The Ruling on Washing the Hands Three Times Upon Waking From Sleep Before Dipping Into a Vessel
His saying ﷺ, "If one of you wakes from his sleep, let him not put his hand into the vessel until he has washed it three times" - agreed upon, and the wording is Muslim's. I said the wording is Muslim's because the wording "three times" is found with Muslim, and its chain is authentic. His saying "if one of you wakes from his sleep" includes sleeping at night and day, because the underlying reason - sleep itself - is present. In a narration by al-Bukhari: "then let him perform ablution" - meaning if he intends to perform ablution. Likewise the other hadith, "let him blow his nose out three times" - meaning whenever he wakes from any sleep, whether night or day sleep, and if he intends to perform ablution. But if he does not intend to perform ablution, rinsing and blowing his nose three times is not obligatory upon him.
His saying ﷺ, "let him not put his hand into the vessel" can be understood either as: he should not put his hand in the vessel so as not to make it impure - one group held this, and this view is weak - or that the reason is the possible presence of Satan, based on the general hadith, "for Satan spends the night on the upper part of the nose." This is the view favored by Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyyah] and his student Ibn al-Qayyim, and it is better than the previous view. A third possibility is that this ruling is purely devotional (ta'abbudi) - one washes three times regardless of the underlying wisdom.
If we say the reason is purely devotional, then dipping the hand [without washing first] does not strip the water of its purifying quality, based on the general hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: "Water is pure and does not become impure by anything" - authenticated by Imam Ahmad - except if it changes due to impurity. So if someone dips his hand in the vessel, the water remains purifying and does not lose that quality - some jurists held it becomes merely "pure" but not "purifying" [i.e., cannot remove ritual impurity]. This is weak, because dividing water into three categories - purifying, merely pure, and impure - is a weak classification. The correct view is that water is only of two kinds: purifying and impure - as long as water retains its name and designation, it remains purifying: it lifts ritual impurity and removes filth, and it does not lose that quality except for one of two reasons.
First: if its designation changes - for example, this is juice, ablution with it is not permissible; this is like a soda or Pepsi - ablution with it is invalid because it is no longer called "water" - likewise broth, ablution with it is invalid because it is not called "water." If a man asked you for water and you brought him a Pepsi, he would think you were mocking him; likewise if you brought him broth instead of water - because this is no longer called [water], and ablution can only be performed with water. Second: the water must be purifying - if its taste, color, or smell changes due to impurity, ablution with it is invalid.
Questioner: A question was asked: is it permissible to place one's hand under the available taps, or must one wash three times first, since the Prophet said "let him not put his hand in the vessel"?
The answer: the reason is not to dip the hand [without washing first]. If the hand is not dipped, washing three times first is not required. This was the earlier practice, and it is best to conserve water - to put water in a vessel [after washing]. If dipping the hand in, it must be washed three times first; but if there is no dipping involved (as with a tap), washing three times first is not obligatory, only recommended. There are proofs pointing to the virtue of performing ablution three times [for each part].