Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
Purpose of Wudu? |
---|
Anonymous |
10/25/01 at 17:12:51 |
salam, my question is: what is the purpose of doing wudu? one of my friends saw me doing wudu in the bathroom at school today, and was curious if the focus was more symbolic rather than hygenic. Is this true? Does it have anything to do w/ intentions? since intention has an important role in our faith, is it simply an act showing the intention of the upcoming prayer? If anyone has an answer, jazakallah in advance :) |
Re: Purpose of Wudu? |
---|
bhaloo |
10/25/01 at 23:51:49 |
slm Regarding wudu (ablution) in Fiqh-us-Sunnah, volume 1, number 25a this is mentioned. Part of Islamic law This is proven from the three major sources of Islamic law: 1. The Qur'an. Says Allah in the Qur'an, "O you who believe, when you rise for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles (al-Mai'dah 6). 2. The Sunnah. Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Allah does not accept the prayer of one who nullified his ablution until he performs it again." (Related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi.) 3. The Consensus. There is a consensus of scholarly opinion that ablution is part of Islamic law. Therefore, it is a recognized fact of the religion. ;============== Something similiar is mentioned in the Distinguished Jurist's Primer Volume 1 (Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid), pg.2 |
Re: Purpose of Wudu? |
---|
Merimda |
10/26/01 at 00:00:20 |
Salam, I found this in the archives of Islam on-line. Hope this helps. http://www.islam-online.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=8144 |
Re: Purpose of Wudu? |
---|
Anonymous |
10/26/01 at 22:25:06 |
When one grows up as a Muslim wudu becomes second nature. One learns early on what constitutes Wudu and what what nullifies it, what actions require wudu and for what actions it is recommended. Now as a grown up, I have come to realize that this is infact a useful knowledge and a great discipline to a whole field of Cleanliness “tahara”, which is an important aspect of the essential teachings of Islam. During my desperate years of Job hunting, I was told that I should make a habit of waking up early, take a shower, and dress well before making those calls. I wondered how the other person on the other side of the phone would be able to tell how I looked. It has become clear that it had nothing to do with my cleanliness or how I looked. What it really did was that it made me feel positive and good about myself and that would come out in my conversation on the phone. In short, my behaviour affected my thinking. In regard to wudu acknowledging that one is entering into a state of being in the presence of God time to prepare. So the act of purifying one's self physically helps one to be in a frame of mind in which it is easier, to purify oneself spiritually. Now mechanics of wudu is interesting to observe. What is highlighted is the hands, the mouth, the nose, the face (eyes), the head, the ears and the legs. These are my faculties of speech, intellect, sight, smell, hearing, movement and might. These are things that I need to be grateful for. And these are the things that will make me or brake me. Wudu to me is washing my sins. The main objective of wudu is deeper than mere washing the 'outer'. Yet one should not overlook the fact that the physical washing is just as important. For the physical and the spiritual, just like the physical and the spiritual heart, are somehow mysteriously connected. |
Re: Purpose of Wudu? |
---|
Arsalan |
10/26/01 at 23:32:32 |
[slm] Interesting post anonymous! Imam Ghazali talks about similar things in his Ihyaa' when talking about purification. If I had the time, I would type out some passages from it. But I guess they're not needed after your post. Jazak Allahu Khairan. |
"do wudu do wudo do wudo wudu!" --poets of Islam |
---|
se7en |
11/02/01 at 00:50:16 |
as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah, Man.. is it just me, or do a lot of these anonymous posts seem familiar ??? One thing I remember from a seminar on dhikr & raqa'iq a while back is learning that all actions have maratib -- levels, varying degrees of acceptance. One example the teacher gave was tahara.. The first and most external level of tahara -- Wudu and ghusl; keeping your clothes and body externally clean The next level -- purifying your senses and limbs from dhunoob [sins and disobedience] The next level -- cleansing the heart from diseases and sicknesses like envy, anger, arrogance, etc The deepest level -- purification of one's most innermost consciousness of everything but Allah - harboring nothing in the heart but mahabba for Allah That deepest level, that most innermost, "soft" part of an action, is called raqa'iqah. (I though that was very interesting, because I've seen in some books a chapter called "al-raqa'iq", usually translated as "the softening of the qalb" ) So yeah, most definitely wudu and externally cleansing yourself is *very* important, but we should also look at the depth and dimensions of tahara to get a true taste for what it's about. If we perform wudu with that inner focus on it's meaning, it'll be of so much more value eh? Anyway.. an awesome quote from [url=http://store.yahoo.com/islamicbookstore-com/b3330.html]Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship[/url], by Ghazali: "When attending to ritual purity in the things that envelop you in progressively closer layers - your room, then your clothes, then your skin - do not neglect your inner being, which lies at the heart of all of these." wAllahu 'alam. wasalaamu alaykum. |
Re: Purpose of Wudu? |
---|
destined |
11/14/01 at 13:19:52 |
[slm] I found something in this month's issue of Al Jumuah Magazine on wudhu. The theme this month happens to be "Effacers of Sins" wudhu was listed as one effacer. Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi said: "Wudhu [as prescribed in Islam] is a basis of this religion, it purifies the Muslims, and it is a unique characteristic of this Ummah." Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu 3nhu) narrated that the Prophet [saw], said: "When the Muslim washes his face for wudhu, all the sins that his eyes looked at are washed away with the dripping water. When he washes his hands, all the sins that his hands committed are washed away by the dripping water. When he washes his legs, all the sins that his legs walked to are washed away by the dripping water. When he is finished, he walks away purified from sins." (Muslim) The Prophet [saw] said: "He who makes wudhu with great care has his sins washed away from his body; even from underneath his fingernails." (Muslim) Ibnul Qayyim described the wisdom of wudhu by saying: "In addition to the bodily cleanliness resulting from wudhu, there is a secret behind washing the face, hands, and legs. The head that wills committing the sin is washed, the hands that commit sins are washed, and the legs that carry the sinner to the sin are washed. Wudhu washes away dirt that might have accumulated during the daily chores and, more importantly, washes away the dirt of sins. Al Jumuah Volume 13, Issue 7 |
Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author.The rest © Jannah.Org |