Chapter: One who trims his hair and nails while in a state of wudu'

• Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about a man who trims his hair and nails: should he pass water over them? He said: "There is no harm [in not doing so]."

• And I also asked Ahmad, saying: "The man trims his hair and nails while he is in a state of wudu'?" He replied: "If he passes water over them, that is more beloved to me, and if he does not do so, it suffices him."

• I heard Ishaq say: "If a man trims his hair and nails while having performed wudu', it is more beloved to me that he passes water over them, and performing wudu' after doing so is even better; because if his wudu' were to be invalidated due to what he trimmed from the areas of wudu', then some of his wudu' would have been from an hour ago, and some of it would be from now, when he passes water over them. This is not the wudu' [performed by] people, but I hope that if he does not pass water over them and does not perform wudu', that it is permissible, just as Ibn 'Umar said to the one who asked him: 'Should I perform wudu' after clipping my nails?' He replied: 'You are cleverer than the one whom his mother named Kaysan [Clever].'"

217 - Ishaq narrated to us, he said: al-Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman narrated to us, he said: I heard Layth narrating from Mujahid that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib—may Allah honor his countenance—would perform wudu' when he clipped his nails or trimmed his mustache, and he would perform ghusl if he was cupped.