Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said that on the Day of Qiyaamah when the vast multitudes of mankind will be running helter skelter, driven by anxiety, fear and terror, not knowing what the ultimate outcome of the momentous Reckoning will be – on that Day when a man will flee from his mother, father, brother, wife and son, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) will also be running around in anxiety searching for his Ummah.
In that sea of billions of humanity, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) will recognize the members of his Ummah from the glitter which will radiate from their foreheads and feet – the limbs of Wudhu. The glitter will be the effect of a lifetime of making perfect Wudhu here on earth.
Tahaarat is the key or door for the greatest act of Ibaadat, namely, Salaat. Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) stressed much the perfection and beautifying of Wudhu. Wudhu is not a mere mundane act of washing the limbs. When the method of effecting a perfect Wudhu as ordered by the Shariah is observed, then Wudhu is transformed into a superior act of Ibaadat. It is of utmost importance, therefore, to observe all the rules, respects and etiquettes of Wudhu.
It is explained in the Hadith that when a person sits down to make Wudhu, four Angels decend with a blanket of Noor with which they cover him whilst he is engaging in Wudhu. If during the course of Wudhu, he engages in talk, one Angel drops the one corner of the blanket of Noor and departs in disgust. If the person again speaks, the second Angel departs in disgust. If he speaks again, the third Angel departs in disgust. The blanket of Noor then dangles with one Angel holding the one corner. Should the person again speak, this last Angel taking the blanket of Noor departs in disgust.
The Sunnat and Mustahab factors of Wudhu should not be treated lightly and omitted on the basis of insignificance, for such an attitude is termed Istikhfaaf which is kufr. All acts of the Wudhu regardless of the Fiqhi (juridical) classification are extremely important and should be correctly and fully observed. Only then will the Wudhu be a beautiful and perfect act of ibaadat which will engender the emission of Noor from the limbs of Wudhu on the Day of Qiyaamah.
