The Distinguished Jurists Primer by Ibn Rushd

The evidence of its obligation is in the Qur— ’an, sunna, 7A and ijmfr77.

In the Qur’an it is in the words of the Exalted: “O ye who believe, when ye rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, arid lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles”.26 27 28 29 The Muslim jurists agreed that obedience to this communication is obligatory for each person on whom prayer is obligatory, when it is time for it(s) (performance). In the sunna, it is in the words of the Prophet (God’s peace and blessings be upon him) “Allah neither accepts prayers without purity nor charity out of purloined wealth [of spoils]”, and in his saying, “Allah does not accept prayers from one who has acquired hadath till he performs ablution”. These two traditions are authentic according to the leading traditionists. Its evidence in ijmdS is based on the absence of a transmission from any of the Muslims disputing its obligation. Had there been a dispute, it would necessarily have been transmitted because of the demands of practice.

Those on whom it is obligatory are the sane and pubescent. This too is established through sunna and ijmdS. In the sunna, it is found in the words of the Prophet (God’s peace and blessings be upon him), “The pen [liability] has been lifted from [in the case of] three persons”. He then mentioned the minor, till he attains puberty, and the insane person, till he recovers. There is no transmitted controversy about its proof in ijm&. The jurists (fuqahd?) disagreed whether Islam is a requisite condition for its obligation. It is an issue that is of little benefit in fiqh, as it relates to the hukm of the hereafter.

Ablution becomes obligatory when it is time for prayer (salati) or when a person has intended an act for which ablution is a requisite condition, even if the act is not associated with a fixed time. About its obligation upon a person in a state of hadath, when it is time for prayer, there is no controversy because of the words of the Exalted, “O ye who believe, when ye rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles”.30 Thus, ablution is made obligatory at the time.of prayer, and one of the conditions (for the validity) of prayer is the commencement of the time of prayer. With respect to the evidence of its obligation at the time of intending an act, for which it is a condition, the discussion will be taken up under the description of the acts for which ablution is required, along with the (narration of the) differences among the jurists over this.