Question: After washing wudu’ some people say that they should let their limbs dry on their own, even when it is cold, because this is more pious and is from zuhd (ascetism). What is the ruling on wiping one’s limbs?
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
This action is not legislated by the Divine Law (mashru’). Imam Malik disliked for excessiveness or over-zealousness (ghuluw) in these type of matters where there is no proof from the Qur’an and Sunnah that it is a rewardable action.
Imam Khalil ibn Ishaq says in his Mukhtasar, “It is not a recommendation to lengthen the area of washing, wiping the neck, and abstaining from wiping the limbs (to dry them).
The choice is up to you if you want to wipe off the water, or not. Imam Malik disliked these matters because it leads to extremism in the religion and compulsive adherence to matters that do not incur a reward or not. For example, you may decide to not wipe your limbs in the cold, which would lead to you getting sick… and deliberately bringing harm to yourself is haram. Or, if you wiped your limbs, you could have been more comfortable in your Salah, which would have led to more khushu’ (presence) in your prayer.
And Allah knows best.
Written by Uthman Qureshi
Source:
Al-Sharh Al-Kabir by Imam Ahmed Dardir:
(وَ) لَا يُنْدَبُ (تَرْكُ مَسْحِ الْأَعْضَاءِ) أَيْ تَنْشِيفُهَا مِنْ الْبَلَلِ بِخِرْقَةٍ مَثَلًا بَلْ يَجُوزُ
Hashiyat Al-Dasouqi, by Imam Muhammad Ibn Arafa Al-Dasouqi:
وَهِيَ الْغُلُوُّ فِي الدِّينِ (قَوْلُهُ: بَلْ يَجُوزُ) أَيْ تَرْكُ الْمَسْحِ أَيْ وَيَجُوزُ أَيْضًا مَسْحُهَا بِمِنْدِيلٍ أَوْ مِنْشَفَةٍ خِلَافًا لِلشَّافِعِيَّةِ فِي اسْتِحْبَابِهِمْ تَرْكَ ذَلِكَ الْمَسْحِ وَكَرَاهَتَهُمْ لَهُ
