Ali came to us after he had already prayed and called for water for purification. We said to ourselves, "What is he going to do with this water when he has already prayed? He must only want to teach us."A vessel of water and a basin were brought to him. He poured water from the vessel onto his right hand and washed his hands three times. Then he rinsed his mouth and nose three times, taking the water for rinsing from the same handful. Then he washed his face three times, washed his right arm three times, and washed his left arm three times. Then he placed his hand in the vessel and wiped his head once. Then he washed his right foot three times and his left foot three times.Then he said, "Whoever wishes to know how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed ablution, this is it."
أتانا علي رضي الله عنه وقد صلى، فدعا بطهور، فقلنا: ما يصنع بالطهور وقد صلى؟ ما يريد إلا ليعلمنا، فأتي بإناء فيه ماء وطست، فأفرغ من الإناء على يمينه فغسل يديه ثلاثا، ثم تمضمض واستنثر ثلاثا، فمضمض ونثر من الكف الذي يأخذ فيه، ثم غسل وجهه ثلاثا، ثم غسل يده اليمنى ثلاثا، وغسل يده الشمال ثلاثا، ثم جعل يده في الإناء فمسح برأسه مرة واحدة، ثم غسل رجله اليمنى ثلاثا، ورجله الشمال ثلاثا. ثم قال: من سره أن يعلم وضوء رسول الله ﷺ فهو هذا.
Abu Dawud (111) narrated it, and this is his wording, as did Nasai (92), both from the hadith of Khalid bin Alqama, from Abd Khayr.Tirmidhi (49) narrated it from the hadith of Abu Ishaq, from Abd Khayr, who said, "Like the hadith of Abu Hayya, except that Abd Khayr said, 'When he finished his purification, he took some of the leftover water in his palm and drank it.'" He said, "Zaida bin Qudama and more than one other narrated it from Khalid bin Alqama, from Ali, the hadith about wudu in full." He said, "Hasan sahih."Shuba narrated this hadith from Khalid bin Alqama but erred in his name and his father's name, saying "Malik bin Urfuta," from Abd Khayr, from Ali. He said, "It has been narrated from Abu Awana, from Khalid bin Alqama, from Abd Khayr, from Ali. And it has been narrated from him, from Malik bin Urfuta, like the narration of Shuba, but the correct name is Khalid bin Alqama." End.I say, this narration of Shuba was narrated by Nasai from the hadith of Abdullah bin Mubarak, from Shuba, from Malik bin Urfuta, and from the hadith of Yazid bin Zuray, from Shuba, from Malik bin Urfuta. Nasai said, "This is an error, and the correct name is Khalid bin Alqama, not Malik bin Urfuta." End.Likewise, Abu Dawud also narrated it from the hadith of Muhammad bin Jafar, from Shuba, who said, "I heard Malik bin Urfuta," and then mentioned the hadith. But the correct name is Khalid bin Alqama, as both Abu Awana and Zaida narrated it as Khalid bin Alqama, according to Abu Dawud and Nasai.As for the hadith of Abu Hayya, Abu Ishaq narrated it from him, and Abu Ahwas narrated it from Abu Ishaq. Abu Dawud (116) narrated it through three routes, Tirmidhi (48) through two routes, and Nasai (96) and Ibn Majah (456) through one route, all of them from Abu Ahwas, from Abu Ishaq. The wording of Tirmidhi and Nasai is more comprehensive, and in it,He performed wudu, washing his hands until he had cleaned them thoroughly, then rinsed his mouth three times, sniffed water into his nose three times, washed his face three times, washed his forearms three times, wiped his head once, then washed his feet up to the ankles. Then he stood up and took the leftover water from his purification and drank it while standing, then said, "I wanted to show you how the purification of the Prophet ﷺ was."Then Nasai (136) narrated it through another route from Shuba, from Abu Ishaq, in an abridged form. Abu Ishaq was a mudallis, but Shuba spared us his tadlis.As for Abu Hayya bin Qays, Dhahabi said of him in Mizan, "He is not known." Hafiz said in Taqrib, "Acceptable," and this is correct, for he has been corroborated.The hadith of Ali has other routes besides that of Abd Khayr. Among them is Zirr bin Hubaysh, who heard Ali being asked about the wudu of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he mentioned the hadith.Among them also is Abdul-Rahman bin Abu Layla, who said, "I saw Ali perform wudu. He washed his face three times, washed his forearms three times, and wiped his head once, then he said, 'This is how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed wudu.'" Abu Dawud narrated both of these.Among them also is Husayn bin Ali, who said, "My father Ali called for water for wudu, so I brought it near him. He began by washing his hands three times before putting them into his wudu water, then he rinsed his mouth three times and cleared his nose three times, then he washed his face three times, then he washed his right arm up to the elbow three times, then likewise his left, then he wiped his head once, then he washed his right foot up to the ankles three times, then likewise his left. Then he stood up and said, 'Hand it to me,' so I handed him the vessel containing the leftover water from his wudu, and he drank from the leftover water of his wudu while standing. I was amazed, and when he saw me he said, 'Do not be amazed, for I saw your father the Prophet ﷺ do just as you have seen me do,' referring to this wudu of his, and he drank the leftover water of his wudu while standing." Nasai narrated it.Among them also is Abdullah bin Abbas, who said, "Ali, meaning Ibn Abu Talib, came in to me after he had relieved himself, and he called for water for wudu. We brought him a basin containing water and set it before him. He said, 'Ibn Abbas, shall I show you how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to perform wudu?' I said, 'Yes.' He tilted the vessel over his hands and washed them, then put his right hand in and poured water with it over the other, then washed his palms, then rinsed his mouth and cleared his nose, then put both hands into the vessel together and took a handful of water and struck it against his face, then he put his thumbs into what faced him of his ears, and did likewise a second and a third time. Then he took with his right palm a handful of water and poured it over his forehead, letting it run down over his face. Then he washed his forearms up to the elbows three times each, then he wiped his head and the backs of his ears, then he put both hands in together and took a handful of water and struck it against his foot, with the sandal still on, and rubbed it in with it, then did the same with the other. I said, 'Even with the sandals on?' He said, 'Even with the sandals on.' I said, 'Even with the sandals on?' He said, 'Even with the sandals on.' I said, 'Even with the sandals on?' He said, 'Even with the sandals on.'" Abu Dawud (117) narrated it from the hadith of Muhammad bin Salama, from Muhammad bin Ishaq, from Muhammad bin Talha bin Yazid bin Rukana, from Ubaydullah Khawlani, from Ibn Abbas.Hafiz said, "Abu Dawud narrated it at length, and Bazzar also narrated it, saying, 'We do not know of anyone who narrated it in this way except through the hadith of Ubaydullah Khawlani, and we do not know of anyone who narrated it from him except Muhammad bin Talha bin Yazid bin Rukana.' Ibn Ishaq stated explicitly that he heard it directly, and Ibn Hibban narrated it through his route in abridged form, and Bukhari graded it daif as reported by Tirmidhi." Talkhis (1/80).Ubaydullah Khawlani is Ubaydullah bin Aswad, also said to be Ibn Asad Khawlani, the stepson of Maymuna, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, and he is trustworthy.Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, became aware of a hidden defect and graded this hadith daif even though its narrators are trustworthy. Perhaps this was because it contradicts the sahih narrations regarding the description of the Prophet's ﷺ wudu, such as the narrations of Humran bin Aban from Uthman and others.His saying, "He took with both of them a handful of water and struck it against his face," refers to the one performing wudu striking water against his face when intending to wash it.His saying, "Then he put his thumbs," means he placed his two thumbs in his ears like a morsel.His saying, "Then he poured it over his forehead," means he let water flow over his forehead after washing his face, to make sure the washing of the face was complete.His saying, "run down," means it flows and pours down. It is said, "I let the water sann," when one lets it pour gently.His saying, "and rubbed it in with it," in one version, "and washed it with it," which explains the meaning of "rubbed it in," means he poured it.His saying, "even with the sandals on," means he let the water reach into the sandals in order to wash them, and in this is a refutation of those who claim that wiping over the feet, without washing, is permissible.As for his saying at the beginning of the hadith, "Then he put his hand into the vessel and wiped his head," Abu Ubayd said in Tahur (p. 362), "It has been made clear in these hadiths that what is obligatory in wiping the head is fresh water. This is the position held by the people of Hijaz and Iraq, and by those who follow the transmitted reports as well as the people of reasoned opinion, all of them hold that wiping is not valid except with fresh water, and it can never be done merely with the moisture remaining on the hand from the start of wudu."