Looking Beyond the Text: Wudhu
What exactly do we mean when we talk about the role of Islamic Texts as a necessary component for the revival of the Ummah?
"Go back to the Quran and Sunnah!"
A phrase that we hear all the time. But what do we mean when we say this?
It could mean making greater efforts in studying the Quran and the Hadith literature. Or it could mean adopting a certain understanding of how to practice Islam.
More often than not it, is used as a pretext to judge, dismiss and even excommunicate.
Simply put, our Texts mean different things to different people.
It should be how we come closer to Allah. However, for many, it is merely an academic tool for formulating religion. For others, it is a weapon to use against others, including their fellow Muslims.
As a result, much of Islamic thought is relegated to what to do and not to do; who is right and who is wrong. Is that all there is?
This type of robotic relationship with our Holy Texts creates many problems. Sectarianism is an obvious one.
But even at the individual level, something quite sinister is happening: we are no longer seeing the Prophet, his Companions and their students as real people who lived and breathed. It is just a series of rulings to tick one after another, with no deeper meaning.
In this series of articles, we will explore how we engage with our religious Texts as source material for our practices -- how we use the Quran and Sunnah to derive rulings -- whilst potentially missing the point, focusing on the letter of the law and ignoring the spirit of the law.
What we will attempt to do with this series is draw attention to the human aspects of our Texts by re-reading them as not merely words on a page but real events which happened, through the eyes of living, breathing human beings.
The example of wudhu
The idea of looking beyond fiqh or rulings and finding deeper meanings in the Sunnah can be perfectly illustrated with wudhu.
The steps for wudhu (ritual ablution in Islam) follow a sequence according to the Sunnah.
Each of the steps are classified as fardh, Sunnah and so on. These are the points of fiqh to know when performing wudhu.
We know which steps are fardh based on what is commanded directly in the Quran. The Prophetic method and teaching of how to perform wudhu gives us the Sunnah points and carry with them increased blessings.
But are these steps random or do they have a practical application that goes beyond being merely arbitrary rules? Is there a reason for the order and the classification of the different steps?
Let's explore further.
The steps of wudhu
The basic steps of wudhu with their classifications are as follows:
Wash the hands including the wrists 3 times (Sunnah).
Gargle and rinse the mouth 3 times (Sunnah).
Rinse the nostrils 3 times (Sunnah).
Wash the entirety of the face (fardh) 3 times (Sunnah).
Wash the arms from the hands up to and including the elbows (fardh) 3 times (Sunnah).
Wipe, with water, over the head (fardh); wipe in and around the ears and the nape (Sunnah).
Wipe, with water, the feet up to and including the ankles (fardh) 3 times (Sunnah).
Analysing the components of wudhu
The first thing we notice is that we do not have a fardh component until the 4th step of wudhu. The first 3 steps are Sunnah components. Why could this be?
We even know from the fiqh, no less, that if you forget to do a Sunnah step, such as rinsing the nostrils, then you must finish your wudhu and then do the part you missed.
This is because you cannot delay a fardh to do a Sunnah.
Keep in mind: the Prophet did not follow the Sunnah. Something which the Prophet did became a Sunnah because he did it.
So why would it appear that the Prophet delayed a fardh act which is commanded in the Quran?
The simple answer is that he has not delayed anything at all and is demonstrating the beautiful practicality of his blessed Sunnah.
Here's why.
Why did the Prophet teach us this particular order for wudhu?
Before we even start to do wudhu we must make sure the water we use is suitable.
Water that is suitable and required for use in wudhu must be both pure and purifying. This is determined by the look, taste and smell of the water. This is something which the books of fiqh cover extensively.
Now look again at the initial three Sunnah steps of wudhu:
We take the water in our hands -- seeing the purity of the water.
We take the water into our mouth -- tasting the purity of the water.
We take the water into our nose -- smelling the purity of the water.
Only then have we determined the purity of the water and its suitability to be used for purifying oneself for worship -- and NOW we can start the fardh elements by washing our face.
Do you see?
The Sunnah way of wudhu, as taught by the Prophet, efficiently and inherently incorporates all these aspects. He taught us to do these first three steps before initiating the fardh acts of wudhu.
This is the Prophetic wisdom. This is seeing the human side of the Texts. This is something that can be -- and frankly is -- missed, neglected and forgotten.
This is why only seeing the fiqh as a set of rules to robotically follow will deprive us of the holistic benefits of the Prophetic Sunnah.
Moreover, the Prophet’s teachings regarding the properties of water are usually relegated to a point of fiqh with no logical connection being made between the way we treat (and respect) water and the ritual ablutions we perform for our worship.
This is the amalgamation of several Sunnahs of the Prophet, carried out in a very logical, efficient and practical way. Truly the best example to follow.
They are not just rules on a page. They really happened!
Compartmentalising the Sunnah as points of fiqh hinders our ability to envisage the Prophet’s life as a living, breathing example to follow.
We see his teachings in a disconnected way, rather than visualising the life of the Prophet as he walked and breathed amongst his Companions, teaching and demonstrating his Sunnah.
The Companions witnessed the Sunnah
Having demonstrated how the Sunnah is the living, holistic practice of Islam itself, we can also learn a lot from the other human aspect of the Sunnah. Those who witnessed the Sunnah first hand and passed it on to us: the noble Sahabah.
They are not just narrators. We can also try to think about the psyche of the Companions who witnessed the Sunnah with their own eyes.
What must they have felt? How would they react to the Prophet's instructions?
Note the other Sunnah elements of wudhu. Many of the steps are repeated three times as per the Sunnah.
Again, is this just another rule on a page with no deeper meaning? Is there something special in the number three? Or did the Prophet have a practical, real-life reason for this?
Yes. This is the Prophet emphasising the thoroughness with which one must carry out their wudhu.
There are several benefits and blessings mentioned in the hadith literature for the mindful and proper completion of wudhu.
We also know that sins are erased by performing wudhu. The Prophet’s Sunnah of repeating the purifying acts of wudhu would then be a way of getting the most out of this blessing.
The actions of the Companions of the Prophet, who passed this knowledge down to us, are also reported in the hadith literature. These, again, are usually mentioned as points of fiqh.
Whilst this is not a bad thing, it would be helpful to see these narrations as part of the overall teaching of the Sunnah. Because they were the human beings who witnessed the Sunnah then, surely, the way they applied the Sunnah can tell us a lot.
For example, we have narrations of how certain companions would prefer to wash beyond their ankles, including part of the leg as well during wudhu. Why?
It would not be a stretch to understand these to be the actions of people who understood the emphasis on thoroughness as mentioned above.
Seeing beyond the fiqh
The example of wudhu is useful for demonstrating how we can read the Hadiths as not just a set of words on a page to use to derive rulings. They are the historical accounts of real people who were the best generation, with the clearest understanding of Islam.
We can read and learn the fiqh of wudhu and also read the Texts to visualise the practices and teachings of the Prophet to his Companions. This is a way of "reading between the lines" to get even more understanding and appreciation for the Sunnah -- and truly living Islam as though we are there with them.
Looking beyond the fiqh brings many benefits:
We can visualise the Sunnah
We stop following Islam as just a set of rules and start living it
We gain a greater appreciation of the Prophet and his Companions
Every moment of our practice of Islam can be filled with meaning
One of the most important reasons to do this is to stop seeing our Texts as just a set of rules to judge others by and start seeing them for what they truly are.
Ponder over the following.
All of these issues are to do with things outside of the Texts themselves. They are from men who use the Texts to write and debate and judge and divide.
So why are we adding meaning from outside the text? Why are we not finding meaning from within?
We can start today by re-reading a Text, whether Quran or Hadith, to visualise that moment in history. Then see what new insights we discover.
What other moments in the Seerah can you visualise beyond the Texts?