no one else said, what was the question? The one who asks, what was the question, says an answer and the answer to the question, meaning it would be an error in any case, because if he is remembering the question, why would his question be "what was the question?" And if he is truthful, and he is undoubtedly truthful in saying what the question is, then the answer is not valid.
The student : Correct.

The Shaykh: May Allah forgive you, Abu Anas.

The questioner : O Allah, amen.

The Shaykh: Repeat the question.

The questioner: Be quiet, brothers, be quiet.
The student: Amen.

The Shaykh: Why did he perform wudu'?

The questioner: He performed wudu', my Shaykh, in order to pray two rak'ahs and make du'a' in his prostration.

The Shaykh: May Allah forgive you, we know that he was in a state of wudu'.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: Like that, Abu Anas claimed this, so the question comes: why did this person in a state of wudu' perform wudu'? Abu Anas does not know.

The questioner: I know, my Shaykh, because I discussed it with him.
The student: Okay, answer.

The Shaykh: There is no power nor strength except with Allah.

The questioner: I discussed it with him, and he said, I performed wudu' in order to pray two rak'ahs of the wudu' sunnah.

The Shaykh: Let's give the turn to Abu al-Harith now.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh: Let's see what he has.
Al-Halabi: It occurs to me, my Shaykh, that the brother whom our brother Abu Anas discussed with assumes that prayer is not prescribed on the Day of 'Arafah, and therefore he invented this innovation of the wudu' sunnah prayer so that he could make du'a' to his Lord in his prostration.

The Shaykh: I think Abu Anas will not agree with you, or that he was not with you.
The student: He was not with me, repeat, Abu Anas?

The questioner: I am with you.

The Shaykh: But you are not with him, you are with us, but you are not with him, in what he said.

The questioner: I think Abu al-Harith hit the mark in this...
The student: Were you after Fajr or before Fajr or?

The questioner: No, in the daytime, meaning the people were occupied with du'a' and he deliberately did this.

The Shaykh: Abu Faris.
The student : Please, Shaykh.

The Shaykh: We need to see you, my brother.
The student: I am here, I am done.

The Shaykh: Or if you saw me.
The student : May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh: But I did not see you.
The student: This is a session until we see you and hear you.

The Shaykh : Welcome.
The student: You don't say.

The Shaykh: If you agree with the depiction of our brother Abu al-Harith of the thought of that person who performed wudu' on top of wudu', what is the evidence that this is the case, and not, for example, acting on the hadith that has no basis ? If I told you he did it like that, what is your evidence? Tell me: No, he did not do it for this, but for what Abu al-Harith said? You have no evidence, and we will prove your uniqueness, you and Abu al-Harith, that the second one has no evidence in what he said.

The questioner: Okay, my Shaykh, we need an answer to this...

The Shaykh: I cannot answer until you tell me why, I answered you just now, I answered you that he performed wudu' on the basis of "light upon light," answer now, you.

The questioner: On the basis of "light upon light," but I saw him prostrating a long prostration, almost half an hour, and he was making du'a'.

The Shaykh : Even if.

The questioner : Even if.

The Shaykh : Hmm.

The questioner: This is what makes the opinion predominant in my mind, because he did this in order to perform voluntary prayer and make du'a' in his prostration.

The Shaykh: My brother, nothing prevents him, he is in a state of wudu'.

The questioner: This is the one who wants an answer: is this action considered prescribed or not prescribed?

The Shaykh: Of course, wudu' on top of wudu' is not prescribed, this is settled, but we need to see why he did this thing? If he said, for example, I did it with the cause that I invented, that he said - may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him - : We tell him: this hadith has no basis, and what you did is not prescribed, but he may come to us with another explanation, there may be another explanation other than what our brother Abu al-Harith supported you with, or is that not possible?

The questioner: It is possible, it may be another explanation that I do not know about.

The Shaykh: Ah, and then the first explanation, you do not know it either, and here we are lost, at the beginning and the end, okay, the end you do not know it, and the beginning you knew it? You did not know it, this is a problem.

The questioner: There is no power nor strength except with Allah.

The Shaykh: This is the science of theology.
Al-Halabi: This is the fallacy, my Shaykh, they call it.

The questioner : That is the problem.