and the wudu of the messengers before me." Narrated by Ibn Majah (16). Furthermore, the head is a foundation in purification, so it is Sunnah to repeat it, just like the face. Our evidence is that Abd Allah ibn Zayd described the wudu of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "He wiped his head once." This is agreed upon (17). It was also narrated from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he performed wudu and wiped his head once, saying: "This is the wudu of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Whoever wishes to see the purification of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) should look at this." Al-Tirmidhi said: "This is a hasan sahih hadith" (18). Similarly, Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa, Ibn Abbas (19), Salamah ibn al-Akwa', and al-Rubayyi' all described it, saying: "And he wiped his head once." Their accounts of the wudu of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) are reports of his regular practice, and one does not adhere to anything but the most excellent and complete way. The hadith of Ibn Abbas is an account of the wudu of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at night while he was in private, and in that state, he would only perform what is most excellent. Furthermore, it is a wiping in the context of purification, so its repetition is not Sunnah, like wiping in tayammum, wiping over a splint, and all other forms of wiping; and there is no authentic, explicit hadith from them to the contrary. Abu Dawud (20) said: "All the authentic hadiths of Uthman indicate that wiping the head is done once; for they mentioned wudu performed three times each, and said in them: 'And he wiped his head' (21), without mentioning a number, as they did for the other parts. As for the hadith in which it was mentioned: 'He wiped,'
(16) In: Chapter on what has been reported regarding wudu performed once, twice, and three times, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/145, 146. It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi in the Chapter on what has been reported regarding wudu performed three times each, from the Chapters of Purification; where he said: "Also in this chapter are narrations from Uthman, al-Rubayyi', Ibn Umar, Abu Umamah, Aisha, Abu Rafi', Abd Allah ibn Amr, Mu'awiyah, Abu Hurayrah, Jabir, Abd Allah ibn Zayd, and Ubayy." Aridat al-Ahwadhi 1/61. (17) Previously mentioned on page 170. (18) Aridat al-Ahwadhi 1/65. (19) The hadith of Ibn Abbas was recorded by al-Bukhari in: Chapter on wudu performed once, from the Book of Wudu. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/51. Also by al-Tirmidhi in: Chapter on what has been reported regarding wudu performed once, from the Chapters of Purification. Aridat al-Ahwadhi 1/59. And by Abu Dawud in: Chapter on wudu performed once, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/30. And by al-Nasa'i in: Chapter on wudu performed once, Chapter on wiping the ears, and Chapter on wiping the ears with the head, from the Book of Purification. Al-Mujtaba 1/54, 63. And by Ibn Majah in: Chapter on what has been reported regarding wudu performed once. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/59. And by al-Darimi in: Chapter on wudu performed once, from the Book of Purification. Sunan al-Darimi 1/177. And by Imam Ahmad in the Musnad 2/28, 39. (20) In: Chapter on the description of the wudu of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), from the Book of Purification. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/24, 25. (21) In manuscript M: "his head." The wording established in the original text and Sunan Abi Dawud is used.
