Chapter on the Description of Ablution (Wudu)

If it is said: "How can you claim this while the apparent meaning of the verse of ablution contradicts it? Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Exalted, says in the verse of ablution: 'Wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows' (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:6), and the term 'to' implies an endpoint or a limit. Do you not see how they say, 'I traveled from Kufa to Basra,' meaning until I reached Basra? This would indicate that the elbow is the endpoint in ablution, not the starting point." It is said to them: There is nothing in the verse that contradicts what we have mentioned because the term 'to' can also mean 'with' and has a variety of meanings in linguistic usage. Its usage in this sense is well known among people of the language. For example, Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Exalted, says: 'Do not consume their wealth with your wealth' (Surah An-Nisa 4:2), and He سبحانه وتعالى says, quoting Isa عليه السلام: 'Who are my helpers with Allah سبحانه وتعالى?' (Surah As-Saff 61:14), meaning 'with Allah سبحانه وتعالى,' not as a boundary. Similarly, in Arabic usage, it is said: "So-and-so governs Kufa to Basra," and it does not mean as a boundary but 'with Basra.' Likewise, it is said: "So-and-so did such-and-such, adding to what he had done before," meaning 'along with what he had done.' The poet Imru' Al-Qais said: He has hips like a sand dune made firm by rain, With shoulders like a bolted door. Here, he means 'with shoulders'. And Al-Nabighah Al-Ja‘di said: And his forearms extended from the shoulders, With a broad chest sagging at the shoulders. Here too, 'with the broad chest'. Examples of this usage are so numerous that there is no need for lengthy elaboration. Once it is established that 'to' can mean 'with', it indicates that washing the elbows is also obligatory as indicated in the verse. This further supports the argument that 'to' in the verse does not necessarily signify a limit or endpoint.