Reality of Two Post-Wudu Practices: Finger Raising & Sky Gazing

🧼 The Reality of 2 Post-Wudu Actions – In Light of Authentic Ahadith 🧼

📚 Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, Page 390

❖ Question:

Are the acts of raising the finger and looking toward the sky after Wudu considered recommended (mustahabb)?
Is there any authentic Hadith supporting these actions?

✅ 1. Reciting the Shahādah (Testimony of Faith) After Wudu

The following supplication is authentically proven from Sahih Ahadith to be recited after Wudu:

“أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ”

📌 Virtue:
As recorded in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever performs Wudu and then recites this du‘ā’, the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him, and he may enter through whichever one he wishes.”

📚 Sahih Muslim

✔ Ruling: Reciting this is Sunnah and carries immense reward.

❌ 2. Raising the Finger After Wudu

📌 There is no authentic Hadith reported in any major Hadith collection that supports the act of raising the index finger after Wudu.

✖ It is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ
✖ It is not a known practice of the Sahabah
✖ It is considered a non-legislated (ghayr mashrū‘) action

⚠️ 3. Looking Toward the Sky After Wudu

This action is mentioned in some secondary Hadith sources, such as:

• Sunan Abu Dawood
• Musnad Ahmad (Vol. 4, pp. 150–151)
• ‘Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah by Ibn al-Sunnī (p. 29)
• al-Dārimī (Vol. 1, p. 182)
• Zād al-Ma‘ād by Ibn al-Qayyim (Vol. 2, p. 21)

However:

📌 The narration is weak or munkar (rejected) due to an unreliable transmitter.

📝 In al-Ḥāwī (p. 42), the chain includes Abū ‘Aqīl’s cousin, who is majhūl (unknown), making the narration invalid as evidence.

🧾 Summary of Rulings:

✅ Conclusion:

◈ Saying the Shahādah after Wudu is authentic and rewardable
◈ Raising the finger is not Sunnah and has no basis in Hadith
◈ Looking at the sky is based on weak narrations, so should be avoided

وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب