Washing the Hands Three Times Upon Waking Before Dipping Them Into a Vesselغسل اليدين ثلاثاً قبل غمسهما في الإناء بعد الاستيقاظ

The Prophet ﷺ said, "When one of you wakes from his sleep, he should not dip his hand into the vessel until he has washed it three times" — agreed upon, with the wording from Muslim. I specify that the wording is Muslim's because the phrase "three times" is found in his narration, with a sound chain. His statement "wakes from his sleep" covers both sleeping at night and sleeping during the day, since the underlying reason — sleep — is present in both. In a narration of al-Bukhari it reads, "let him perform wudu," meaning if he intends to perform wudu; likewise the other hadith says, "let him blow his nose out three times," meaning whenever he wakes from any sleep, whether at night or during the day, and also if he intends to perform wudu. But if he does not intend to perform wudu, rinsing and blowing out the nose three times is not obligatory upon him.

As for his ﷺ statement, "let him not dip his hand into the vessel," this can be understood in one of three ways. It may be that the reason is to avoid making the vessel impure — this is what one group of scholars held, though this view is weak. It may be that the reason relates to the touch of Shaytan, based on the general hadith, "for Shaytan spends the night [resting] on the nose of one of you" — this is the view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyyah] and his student Ibn al-Qayyim, and it is stronger than the previous view. Or — a third view — the reason may be purely devotional (ta'abbudi), meaning one washes three times regardless of any discernible wisdom behind it.

If we hold that the reason is purely devotional, then dipping the hand into the vessel does not strip the water of its purifying quality, based on the general hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ said, "Water is purifying; nothing makes it impure" — authenticated by Imam Ahmad — except if it changes due to impurity. So whoever dips his hand into the vessel, the water remains purifying and does not lose that status. Some jurists held that it becomes merely "pure" (tahir) but no longer "purifying" (tahur), but this is a weak view, because dividing water into three categories is itself a weak categorization. The correct position is that water is of only two kinds: purifying and impure. As long as water retains its name and its designation has not changed, it remains purifying — it removes ritual impurity and filth — and it only loses this status in one of two ways: first, if its designation changes entirely, such that it is no longer called "water" — for example, if it becomes "juice," one may not perform wudu with it, or if it becomes "broth," one may not perform wudu with it, because it is no longer called water; or second, if its taste, colour, or smell changes due to impurity, in which case wudu with it is likewise not valid.

Questioner: Is it permissible to place one's hand under an available tap, or is one still required to wash three times before dipping into a vessel?

The underlying concern is simply that you should not dip your hand into a standing vessel of water. So if you do not put your hand into a vessel, washing three times is not obligatory upon you — it is merely recommended. The obligation to wash three times only applies when you intend to dip your hand into a vessel of water; if you are not dipping your hand into a vessel at all, washing it three times is not obligatory, only recommended.

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