Allah said,
﴿إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلوةِ﴾
(When you stand for (intend to offer) the Salah,) Allah commanded performing Wudu'
for the prayer. This is a command of obligation in the case of impurity, and in
the case of purity, it is merely a recommendation. It was said that in the beginning
of Islam, Muslims had to perform Wudu' for every prayer, but later on, this ruling
was abrogated. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal recorded that Sulayman bin Buraydah said that
his father said, "The Prophet used to perform Wudu' before every prayer. On the
Day of Victory, he performed Wudu' and wiped on his Khuffs and prayed the five prayers
with one Wudu'. `Umar said to him, `O Messenger of Allah! You did something new
that you never did before.' The Prophet said,
«إني عمدا فعلته يا عمر»
(`I did that intentionally O `Umar!)''' Muslim and the collectors of the Sunan also
recorded this Hadith. At-Tirmidhi said,"Hasan Sahih.'' Ibn Jarir recorded that Al-Fadl
bin Al-Mubashshir said, "I saw Jabir bin `Abdullah perform several prayers with
only one Wudu'. When he would answer the call of nature, he performed Wudu' and
wiped the top of his Khuffs with his wet hand. I said, `O Abu `Abdullah! Do you
do this according to your own opinion' He said, `Rather, I saw the Prophet do the
same thing. So, I do what I saw the Messenger of Allah doing.''' Ibn Majah also
recorded this Hadith. Ahmad recorded that `Ubaydullah bin `Abdullah bin `Umar was
asked; "Did you see `Abdullah bin `Umar perform Wudu' for every prayer, whether
he was in a state of purity or not,'' So he replied, "Asma' bint Zayd bin Al-Khattab
told him that `Abdullah bin Hanzalah bin Abi `Amir Al-Ghasil told her that the Messenger
of Allah was earlier commanded to perform Wudu' for every prayer, whether he needed
it or not. When that became hard on him, he was commanded to use Siwak for every
prayer, and to perform Wudu' when Hadath (impurity) occurs. `Abdullah (Ibn `Umar)
thought that he was able to do that (perform Wudu' for every prayer) and he kept
doing that until he died.'' Abu Dawud also collected this narration. This practice
by Ibn `Umar demonstrates that it is encouraged, not obligatory, to perform Wudu'
for every prayer, and this is also the opinion of the majority of scholars. Abu
Dawud recorded that `Abdullah bin `Abbas said that when the Messenger of Allah once
left the area where he answered the call of nature, he was brought something to
eat. They said, "Should we bring you your water for Wudu'' He said,
«إنَّمَا أُمِرْتُ بِالْوُضُوءِ إِذَا
قُمْتُ إِلَى الصَّلَاة»
(I was commanded to perform Wudu' when I stand up for prayer.) At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i
also recorded this Hadith and At-Tirmidhi said, "This Hadith is Hasan.'' Muslim
recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "We were with the Prophet when he went to answer
the call of nature and when he came back, he was brought some food. He was asked,
`O Messenger of Allah! Do you want to perform Wudu'' He said,
«لِمَ؟ أَأُصَلِي فَأَتَوَضَّأ»
(`Why Am I about to pray so that I have to make Wudu'.)
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