What is the authenticity of the hadith: "Gabriel came to me at the beginning of what was revealed to me, and he taught me ablution (Wudu') and prayer (Salat). When he finished ablution, he took a handful of water and sprinkled it on his private parts"? And are the scholars' comments on its weakness correct?

The aforementioned hadith regarding sprinkling water on the private parts after ablution (wudu') has differing opinions concerning its authenticity. Some scholars have deemed it weak due to the weakness of Ibn Lahiah and the disruption in its chain of narration (isnad) and text (matn). Others have classified it as good (hasan) due to the presence of corroborating reports and supporting evidence. Al-Albani and Mulla al-Qari, for example, considered it hasan.

Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah held the view that sprinkling water after ablution is recommended to alleviate the whisperings (waswas) of urine leakage. He based his argument on other hadiths, such as the hadith: "I saw the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, perform ablution, then sprinkle water on his private parts."

Abu Ubayd al-Harawi mentioned that sprinkling (al-nadh) involves taking a small amount of water and sprinkling it on the private parts after ablution to ward off obsessive thoughts.