Meaning of “Three” in Wudu
An-Nawawi said that “three times” means to wash the whole part of the body, not just part of it. It is important for the one making wudu to be careful with using water and not be wasteful. Some scholars have reported consensus on the prohibition of wasting water. Al-Nawawi said the scholars have agreed on the prohibition of wasting water, even if someone is on the bank of a river. (Sharh al-Nawawi ala Sahih Muslim 3/109, Sharh al-Nawawi ala Muslim 4/2)
The Ruling of the Four Madhhahib
It is disliked to go beyond three times in wudu, and this is agreed upon by all four madhhahib.
- Hanafi: Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/132, Fath al-Qadir by Kamal Ibn al-Humam 1/36. Ibn Abidin said if someone thinks that going beyond three is a sunnah, then he has transgressed and acted unjustly, because he considers something that is not a form of worship to be a form of worship. That is why our scholars took the prohibition to mean this, so in that case it is forbidden.
- Maliki: Al-Sharh al-Kabir by al-Dardir, Hashiyat al-Dusuqi 1/102.
- Shafiʿi: Mughni al-Muhtaj by al-Shirbini 1/59, Asna al-Matalib by al-Ansari 1/39.
- Hanbali: Talib Uli al-Nuha by al-Ruhaybani 1/97, Al-Udda Sharh al-Umda by Baha al-Din al-Maqdisi p. 35.
A consensus has been reported about this. Ad-Darimi mentioned in Al-Istidhkar that some people said it breaks wudu, just like if someone adds to the prayer, but this is a clear mistake. Ash-Shawkani said there is no disagreement that increasing beyond three is disliked.
(Hashiyat Ibn Abidin 1/132, Fath al-Qadir 1/36, Al-Sharh al-Kabir by al-Dardir, Hashiyat al-Dusuqi 1/102, Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/59, Asna al-Matalib 1/39, Talib Uli al-Nuha 1/97, Al-Udda Sharh al-Umda p. 35, Al-Majmu 1/440, Nayl al-Awtar 1/173)
Proofs from the Sunnah, It Is Disliked To Wash More Than Three Times
From Amr ibn Shuayb, from his father, from his grandfather: A Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him about wudu, so he showed him three times for each part, then he said, “This is how wudu is, so whoever increases beyond this has done badly, transgressed, and acted unjustly.”
From Abdullah ibn Mughaffal, may Allah be pleased with him: I heard the Prophet, say, “There will be in this ummah people who go to excess in purification and in supplication.” (Narrated by Abu Dawud 135 and 96, Al-Nasa’i 140, Ibn Majah 422 and 3864, Ahmad 6684 and 16842, Al-Nawawi in Al-Majmu 1/418 and 2/190, Ibn Daqiq in Al-Ilmam 1/66, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Hadi in Al-Muharrar 46, Ibn al-Mulaqqin in Al-Badr al-Munir 2/143 and 2/599, Al-Shawkani in Al-Darari al-Madiyyah 47, Ibn Hajar in Al-Talkhis al-Habir 1/121 and 1/223, Ahmad Shakir in Musnad Ahmad 10/163, Ibn Baz in Fatawa Nur ala al-Darb 5/46, Al-Albani in Sahih Sunan Abi Dawud 135 and 96, Ibn Kathir in Tafsir al-Qur’an 3/425)
Second: That the Prophet ﷺ, performed wudu once for each limb, as is in the hadith of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them. (Narrated by Sunan An Nasai 80)
He performed wudu twice for each limb, as is in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him. (Narrated by Al-Bukhari 158)
He performed wudu three times for each limb, as is in the hadith of Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه . (Narrated by Al-Bukhari 164)
The point of evidence: It has not been reported that the Prophet ﷺ, ever increased beyond three in his wudu, so increasing beyond this would be going beyond the action of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
Al-Bukhari said the beginning of the book of Wudu: The Prophet, made clear that the obligatory wudu is once for each limb, and he also did wudu twice and three times, but he did not increase beyond three. The people of knowledge disliked wasting in it and going beyond what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
Translation: The scholars have agreed that it is disliked to go beyond three washings, and what is meant by three is that which fully covers the body part. As for when the body part is not fully covered except with two handfuls of water, then that counts as one washing. If someone is uncertain whether he washed three times or only twice, he should consider it to be two and perform a third washing.
This is the correct view, which the majority of our companions have held. Al-Juwayni, one of our companions, said that he should count it as three and not add more out of fear of committing an innovation by performing a fourth. However, the first view is the one that aligns with the proper principles. The fourth washing is only considered an innovation and disliked when it is deliberately done as a fourth. And Allah knows best.
Sharh Sahih Muslim By An Nawawi (3/109)
Shaykh Ibn Baz is saying that it is not allowed to wash any limb in wudu more than three times. He explains that the Prophet ﷺ washed each limb no more than three times, and this is the Sunnah. It is allowed to wash each limb once or twice, or some limbs once, some twice, and some three times. But to go beyond three washes for any limb is not allowed, and the Prophet ﷺ warned against this by saying: “Whoever goes beyond this has done wrong, transgressed, and acted unjustly.”
Ibn Baz makes it clear that:
- Washing more than three times is considered wrong, transgression, and injustice.
- The limit is on complete washes, not the number of handfuls or scoops of water. If a person needs more than one scoop to wash a limb properly, that is fine, as long as the actual washing is not done more than three times.
- The head should only be wiped once, according to the Sunnah.
Question: is it allowed for a muslim to increase the number of times he rinses his nose beyond three if he has a cold, or is this considered going against the sunnah?
Shayk Bin Baz said: This is not allowed, because the messenger ﷺ did wudu three times for each part. He rinsed his mouth and nose three times, washed his face three times, washed his hands three times, wiped his head once and his ears once, and washed his feet three times each. This is the sunnah, that one is satisfied with three times.
If someone does wudu once for each part, or twice for each part, there is no problem, for the prophet ﷺ did that. Or if someone washes some parts once and some parts twice, or some parts twice and some parts three times, all of that is allowed, there is no harm in it.
But to do more than that is not allowed. It has been established from him ﷺ that when he made wudu and someone asked him about wudu, he taught him, then said, “Whoever does more has done badly, gone beyond the limits, and wronged.” This was narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi and others, and its chain is authentic. It shows that increasing beyond what is allowed is not permissible. He said, “has done badly, gone beyond the limits, and wronged,” and doing wrong and going beyond the limits is not allowed.
So, the result is that the hadith mentioned shows that it is not allowed to do more than the perfect completion that the prophet ﷺ did, which is three times. That means to wash each part fully three times, not to take water three times. What is meant is the washing, not the scooping of water. So if a person scooped water twice for each wash and ended up with six scoops, that would not be considered doing wrong.
The one who is wrong is the one who has fully washed a limb and then does more than three full washes. But if he washes his foot, for example, with one scoop but the wash is not complete, so he needs a second scoop to finish washing his foot, then washes it a second time, then a third time, even if the number of scoops increases, that does not matter.
What matters is that each wash is complete, then a second, then a third, and not more than three. The same applies to the face and the hands. As for the head, the sunnah is that it is wiped only once, and this is what is preserved in the authentic narrations, that it is wiped once with the ears. Yes.
Fatawa Nur Ala Darb (5/46)
