He performed ablution by washing his face. He took a handful of water, rinsed his mouth and nose with it, then took another handful and did like this, joining it with his other hand and washing his face with both. Then he took a handful of water and washed his right hand with it, then took another handful and washed his left hand. Then he wiped his head. Then he took a handful of water and poured it over his right foot until he had washed it, then took another handful and washed his left foot with it.Then he said, "This is how I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ perform ablution."
أنه توضأ فغسل وجهه، وأخذ غرفة من ماء فمضمض بها واستنشق، ثم أخذ غرفة من ماء فجعل بها هكذا، أضافها إلى يده الأخرى فغسل بهما وجهه، ثم أخذ غرفة من ماء فغسل بها يده اليمنى، ثم أخذ غرفة من ماء فغسل بها يده اليسرى، ثم مسح برأسه، ثم أخذ غرفة من ماء، فرش على رجله اليمنى حتى غسلها، ثم أخذ غرفة أخرى فغسل بها رجله اليسرى، ثم قال: هكذا رأيت رسول الله ﷺ يتوضأ.
Bukhari related it in the Book of Wudu (140) from the hadith of Ibn Bilal, meaning Sulayman, from Zayd bin Aslam, from Ata bin Yasar, from Ibn Abbas, and he related the hadith. In another version he summarized it and said, "The Prophet ﷺ performed wudu once each." Bukhari also related it (157) from the hadith of Sufyan, from Zayd bin Aslam with the same chain. Thus a group of narrators related from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet ﷺ performed wudu once each, and the people of knowledge agreed that wudu is sufficient whether performed once each, twice each, or three times each. It has been established from the Prophet ﷺ that he did all of these, just as it has been established that he performed part of his wudu once and part of it three times.As for what Abu Ubayd related in Tahur (83) concerning the story of Ibn Abbas spending the night at the home of his aunt Maymuna, in which he said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ got up during the night and went to a waterskin hanging on a peg that had water in it." I said, "What is a shajb?" Shaybani said, "He rinsed his mouth three times, drew water into his nose three times, washed his face three times, and his forearms three times, wiped his head and ears once, then washed his feet." Yazid said, "I think he said, 'three times.'" This was related from Yazid bin Harun, from Abbad bin Mansur, from Ikrima bin Khalid Makhzumi, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas. Abu Dawud (133) related it from Hasan bin Ali, from Yazid bin Harun with the same chain, in a shortened form. Its chain of transmission is daif, for Abbad bin Mansur is extremely daif, and it also contradicts what Ibn Abbas related of the Prophet's ﷺ action, which was given once in detail and another time summarized as performing wudu once each. Bukhari related it in the Book of Clothing (5919) through a route other than Abbad bin Mansur, from Saeed bin Jubayr, without the detail mentioned by Abu Ubayd. Darimi related it (715) from Qabisa, who reported from Sufyan with the same chain, adding, "and he sprinkled water on his private parts." Bayhaqi (1/162) reported it through the route of Abbas Duri, from Qabisa with the same chain, and he said, "The wording 'and he sprinkled' was reported solely by Qabisa from Sufyan, while a group of others related it from Sufyan without this addition."Sprinkling (nadh) means sprinkling water on the private parts after wudu in order to dispel the whispering of Satan. None of the hadiths reported concerning sprinkling meet my two conditions, so I have set them aside, even though some scholars held it to be recommended due to the abundance of its supporting reports, among them:The hadith of Sufyan bin Hakam, or Hakam bin Sufyan. Abu Dawud related it (166), and it contains severe inconsistency.The hadith of Zayd bin Haritha, from the Prophet ﷺ, that Jibreel came to him at the very beginning of his revelation and taught him wudu and prayer, and when he finished the wudu he took a handful of water and sprinkled it on his private parts. Ibn Majah related it (462) and Ahmad (17480), and the wording is his. Its chain contains Ibn Lahia, who has poor memory. Abu Hatim was asked about this hadith and said, "This is a false, fabricated hadith." (Ilal, 104).The hadith of Abu Hurairah, as a saying of the Prophet, "When you perform wudu, sprinkle water on your private parts." Ibn Majah related it (463), and the wording is his, as did Tirmidhi (50). It contains Hasan bin Ali Hashimi, who is extremely daif.And the hadith of Jabir, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed wudu and sprinkled water on his private parts." Ibn Majah related it (464) through the route of Qays, from Ibn Abu Layla, from Abu Zubayr, from Jabir, and he related it. Busiri said, "It is daif due to the weakness of Qays and his teacher."In summary, nothing in this chapter is sound. Rather, what is sahih is that sprinkling applies to one from whom madhi emerges after wudu, as will be discussed in the chapter on wudu after madhi, and sprinkling following it.