Encyclopedia of Prophetic Hadiths

The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution by washing the body parts twice.

I was the leader of or among the delegation of Banu al-Muntafiq that came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When we arrived, we did not find him in his house. We found ‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, there. He said: She ordered that a dish called Khazīrah be prepared for us, and it was. He said: And a tray containing dates was presented to us. Then, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came and asked: "Has anything been served to you or ordered for you?" He said: We replied: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: While we were sitting in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), a shepherd suddenly drove his herd of sheep to their fold. He had with him a newly-born lamb that was crying. He (the Prophet) asked him: "What did it bear, O so-and-so?" He replied: An ewe. He said: "Slaughter for us a sheep in place of it." Then, he said: "Do not think that we are slaughtering it for you. We have one hundred sheep and we do not want their number to increase. So, whenever an ewe is born, we slaughter a sheep in its place." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, I have a wife who has something (wrong) in her tongue, i.e., she is foul-mouthed. He said: "Then divorce her." I said: O Messenger of Allah, we have been together for a long time, and I have children from her. He said: "Then, command her," meaning: advise her. "If there is goodness in her, she will comply. And do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl." I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me about ablution. He said: "Perform ablution thoroughly, pass your fingers through each other, and sniff water well into your nose unless you are fasting."

I witnessed 'Amr ibn Abi Hasan asking 'Abdullah ibn Zayd about the ablution of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), so he asked for a vessel of water and performed ablution like that of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in front of them. He poured water from the vessel on his hand, washing his hands thrice. Then, he put his hand inside the vessel, rinsed his mouth, sniffed water, and blew it out with three handfuls. He put his hand in the water again and washed his face thrice. Then, he washed his hands twice up to the elbows, after which he put his hand in the water and wiped over his head, bringing them to the front and the back of his head once. Then, he washed his feet up to the ankles.

"There is no Muslim who performs ablution well and then stands and prays two Rak‘ahs while focused on them with his heart and his face, except that Paradise will be guaranteed for him." I said: "What a fine thing this is!" Thereupon, I heard someone in front of me saying: "What he said before it was even finer." I looked and it was ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, who said: "I see that you have just come." He said: "If anyone of you performs ablution thoroughly and then says, 'I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the servant and Messenger of Allah', the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him and he may enter from whichever of them he wishes."