17 - Issue: He said: (And mentioning the name of Allah [tasmiyah] at the time of wudu').

The apparent position of the school of Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him, is that the tasmiyah is a sunnah in all [purifications from hadath]. A group of his companions narrated this from him. Al-Khallal said: The position upon which the narrations from him have settled is that there is no harm in it, meaning if one leaves the tasmiyah. This is the opinion of al-Thawri, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Abu Ubaydah, Ibn al-Mundhir, and the scholars of opinion (ashab al-ra'y). Another narration from him states that it is obligatory in all of them: wudu', ghusl, and tayammum. This is the choice of Abu Bakr, and the school of al-Hasan and Ishaq, because it was narrated that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "There is no wudu' for one who does not mention the name of Allah over it." It was recorded by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi (2), and it was narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) by a group of his companions. Imam Ahmad said: The hadith of Abu Sa'id (3) is the best hadith in this chapter. Al-Tirmidhi said: The hadith of Sa'id ibn Zayd is the best. This is a negation within an indefinite construction (nafyun fi nakirah) which necessitates that one's wudu' is not valid without (4) the tasmiyah. The reasoning for the first narration is that it is a purification, therefore it does not require tasmiyah, like purification from impurity, or it is an act of devotion, so the tasmiyah is not mandatory in it, like other acts of devotion; and because the basic principle is the absence of obligation, and it is only established by the Lawgiver. Regarding the hadiths, Ahmad said: No hadith is established in this matter, and I do not know of any hadith concerning it (5) that has a good chain of transmission (isnad jayyid). Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad (6) said: Abu Abd Allah weakened the hadith regarding the tasmiyah, and said: The strongest thing in it is the hadith of Kathir [ibn Zayd] (7), from...