I spent the night at the home of my aunt Maymunah. The Prophet ﷺ got up and performed ablution from a waterskin, using only a small amount of water. I got up and did just as he had done.
بت عند خالتي ميمونة فقام النبي ﷺ فتوضأ من شنة وضوءا يقلله، فقمت فصنعت كما صنع.
Ibn Majah (424) narrated it, and this is his wording, and Ibn Khuzayma (1533) also narrated it, both from the hadith of Sufyan, from Amr bin Dinar, who said, I heard Kurayb, the freed slave of Ibn Abbas, narrate from Ibn Abbas, and then he mentioned it. Its chain is sahih.His saying "shanna" means a waterskin. His saying "yuqallilu" means he does not use much water. In another version it says, "He performed a light wudu," and the meaning is the same. This hadith is recorded in several places, both abridged and in full.As for the well known hadith that Saad used to narrate, that he was performing wudu, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, "What is this extravagance?" He said, "Is there extravagance in wudu?" The Prophet ﷺ said, "Yes, even if you are by a flowing river." This is a daif hadith. Ibn Majah (425) narrated it through Ibn Lahia, from Hayy bin Abdullah Maafiri, from Abu Abdul-Rahman Hubli, from Abdullah bin Amr, from Saad. Busiri said, This chain is daif, due to the weakness of Hayy bin Abdullah and Abdullah bin Lahia.Likewise the well known hadith narrated by Ubayy bin Kaab as a saying of the Prophet, "Wudu has a devil called Walahan, so beware of the whispered doubts concerning water," is also daif. Tirmidhi (75) and Ibn Majah (421) narrated it, and it contains Kharija bin Musab, who is daif. Tirmidhi said, The hadith of Ubayy bin Kaab is a gharib hadith, and its chain is not strong. We do not know of anyone who traced it back except Kharija, and this hadith has been narrated through other routes as a saying of Hasan himself, not attributed to the Prophet. Nothing sound has been established in this regard from the Prophet ﷺ. Kharija is not considered strong among our scholars, and Ibn Mubarak declared him daif. End of quote.Ibn Abu Hatim said in Al-Ilal, question number (130), Abu Zura was asked about this hadith, and he said, Attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ is munkar.Likewise, what is narrated from Ibn Umar is not sound either, that he said, The Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw a man performing wudu and said, "Do not be excessive, do not be excessive." Ibn Majah (424) narrated it, and its chain contains Muhammad bin Fadl bin Atiya bin Umar Abdi, their freed slave, whom they accused of lying. Muslim and Nasai said, "His hadith is to be abandoned."