Aslam

of throwing dust from nose, he should say : I seek refuge to These from the stench of Hell and from the evil of the world.
He will then wash his face thrice from ear to hear and from flat portion of head to the fore part of the chin. As he washes his face, he should say : O God, make my face white and bright with Thy light on the day when Thou will make the faces of Thy friends bright. He should then wash his arms upto the elbows three times. The believers will come on the Resurrection Day with brightness on their foreheads, writs and ankles from the effect of ablution. The Prophet said :
Whose is able to cleanse the fore part of his head, let him do so.
He should then wipe his head by soaking his hands in water.
Thrice he should do it and say : O God, cover me with Thy mercy and shower upon me Thy blessings. He shall then wipe his ears both outside and inside with fresh water thrice. He should then wipe his neck with fresh water because the Prophet said : Wiping the neck from behind will save one from breach of trust on the Resurrection Day. Then he should wash his right foot thrice and left foot thrice. When he will finish ablulion thus, he should raise his head towards the sky and say : I testify that there is no deity but God. He is one and there is no patner for Him. I testify also that Muhammad is the servant and Apostle of God.

There are several undesirable things in ablution — to wash each limb more than three times. The Prophet said : Whoever goes beyond three times transgresses. He said : soon there will appear among my people those who will exaggerate in ablution and invocation.

EXCELLENCE OF ABLUTION: The Prophet said : Whoever makes ablution well and prays two rak'ats of prayer in such a way that nothing of the world occurs in his mind, goes out of his sins in such a manner that he comes out as it were from the womb of his mother. The Prophet said : Should I not inform you what atones sins and raises ranks ? — performing ablution in distress, to step towards the mosques aj»d to wait for the next prayer after a prayer. This the "bond". He repeated it three times. The Prophet said after washing each limb: God does not accept prayer except this ablution. He performed ablution after pouring water twice on each limb and said : God will reward him twice. He performed ablution of each limb thrice said : This is the abluation of the

Vol-I THE BOOK OF WORSHIP 129