إمام برهان الدين المرغيناني first wrote بداية المبتدي as a small book which was compiled from القدوري and جامع الصغير. Then he realized it was too short and wrote a commentary on it called كفاية المنتهي. Then he realized it was too long and wrote a shortened version of that called الهداية. May Allah make this book easy to understand and grant us blessings due to the author رحمه الله .

Brown = بداية المبتدي

Blue = Extra explanation

White = الهداية

Shaikhayn = Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Abu Hanifa

Tarfayn = Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Hanifa

Al Imam = Imam Abu Hanifa

كتاب الوضوء

Allah تعالي says in the Quran “O you who believe! When you stand (intend) to offer the Salah, then wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles.” The Faraid of wudu are to wash the limbs (face,arms, and legs) 3 times and to wipe the head which are proven by this Ayah. Ghasl (washing) is to flow (at least 2 drops of water on each part of the limb) and مسح is to make the wetness from a previously washed limb or a new water reach even without drops.

• And the definition/limit of the face that is necessary to wash is from the natural growing point of the hair until the bottom of the chin (in terms of length), and to the 2 earlobes (in terms of width). This is because facing (مواجهة) occurs with this part of the face, and وجه (face) is derived from this (so due to the correspondence between them, it is known this is what is meant by وجه in the ayah. And there is no contradiction between وجه being مجرد while مواجهة is مزيد فيه because this is valid in اشتقاق كبير which is when there is correspondence between مشتق (derived word i.e. وجه) and مشتق منه {from which it is derived i.e.مواجهة } in word and meaning)
• And the ankles and elbows are included in washing according to us, opposed to Imam Zufar who says the limit (غاية) is not included in the مغيا (that which comes before الي) like the night in fasting. Imam Zufar mentions that in the ayah اتموا الصيام الي الليل, what is after الي i.e. the night is not included in the مغيا i.e. fasting. It is known that the night is not included in fasting, so similarly here the elbows are not included in the arm.

However, we respond that there are 2 types of غاية

• لاسقاط - when the hukm is cut off by الي - i.e. الي limits the hukm just like in the elbows as if الي was not mentioned, the whole arm (the fingertips to the shoulders) would be included in the hukm as Fard, so we come to know that this الي is for اسقاط. And the hukm of this type is that the limit IS included in the مغيا, so elbows are included in the arms in necessity of washing in wudu.
• الإثبات - when the hukm is being stretched by الي - it stretches the hukm just like in the ayah of fasting, as صوم could mean abstaining for a single second. However, when الي comes, it stretches the hukm all the way until the night. And the hukm of this type is that the limit is NOT included in the مغيا, so the night isn’t included in the fasting.

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One way to know which الي is which is that if the limit is from the same category/group as the مغيا, this would be the first type. Otherwise, it would be the 2nd type as the examples are clear.

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• And the Fard amount in wiping the head is the amount of the forehead i.e. 1/4th of the head due to the hadith of Sayyiduna Mughira “The prophet came to the wasteland of the people and urinated, then he did wudu and wiped on his forehead and leather socks”. (A question comes up that this hadith is خبر واحد, and you can’t restrict upon Quran with this as the ayah mentions wipe the head which is Mutlaq?) The answer is that this ayah is (not Mutlaq, rather it is) مجمل (which needs explanation and clarity, and this can be done by خبر واحد ), so the hadith is attached as an explanation for it. And this is a proof against Imam Shafi’i who estimated 3 hairs (as Fard), and against Imam Malik who conditioned wiping the whole head. And in some rare narrations, some Hanafi scholars estimated it with 3 fingers (i.e. that he must wipe the head with 3 fingers), because it is the majority of the hand which is the tool used in wiping (so it is as if he used the whole hand)

<aside> 💡 If you can act upon something without any explanation, then it is مطلق. However, if you can not, and need more explanation, then this is known as مجمل.

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