Wiping The Head Once during Ablution Is a Sunnah!
Majalahnabawi.com – Wiping the head, or mashu al ra’s, is one of the essential elements or obligatory actions in ablution. In Indonesia, muslims often wipe their heads three times because they perceive it as a recommended practice (sunnah). However, the foremost recommended practice regarding wiping the head is to do it only once.
The Hanafis said that it is best to wipe a head once. Abu Bakr al-Razi al-Jashas in Sharh Mukhtashar al-Thahawi said:
الأفضل غسل أعضاء الوضوء ثلاث إلا الرأس فواحدة
“The most emphasized practice is to wash each limb three times during ablution, except for the head, for which the most emphasized practice is to do it only once.” (Abu Bakr al-Razi al-Jashas, Syarh Mukhtashar al-Thahawi, Volume 1, 313)
There are some people from the Hanafis also said, the best thing to do wipe the head is three times. This is a statement narrated by al-Hasan ibn Ziyad. But this opinion is a ghairu masyhur or not well known according to them.
The Hanafi scholars rely on hadiths narrated by several companions, including Sayyidina Ali, Utsman, Ibn Abbas, and Rubayyi’ binti Mu’awwidz, as evidence for this practice. These hadiths state that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed ablution three times for each limb during the ablution process but only wiped the head once.
The hadith narrated by Sayyidina ‘Ali it can be found in at Sunan al-Nasa’i:
عن عبد خير قال: أتينا علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه وقد صلى، فدعا بطهور فقلنا: ما يصنع به وقد صلى؟ ما يريد إلا ليعلمنا، فأتي بإناء فيه ماء وطست فأفرغ من الإناء على يديه فغسلها ثلاثا، ثم تمضمض واستنشق ثلاثا من الكف الذي يأخذ به الماء، ثم غسل وجهه ثلاثا، وغسل يده اليمنى ثلاثا ويده الشمال ثلاثا، ومسح برأسه مرة واحدة، ثم غسل رجله اليمنى ثلاثا ورجله الشمال ثلاثا، ثم قال: من سره أن يعلم وضوء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فهو هذا
Abd Khair said: “We came to Ali ibn Abi Talib, and he had already prayed. He asked for water for ablution. We inquired, ‘What will he do with it when he has already prayed?,He replied, ‘He only wants to teach us.’ then he brought a container with water and a basin. He poured water from the container onto his hands, washing them three times. Then, he rinsed and sniffed water from the palms of his hands three times. After that, he washed his face three times, his right hand three times, and his left hand three times. He wiped his head once, then washed his right foot three times and his left foot three times. After completing this, he said, ‘Whoever is pleased to know the ablution of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, should perform it like this.'”
That hadith indicates Sayyidina Ali performed ablution, washing each limb three times, while wiping the head only once. Similar narrations with almost the same redaction it’s can be found in the hadiths narrated by Sayyidina Utsman, Ibn Abbas, and Rubayyi’. These hadiths are available in the books Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan al-Tirmidzi, and Sunan al-Daroquthni.
Translator: Khoerul Mizan Isnaban
