Wiping the Ears in Wuḍūʾ

The disagreement

The majority agreed on the legitimacy of wiping the ears, and they differed regarding its ruling into two opinions.

The opinions

Wiping the ears is obligatory (farḍ)

Aḥmad / Mālik (one narration)

Wiping the ears is Sunnah

Abū Ḥanīfah / Mālik (well-known view) / al-Shāfiʿī

(And it is recommended to repeat wiping three times if wuḍūʾ is done three times)

Reason for the disagreement

Their اختلاف regarding the reports about the Prophet ﷺ wiping his ears:

Are these reports an addition to what is mentioned in the Book regarding wiping the head,

or are they clarification and explanation of what is mentioned in the Book?

Evidence

Evidence for obligation:

Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:

“The Prophet ﷺ wiped his head and his ears, their outer and inner parts.”

(Graded ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ)

👉 The ḥadīth clarifies the general statement in His saying تعالى:

﴿وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ﴾

So the ruling of wiping the ears becomes like wiping the head, i.e., obligatory.

Ḥadīth of Abū Umāmah رضي الله عنه:

“The Prophet ﷺ performed wuḍūʾ, washed his face three times, and wiped his head, and said:

‘The ears are from the head.’”

(Authenticated by al-Albānī)

Evidence for Sunnah:

Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:

“The Prophet ﷺ wiped his head and his ears.”

since the Qurʾān only mentions wiping the head:

﴿وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ﴾

So the ḥadīth is حمل على الندب (interpreted as recommendation),

to avoid contradiction between the verse and the ḥadīth if taken as obligation.

Consensus (ijmāʿ):

That the one who leaves wiping the ears, his wuḍūʾ is valid and he does not need to repeat it.

The preferred opinion

The first opinion:

Wiping the ears is obligatory, based on the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās and the statement of Abū Umāmah:

“The ears are from the head.”

This combines between the Qurʾān and the Sunnah, and acting upon both evidences is better than neglecting one of them.

Practical Effect of the Disagreement

According to the first opinion:

Wuḍūʾ is invalid for one who leaves wiping the ears intentionally.

According to the second opinion:

Wuḍūʾ is valid for one who leaves wiping the ears intentionally.

References

Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa Nihāyat al-Muqtaṣid (1/33), Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī (p. 137), al-Hidāyah (1/27), al-Tafrīʿ (1/90), al-Maʿūnah (1/20), Wiqāyat al-Ṭālib (1/83), al-Bayān (1/130), al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (1/352), al-Mughnī (1/353), Sharḥ Ibn Zāḥim (1/88).