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Is it permissible to suffice with wiping a small part of the back of the head when performing ablution?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Muslims have unanimously agreed on the obligation of wiping the head during ablution, based on the Almighty's saying: (and wipe your heads). However, jurists differed on whether it is obligatory to wipe the entire head or not. The Malikis and Hanbalis held that it is obligatory to wipe the entire head, while the Hanafis and Shafi'is held that wiping part of the head suffices. The Malikis and Hanbalis supported their view with the verse and the action of the Prophet (peace be upon him), while the Hanafis and Shafi'is argued that the letter "baa'" (ب) in the verse denotes partiality and cited the hadith of Al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him). The preponderant opinion is that wiping the entire head is obligatory. The manner of wiping the head is by moving the hands forward and backward over the head.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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