I say, and with God's success: The intended Sunnah in ablution is the confirmed Sunnah for which the doer is rewarded, and the one who neglects it is blamed, and he deserves sin if he is accustomed to neglecting it. It is as follows: First: Istinja (cleaning oneself after relieving oneself): This is wiping or washing the area of excretion. Excretion refers to what comes out of the abdomen. It is Sunnah to use water or stones or similar items if the excretion does not exceed the size of a dirham; as narrated by Abu Huraira, he said: "Whoever uses stones for cleaning should do so in odd numbers; whoever does this has done well, and whoever does not, there is no harm," in Sunan Ibn Majah 1: 121, and Sunan Al-Darimi 1: 177, and Musnad Ahmad 2: 371, and Sharh Ma'ani Al-Athar 1: 121. Second: Intention: This is to intend in the heart to perform ablution, or to remove the state of ritual impurity, or to perform an act of worship that is not valid except with purification; as stated by the Prophet: "Actions are judged by intentions," in Sahih Al-Bukhari 1: 3, and Sahih Muslim 3: 1515. It is Sunnah and not a condition for the validity of ablution; thus, the validity of ablution does not depend on intention; because the nature of water is to remove and purify, and using it results in purification even without intention; because the nature of a thing does not separate from it: like fire, its nature is to burn; it burns if it finds a combustible material, and no one says that his beard does not burn in fire if he does not intend to do so; and like food and water, for their use results in satiation and quenching without the addition of anything else. Third: Mentioning the name of Allah at the beginning of ablution: As narrated by Abu Huraira, the Prophet said: "There is no prayer for the one who does not have ablution, and there is no ablution for the one who does not mention the name of Allah upon it," in Al-Mustadrak 1: 246, and he authenticated it, and in Al-Ahadith Al-Mukhtara 1: 303, and in Al-Jami' Al-Tirmidhi 1: 38, and in the minor Sunnah 1: 82. The intended meaning is the denial of virtue and completeness: as in the Prophet's saying: "There is no prayer for the neighbor of the mosque except in the mosque," narrated by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak 1/373. Fourth: Washing the hands up to the wrists three times: — and the wrist is the joint between the forearm and the hand — before and after istinja according to the chosen opinion; as narrated by Abu Huraira, he said: "When one of you wakes up from his sleep, he should not dip his hand into the vessel until he washes it three times, for he does not know where his hand has been during the night," in Sahih Muslim 1: 233, and Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 1: 74, and Sahih Ibn Hibban 3: 345. The method of washing if the water is in a vessel: If the vessel is small enough to be lifted, he lifts it with his left hand, pours it onto his right hand, and washes it three times, then pours with his right hand onto his left hand. If it is large enough that it cannot be lifted, and if he has a small vessel, he lifts the water and washes them three times: that is, he lifts it with his left hand to wash the right, then with his right hand to wash the left. If he does not have a vessel to scoop with, then he puts his left fingers together into the vessel, and does not put in the palm; because if he puts in the palm, the water becomes used — meaning the water that touches the palm becomes used if it separates, not all the water in the vessel — and he pours water onto his right hand, and rubs the fingers against each other, doing this three times, then he puts his right hand into the vessel, reaching as far as he can. Fifth: Siwak (tooth-stick): As he said: "If it were not for the fact that I would burden my nation, I would have commanded them to use siwak at every ablution," in Sahih Al-Bukhari 2: 682, and its time is before ablution; so that the virtue mentioned in his saying: "The merit of prayer with siwak over prayer without siwak is seventy times greater," is obtained, narrated by Ahmad, Al-Bazzar, Abu Ya'la, Ibn Khuzaymah, and Al-Hakim from Aisha; for it is achieved by using it at the time of ablution, so every prayer performed with that ablution has this virtue, and if he forgets it during rinsing or before it, then at the time of standing for prayer. Sixth: Rinsing the mouth three times with fresh water for each rinse: As narrated by Talha ibn Masrif from his father from his grandfather: "The Messenger of Allah performed ablution and rinsed his mouth three times, and inhaled water three times, taking fresh water for each one," in Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir 19: 180, and the limit of rinsing is to fill the entire mouth, and to make an effort to reach the back of the throat, and rinsing is Sunnah in ablution and not obligatory as it is in ghusl. Seventh: Inhaling water three times with fresh water each time: As he said: "Exaggerate in inhaling water unless you are fasting," in Sunan Abu Dawood 1: 82, and Sunan Al-Tirmidhi 3: 155, and he authenticated it, and Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 1: 78. The limit of inhaling is to reach the soft part of the nose, and it is Sunnah to exaggerate it by going beyond the soft part; and inhaling is Sunnah in ablution and not obligatory as it is in ghusl. Eighth: Cleaning the beard: As narrated by Anas: "The Messenger of Allah used to take a handful of water when he performed ablution and put it under his chin and clean his beard, and said: This is how my Lord commanded me," in Sunan Abu Dawood 1: 36, and Al-Jami' Al-Saghir 1: 112 by Al-Suyuti, and Al-Mu'jam Al-Awsat 3: 221, and Al-Haythami said in Majma' Al-Zawa'id 1: 235: Its narrators are trustworthy. Cleaning is done with the right hand, by inserting it from below so that the palm of the hand is inward from the neck, and its back is outward; to allow the water taken to enter between the hair, see: Rad Al-Muhtar 1: 79, and Al-Hidayah 1: 13, and Al-Labab Sharh Al-Kitab 1: 10, and Manh Al-Ghaffar Q7/B, and Al-Fatawa Al-Sirajiyyah 1: 4. Ninth: Cleaning between the fingers of the hands and feet: This is the effort to ensure water reaches between the fingers of the hands and feet, and it is Sunnah after the water has reached; but before the water reaches, it is obligatory, as cleaning is a completion of the obligation of washing, since what is between the fingers is part of the hand and foot, and ensuring water reaches all parts is obligatory, thus exaggerating in reaching it is a completion of it, making it Sunnah. As narrated by Abu Huraira: "Clean between your fingers; Allah will not clean them on the Day of Resurrection in the Fire," in Sunan Al-Daraqutni 1/95, and from Ibn Abbas: "Clean between your fingers of your hands and feet," in Musnad Ahmad 1/287, and Sheikh Shu'ayb said: Its chain is good. And from Laqit ibn Sabirah, he said: "I said: O Messenger of Allah, inform me about ablution? He said: Complete the ablution, clean between the fingers, and exaggerate in inhaling water unless you are fasting," in Sunan Al-Tirmidhi 3/155, and Al-Tirmidhi said: This hadith is good and authentic. And the method of cleaning the fingers of the hand is to interlock the fingers, and for the fingers of the feet: to clean with the little finger of the left hand starting from the little toe of the right foot and ending with the little toe of the left foot. Tenth: Washing the parts that are washed three times: These are the face, hands, and feet, as it is not Sunnah to wash the head three times; for repeating it with different waters is an innovation; as narrated by Amr ibn Shu'aib from his father from his grandfather: "A man came to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah, how is purification? He called for water in a vessel, washed his hands three times, then washed his face three times, then washed his arms three times, then wiped his head, and inserted his index fingers into his ears, and wiped with his thumbs on the outer parts of his ears, and with his index fingers inside his ears, then washed his feet three times, then said: This is how ablution is done; whoever increases or decreases from this has done wrong and has oppressed, or has oppressed and done wrong," in Sunan Abu Dawood 1/81, and Sunan Ibn Majah 1/146, and Sunan Al-Nasa'i 1/88. Eleventh: Wiping the entire head once: For the Sunnah regarding the head is to wipe it once; as for repeating it with different waters, it is an innovation; for it becomes washing, or close to it, thus it is not Sunnah to repeat it: like tayammum, unlike ghusl; for repetition confirms it. Twelfth: Wiping the ears with the water taken for the head: As narrated by Ibn Abbas: "The Messenger of Allah performed ablution ... then took a handful of water, wiped his head and his ears with his index fingers, except with his thumbs on the outer left ear, wiping both its outer and inner parts," in Sahih Ibn Hibban 3: 367, and Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 1: 77. And from Abdullah ibn Zayd, he said: "The ears are part of the head," in Sunan Ibn Majah 1: 152, and the intended meaning is to clarify the ruling without the creation; for he was not sent to clarify the creation. Thirteenth: The order between the obligatory parts: As mentioned in the Quranic text, which is His saying: {O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles} Al-Ma'idah: 6, that is, he washes his face first, then his hands, then wipes his head, then washes his feet, and this order is not obligatory according to us but is Sunnah; due to the Prophet's consistency in it, and this is evidence of its Sunnah. Thus, if a person immerses himself in water, his ablution is valid; because the purpose is purification, and it has been achieved without order. Fourteenth: Continuity in washing the obligatory parts: This means washing them in succession so that the first part does not dry before the second part is washed in moderate air, by gathering the parts of ablution in washing in one place, and not engaging in another task during ablution so that some parts of ablution do not dry due to his engagement; however, if he dries the face or hand with a towel before washing the feet, he does not leave continuity. See: Majma' Al-Anhar 1: 15, and Fath Bab Al-I'naayah 1: 56, and Sharh Al-Wiqayah p83, and Al-Wiqayah 56, and Bada'i' Al-Sana'i' 1: 22, and the great speech regarding the towel by Imam Al-Laknawi p23, and Allah knows best.