Abu Dawud

Explanation:
If one doubts the passing of wind while performing prayer, the ablution (wudu) is not nullified merely due to doubt. Until one hears the sound of the wind or perceives its odor, the ablution remains valid. This is the very purpose of the chapter. This ruling is general, whether one is inside the prayer or outside of it. Imam Nawawi rahimahullah has stated that from this hadith emerges a great universal principle: a certain (established) matter is not nullified due to doubt. For example, every floor, every place, or every garment that is pure, clean, and tidy—if someone doubts its purity, then that doubt is invalid.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah establishes a fundamental principle that when an action is initiated with certainty and confidence, then until the same level of certainty is found in its opposite, that action should be maintained; mere doubt and suspicion should not harm that action. In this regard, he has cited a specific incident: if a person, during prayer, suspects that his ablution (wudu) has been nullified, then such a person should continue praying until he attains the same degree of certainty regarding the nullification of ablution as he had regarding its validity, because it is not correct to terminate the prayer merely due to whispers (waswasah) and doubts. In the narration of Ibn Hibban rahimahullah, it is stated that when Satan casts such a whisper into the heart, then one should internally reject this whisper of Satan. In Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, it is mentioned that if he perceives its odor from his nose or hears its sound with his ear, then he should terminate the prayer. (Umdat al-Qari: 2/358)

2.
Allamah Khattabi rahimahullah states that the ruling of being without ablution (wudu) is not solely dependent on hearing its sound or perceiving its odor, because sometimes it happens that one is certain of the emission of wind, yet neither its sound is heard nor its odor is perceived. For example: a person is deaf, or due to the illness of cold, his sense of smell has become paralyzed, as a result of which he cannot sense the sound or the odor. In such a case, he must perform ablution (wudu) because he has become certain of being without ablution. (Umdat al-Qari: 2/359)

3.
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established a chapter heading for this hadith in the following words:
(Bab man lam yar al-wasawis wa nahwaha min al-shubuhat)
“Whispers (waswasah) should not be made the basis of doubts.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-Buyu’, Chapter: 5)
Therefore, from this hadith, this principle is also understood: that a matter of certainty does not become doubtful merely due to suspicion, nor is it correct to turn matters into doubts because of whispers (waswasah). From this, it is also understood that it is not permissible to view something with suspicion and doubt without any reason.
And Allah knows best.

Explanation:
The summary of the hadith is that until one is certain that the ablution (wudu) has been nullified, one should not break the prayer merely on the basis of doubt.

Hadith Commentary:
The summary of the hadith is that as long as one is not certain that the ablution (wudu) has been nullified, one should not break the prayer merely on the basis of doubt.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
This hadith is a portion from a lengthy narration reported from Abdullah bin Zaid radi Allahu anhu, whose wording is as follows:
A man complained to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that during prayer he feels as if something (wind) has passed. So he (the Prophet) said:
“He should not leave the prayer unless he hears a sound or perceives a smell.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Ablution, Hadith: 137)
The purpose is that when he is certain of a state of impurity (hadath), then he should leave the prayer.
Hearing a sound or perceiving a smell is not a fundamental condition, because there are some people whose faculties of hearing and smelling have become impaired.
They can neither hear a sound nor perceive a smell.
From this, it is also understood that doubt cannot remove certainty, and such doubts and suspicions have no significance.

➋
The intent of Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is that whatever exits from the front or back passage is a nullifier of ablution (wudu), and this is clearly established from this hadith.
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established a chapter heading for this hadith in the following words:
(LA YATAWADDA’U MINA AL-SHAKKI HATTA YASTAYQINA)
“One should not perform ablution on the basis of doubt until he is certain.”
From this, it is understood that it is not correct to break the prayer on the basis of doubt, unless one is certain that a state nullifying ablution has occurred.
Such things do occur in old age, but it is not appropriate to terminate the prayer based on mere suspicions and thoughts regarding the prayer.

Hadith Commentary:
Under this hadith, Allamah Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah states:
Al-Ghazali said: Cautious piety (wara‘) is of several types. The wara‘ of the siddiqin (the truthful) is to abstain from anything that is not undertaken with the intention of gaining strength for worship. The wara‘ of the muttaqin (the God-fearing) is to abstain from things in which there is no doubt, but there is a fear that engaging in them may lead to the unlawful (haram). The wara‘ of the salihin (the righteous) is to abstain from things in which there is a possibility of prohibition, provided that this possibility has some basis; if there is no such basis, then it is the wara‘ of the waswasi (those afflicted with baseless misgivings). He said: Beyond this is the wara‘ of the shuhud (witnesses), which is to abstain from anything that would disqualify one from giving testimony, regardless of whether the thing left is unlawful or not. End quote.
The author’s purpose here is to explain the wara‘ of those afflicted with waswasah (baseless misgivings), such as someone who refrains from eating game meat out of fear that perhaps the animal was hunted by another person and then escaped from him; or someone who refrains from buying what he needs from an unknown person, not knowing whether his wealth is lawful (halal) or unlawful (haram), and there is no sign indicating the latter; or someone who refrains from accepting a narration due to a report about it, even though its weakness is agreed upon and it is not used as evidence, while the proof of its permissibility is strong and its interpretation is impossible or far-fetched.
(Fath al-Bari)
That is, Imam Ghazali rahimahullah has divided wara‘ into four categories:
➊ The wara‘ of the siddiqin is to abandon all actions that have no connection to the intention of worship.
➋ The wara‘ of the muttaqin is to leave even those things in which there is no doubt about their permissibility, but there is a fear that acting upon them may eventually lead to the unlawful.
➌ The wara‘ of the salihin is to avoid those things in which there is any possibility of prohibition.
If there is no such possibility, then it is the wara‘ of the waswasi (those afflicted with baseless misgivings).
And besides these, there is the wara‘ of the shuhud (witnesses), which is to abstain from anything that would render a person unreliable in testimony, whether that thing is unlawful or not.
Here, the author rahimahullah’s purpose is to explain the wara‘ of those afflicted with waswasah, such as someone who refrains from eating the meat of game merely because he fears that perhaps the animal was hunted by another person and then escaped from him; or someone who refrains from buying or selling with a person who is unknown, and about whom it is not known whether his wealth is lawful or unlawful, and there is no apparent sign to indicate its lawfulness; or someone who abandons accepting a narration from a person whose weakness is agreed upon and whose narration is not used as evidence, and in such doubtful situations, abstinence is called wara‘.
However, to go to extremes and, without investigation, to form a bad opinion about a Muslim brother is also severely contrary to wara‘.
Imam Ghazali rahimahullah has written somewhere that some people carry their own water jug and prayer mat for prayer, thinking that, in their view, the water jugs and prayer mats of all the Muslims of the world are not fit for use, and that all of them are subject to doubt, and only their own jug and prayer mat are above all kinds of doubt and suspicion.
Imam Ghazali rahimahullah has called such overly scrupulous people “themselves impure.”
O Allah, protect us from all doubts and calamities.
Amin.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, under this chapter heading, has explained the reality of waswasah (whisperings/insinuations) that something established by certainty and faith cannot be nullified merely by waswasah.
Waswasah is to look at everything with suspicion and doubt without any reason, for example:
A person buys goods from someone and, without cause, suspects that it is unlawful (haram).
Such insinuations or following of waswasah is not permissible.

(2)
From the aforementioned hadith, this very point is established that a person experiences waswasah about his ablution (wudu) breaking during prayer.
This matter was asked of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, so he said:
Certainty of purity (taharah) is not nullified merely by doubt; rather, only when there is certainty of impurity (hadath) does the ablution become invalid.
Since the passing of wind occurs frequently, it is mentioned specifically in the hadith.
If the impurity or unlawfulness of something is established by evidence, then one should refrain from it; it is not correct to consider something impure merely on the basis of waswasah.

160. Commentary:

➊ If one has a doubt about passing wind during the prayer, then one should not leave the prayer merely on the basis of suspicion and doubt until it is certain that wind has actually been passed. This is because the jurisprudential principle is that things remain upon their original state until certainty of the contrary is established. Certainty is not removed by doubt. [الأشباه و النظائر]

➋ This hadith also shows that ablution (wudu) is nullified by the passing of wind; that is why it is said to leave the prayer.

➌ If one does not know something, one should not feel shy to ask about it. Whenever the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) faced any issue, they would immediately ask the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

Commentary:
(1)
Ablution (wudu) is nullified by the emission of wind, whether or not a sound is heard.

(2)
Ablution is not nullified merely by doubt, because the nullification of ablution by urine, feces, etc., is established by sound evidences.
Here, only this ruling is mentioned: that certainty or predominant assumption (ghalib zann) of the nullification of ablution is necessary; one should not go to perform ablution merely on the basis of suspicion or doubt.

Tanbih (Note) ◄ The statement of Imam Humaydi rahimahullah that this is the Companion who was taught the adhan (call to prayer) in a dream is incorrect. In this, he has followed Imam Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah. Imam Bukhari rahimahullah says: Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah used to say that this is the Companion of the adhan, but he made an error in this matter, because this refers to ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn ‘Asim al-Mazini, who is from the Mazin tribe of the Ansar [صحيح البخاري 1012], whereas the Companion who was taught the adhan is ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi al-Ansari, and he is from the Khazraj tribe. Radi Allahu ‘anhum ajma‘in (Kashif).

Benefit:
Negation of something established cannot be based on mere doubt or conjecture. Among the principles of jurisprudence (qawa‘id fiqhiyyah) is the rule: “«اليـقيـن لا يزول الا بـمـثـلـه»” (Certainty is not removed by doubt). It should be remembered that a definitive proof is required for the nullification of ablution (wudu), and doubt, conjecture, or assumption do not constitute definitive proof.