Ablution
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- "Ablutions" links here. This article refers to the practice of ritual washing to remove sin. See disambiguation for other uses.
Ablution may refer to the practice of removing sins, diseases or earthly defilements through the use of ritual washing, or the practice of using ritual washing as one part of a ceremony to remove sin or disease.
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[edit] Ablution in the Hebrew Bible
While, according to the Torah, God commands ablution in a number of circumstances, nowhere does it state that ablution itself washes away sin or cures disease.
- When a person was initiated into a higher station: e.g., when Aaron and his sons became priests, they were washed with water prior to their investiture with the priestly robes (Lev. 8:6).
- Ablution is also mentioned in the Book of Exodus, chapter number 40 and verses number 31 to 32: 31 - And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat. 32 - When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.
- Before the priests approached the altar in the Temple, they were required to wash their hands and their feet.
- Ablution is part of the prescribed procedure for removing ritual impurity. Eleven forms of this process are described in Leviticus 12-15.
- Ablution is prescribed as one part of certain legal proceedings, symbolizing that a person was not guilty of a crime. For example, the elders of the nearest village where a murder was committed were required, if the murderer were unknown, to wash their hands over the expiatory heifer, saying, while doing so, "Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it" (Deut. 21:1-9).
[edit] Ablution in Judaism
[edit] Ablution in Christianity
The Christian practice of baptism is an instance of ablution. Foot washing is another Christian practice involving washing. However, it signifies humility and service to others.
According to the Gospel of Matthew (27:24), Pontius Pilate declared himself innocent of the blood of Jesus by washing his hands. This act of Pilate may not, however, have been borrowed from the custom of the Jews. The same practice was common among the Greeks and Romans.
According to Christian tradition, the Pharisees carried the practice of ablution to great excess.(Matthew 23:25) The Gospel of Mark (7:1-5) refers to the ceremonial ablutions. The Pharisees washed their hands "oft," more correctly, "with the fist" (R.V., "diligently"), or as an old father, Theophylact, explains it, "up to the elbow." (Compare also Mark 7:4; Lev. 6:28; 11: 32-36; 15:22) (See Washing.)
In the Book of Acts (21:26), Paul and other men performed ablution before entering the temple: Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
In Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic masses, the "Ablutions" refers to when the priest rinses his hands in wine and water following the Communion.
[edit] Ablution in Islam
In Islam, wudu or ablution is observed by Muslims before each prayer (Salat) if one is in a state of impurity. Physical cleanliness before Allah is deemed a necessity, and purification is intended not only for the body, but for the soul as well.
Wudu remains valid for up to twenty-four hours (or in case of a journey, three days), but it is nullified if blood or pus is drawn, if one urinates, passes wind or stool, or falls into a deep sleep. If sufficient quantities of clean water are unavailable, one is allowed to use clean sand or earth on the face and hands as a substitute for water in a ritual known as tayammum.
According to Dr.Zakir Naik, dynamic international orator on Islam and Comparative Religion, The Glorious Qur'an says : "That this is indeed a Qur'an most honorable in a book well guarded which none shall touch but those who are clean : A Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds." (Surah Al-Waqi'a, 56:77-80)
The Kitabim Maknoon mentioned in the verse above does not refer to the holy Qur'an in the book form, which we have, and the word Mutahhareen does not merely refer to cleanliness of the body.
Kitabim Maknoon means a book well guarded or a protected book. This word refers to Lauh-e-Mahfooz in heaven, which is also mentioned in the following verse "Nay this is a Glorious Qur'an (Inscribed) in a Tablet Preserved!" (Surah Al-Buruj, 85:21 & 22)
Mutahhareen does not refer to mere body cleanliness but also refers to those who do not have any uncleanliness or impurity like sin and evil, thus referring to the angels. According to the commentary of Tabari, Mutahhareen means the angels.
According to Ibne Hazam, who has discussed the subject in detail, there are no pre-requisites or conditions for touching the Qur'an. Although all the scholars, of all different schools of thought, agree upon it without any difference of opinion that it is preferable to be in wudhu before touching the Qur'an, however, according to Ibne Hazam there is not a single verse of the Qur'an or the authentic hadith saying that being in wudhu is compulsory.
Ibne Abbas, Sho'bi, Zahhaq, Zaid bin Ali, Muayyid Billaah, Dawood, Ibne Hazam and Hammad bin Sulaiman are of the opinion that Qur'an can be touched without performing wudhu.
[edit] Ablution in Hinduism
Ablution is also found in Hinduism. Hindus wash before praying, preferably in running water and washing in certain rivers like Ganga is believed to give spiritual benefits. It is also practiced after the death of someone and in earlier days by people of the upper caste who might have come into contact with untouchables like dalits to maintain purity. It is also considered auspicious to always take a holy bath before any festival.
[edit] Ablution in the Bahá'í Faith
In the Bahá'í Faith, ablutions are required to perform the Obligatory Prayer and prior to the daily recitation ninety-five times of the Greatest Name:
- Ablutions are specifically associated with certain prayers. They must precede the offering of the three Obligatory Prayers, the daily recitation of 'Alláh-u-Abhá' ninety-five times, and the recital of the verse prescribed as an alternative to obligatory prayer and fasting for women in their courses.
- The prescribed ablutions consist of washing the hands and the face in preparation for prayer. In the case of the medium Obligatory Prayer, this is accompanied by the recitation of certain verses.
- That ablutions have a significance beyond washing may be seen from the fact that even should one have bathed oneself immediately before reciting the Obligatory Prayer, it would still be necessary to perform ablutions.
- When no water is available for ablutions, a prescribed verse is to be repeated five times, and this provision is extended to those for whom the use of water would be physically harmful. (Note 34, Kitáb-i-Aqdas)
[edit] Ablution in other religions
Shintoism also has a form of ablution, Misogi, which is a kind of dousing in a natural source of flowing water.
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[edit] Ablution references in literature
In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, there is a reference to ablution. "Out, out damned spot", cries Lady Macbeth, unable to cleanse her guilt by washing her hands.
