◈ Correct Method of Rinsing the Mouth and Nose During Wudu ◈
Derived from: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 213
❖ Question
During Wudū, should rinsing the mouth (madhmaḍah) and sniffing water into the nose (istinshāq) be done separately, or can both be performed with a single handful of water? Which method is correct?
(Muḥammad Ibrāhīm, Tando Adam)
❖ Answer
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allāh. To proceed:
① The Habitual Practice of the Prophet ﷺ
Authentic narrations confirm that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used one handful of water: he would use half for rinsing the mouth and the remaining half for the nose.
📖 References:
◈ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (191, 199)
◈ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (235)
Hence, the preferred and superior method is to use one handful of water for both actions.
② Narration Mentioning Separate Water for Each Act
There exists a narration in:
📖 Sunan Abī Dāwūd (139)
which states that the Prophet ﷺ used separate water for rinsing the mouth and for sniffing into the nose.
However, this narration is weak due to the presence of Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, a weak narrator. Additionally, the narration contains other defects.
📚 Refer to:
◈ al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr (Vol 1, pp. 78–79, Ḥadīth 79)
Prominent ḥadīth scholar Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله also classified this narration as weak by consensus:
📖 al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab (Vol 1, p. 464)
③ Other Supporting Reports
Another narration reports the separation of mouth rinsing and nasal cleansing, as narrated by ʿUthmān and ʿAlī (رضي الله عنهما).
◈ This was transmitted in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Abū ʿAlī ibn al-Sakkān.
📚 Source:
◈ al-Talkhīṣ (p. 79)
Although the chain was initially unknown, it was later traced through:
📖 al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr by Ibn Abī Khaythamah (d. 279 AH), p. 588, Ḥadīth 1410
With the chain:
ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd → ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Thābit ibn Thawbān → ʿAbdah ibn Abī Lubābah → Shaqīq ibn Salamah, who said:
“I saw ʿAlī and ʿUthmān performing Wudū three times each and said: ‘This is how the Prophet ﷺ performed Wudū.’ And it was mentioned that they performed mouth rinsing and nasal cleansing separately.”
📌 This chain is ḥasan (reliable) in itself.
❖ Conclusion
✔ Both methods are permissible:
➊ Using one handful of water: half for rinsing the mouth and half for the nose.
— This is better and more authentically proven from the Prophet ﷺ.
➋ Using separate water for each act (mouth and nose).
— Also permissible, based on reports from Companions like ʿUthmān and ʿAlī (رضي الله عنهما).
🔹 The superior method, as proven by stronger and more authentic narrations, is to use a single handful of water for both actions.
والله أعلم بالصواب
