Question:
Is it obligatory to say “Bismillah” before starting wudu? If someone omits it, is their wudu valid?
Answer:
There are hadiths on this matter. Some schools of thought consider it obligatory based on certain narrations. One narration states: “There is no wudu for the one who does not mention the name of Allahﷻ over it.” This hadith is narrated through several chains, but scholars of hadith have deemed it weak (da‘if).
When doing ablution, is it obligatory to say Bismillah, or is it a problem if left unsaid? There is a hadith that says we should say Bismillah when ablution. Another hadith that comes to mind is about when there was no water; what would Prophetﷺ do? He would cause water to flow abundantly through his miracle. What would he say then? He would say, “Say Bismillah, Bismillah, and do it.” Even if it was said for that occasion, that phrase has become general.
There is a hadith that says saying Bismillah when starting to ablution is a Sunnah method. Now, the question is, if someone ablutions without saying Bismillah, does that ablution become affected?
Meaning, is Bismillah compulsory or is it an act that brings additional reward? That is the basis of his question.
Regarding this matter, there are some hadiths. Based on some hadiths, some schools of thought (Madhahib) have ruled that saying Bismillah for ablution is obligatory (Wajib). If you look at that opinion, if Bismillah is not said for ablution, the ablution should be done again. But if you ask what evidence they present, a hadith attributed to the Prophetﷺ ﷺ comes.
How does it come? It says, “No ablution (is valid) without mentioning the name of Allah.” So, what does that mean? It implies compulsion, meaning Bismillah is definitely necessary. It said, “No ablution (is valid) without mentioning the name of Allah.” If it is like that, then it is not ablution. This narration exists in Muslim’s collection. Using this one hadith as evidence, they say Bismillah must definitely be said.
This is weak hadith. If asked why it is weak, who is the narrator? It is the grandson of Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri. This narrator is Abdur Rahman, who narrates from his grandfather. Regarding this person (Abdur Rahman), he is considered a weak narrator in hadith, not of an acceptable standard.
Therefore, since it is a universally accepted matter that he is a weak narrator, it is not possible to derive a ruling based on this. The text that says “No ablution (without Bismillah)” — using this wording…There is another hadith that conveys a similar meaning, narrated by Abu Hurairah. In that, a weak narrator also appears in his chain.
So, the second hadith exist. If you ask where this hadith is found, it is in Ahmad’s collection, and also in Abu Dawood’s collection, and similarly in the books of Muslim? What is in these books? It comes from the narration of Abu Hurairah. In the chain of this hadith, there are two issues. Who is the one narrating from Abu Hurairah? It is narrated by Salamah bin al-Akwa’. Who narrates from Salamah? Ya’qub narrates from his father, Salamah. So, it comes as Ya’qub narrating from his father Salamah, from Abu Hurairah. In this, who is Ya’qub bin Salamah? No one knows him. No scholar has praised him or authenticated him.
Similarly, regarding his father, Salamah, if you ask about him, he is also an unknown person. So, two people narrate it: the one narrating from Abu Hurairah, Salamah, is unknown. And the one narrating from Salamah, his son Ya’qub, is also unknown. So, what happens because of this?
This becomes a narration with unknown narrators. At the same time, what does Bukhari do? He considers Salamah as a known person but then mentions another flaw. There are two issues here: Abu Hurairah never heard from Salamah? He mentions the times? Salamah never heard from Abu Hurairah.
Similarly, he did not hear from his father. So first, the fact that they are unknown is the opinion of some scholars. Even if both are known persons according to Bukhari, Ya’qub narrates from his father. He may not have existed during his father’s time; he may not have existed at the time of narration.
This father is connected to Abu Hurairah. These two individuals did not exist in the same period. Because of this rejection, this hadith also becomes weak. In summary, what does he say? After compiling all the hadiths on this topic, regarding the opinion that ‘without Bismillah, it is invalid’, I have not seen any hadith with a strong chain. There are many hadiths, but none of them are authentic. He states this. Similarly, there is a hadith in Daruqutni.
It comes with a different wording. “Whoever does not say Bismillah, Allah’s name, has not performed ablution.” This is attributed to Abu Hurairah. In its chain, Ayyub an-Najjar appears. Narrating from him is Muhammad bin Abi Yazid. Both of these are weak narrators.
Therefore, this report is also not correct. Daruqutni says about Muhammad bin Abi Yazid, who recorded the hadith, that this person is not acceptable, not a strong narrator. But what does Ibn Hajar say? He says that because this comes through many routes, it can be considered as having an origin.
This cannot be accepted. If there is any weakness, even if we compile all and look, it cannot be said that there is a basis. Each one, when examined individually, has a reason for weakness. Two or three cannot be combined. They are separate issues. Some people present a false argument: even though all are not correct, because many compilations come from many places, when we combine and evaluate all of them, it becomes apparent that there is a basis.
That is not understandable. He is just one person who said this as a justification. He also presents what Ibn Salah said. What do the other scholars do? They say this is weak. All hadiths are weak. Didn’t Ibn Hanbal say that no hadith on this topic is strong? That is the correct opinion.
So, next, the concept that ‘without Bismillah, ablution is invalid according to Prophetﷺ ‘ – that hadith is not correct.
At the same time, if you ask what a person should do if they perform ablution incorrectly? In prayer, the Prophetﷺ ﷺ would call a person who prayed incorrectly, teach them to pray properly, and say, “Go and pray.” The Prophetﷺ would say, “When you are ready for prayer, perform ablution as Allah commanded.”
Is there mention of Bismillah? For prayer, you prepare, wash your face, wash your hands.The Quran mentions only these as obligatory. The rest are additional Sunnah matters. So, these four are in the Quran.
When preparing for prayer, they do as Allah commanded in the Quran. It is sufficient to do what is in the Quran. When teaching, they do what is in the Quran. According to the Quran, ablution/ablution has only four obligatory acts. Washing the face is compulsory, washing the hands up to the elbows is compulsory, wiping the head is compulsory, and washing the feet up to the ankles is compulsory. Only these four are obligatory. The rest are acts that bring special reward from the Prophetﷺ , but they are not obligatory.
If asked, your prayer is not complete until you perform ablution as Allah commanded. They say to do as Allah commanded. Allah’s command does not include Bismillah. So, whether we look at the Quran or the hadith, saying Bismillah is good, but if not said, nothing happens, and it does not affect the ablution.
It is understood that only these four acts are considered for validity. Similarly, if Bismillah is not said, only if one abandons the obligatory acts does the action become invalid. If an obligatory act is missed, it is not fulfilled.
Regarding matters of reward, washing, etc., there is no compulsion; nothing becomes invalid. You will receive less reward because you omitted the Prophetﷺ ‘s way, but your ablution will be valid. You will get 80 marks out of 100, but you will not get the full reward. Your prayer will be valid, and your ablution will be valid.