Wiping the Head and Ears and ‘Imaamah

Wiping the Head and Ears and ‘Imaamah

Wiping over all of the head as Allaah ta’ala says:

...wamsahoo bi ru'oosikum...: …rub your heads (with water)

[Soorat-ul-Maa’idah 5:7]

Ibn Qudaamah says in ‘al-Mughnee’:

Some of the people who claim that that which is ordered to be wiped is part of the head only – claim that the (Baa) [in the verse] means “part of” as if He had said: “Wipe part of your heads”.’ However, we say that in His saying wamsahoo bi ru'oosikum the (Baa) is as if He said regarding Tayammum wamsahoo bi wujoohikum [Allaah ta’ala orders us to wipe the faces].

Therefore their saying that the (Baa) means “part of” is incorrect and unknown to the scholars of the language.

Ibn Burhaan says: ‘He who claims that the “baa” means “part of” has declared before the scholars of the language that of which they have no knowledge.

[al-Mughnee, 1/112]

Ash-Shaukaanee (rahimahullah) says in Nail-ul-Autaar:

It is not established that it means “part of” and Seebawaih (one of the foremost scholars of the Arabic language) has denied that in fifteen places in his book.

(Nail-ul-Autaar, 1/193).

In the hadeeth of’Abdullaah ibn Zaid (radhiAllaahu’anhu) is a further proof of the incorrectness of the saying that it means “a part of” – in that :

Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) wiped his head with his two hands, moving them forwards and backwards – beginning with the front of the head and (wiping) with them up to his nape then he (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) returned them to the place from which he began.

[Al-Bukhaaree (al-Fath, 1/251), Muslim (no.235), 
at-Tirmidhee (no.28) and others].

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Wiping the ears: The ruling for the ears is the same as that for the head.

And it is authentically reported that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said :

The two ears are a part of the head.

[Reported by at-Tirmidhee, no.37; Abu Dawood, no.l34 and Ibn Maajah, no.444]. 
(Declared by ash-Shaikh al-Albaanee to be saheeh – as-Saheehah, 1/36 )]

Imam Ahmad was of the view that wiping the ears has the same ruling as that for wiping the head.

As for those who hold the view that it is a sunnah they do not have any evidence except their regarding this hadeeth as being da’eef – it is however authentic due to a chain of narration which they did not come across and so the proof is with our saying – and Allaah Knows best.

And of the scholars who hold that they are part of the head are Ibn al-Musayyib, ‘Ataa, al-Hasan, Ibn Seereen, Sa’eed ibn Jubair and an-Nakha’ee and it is the saying of ath-Thauree and Ahl ur-Ra’y and Imams Malik and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.