Chapter on the Description of Ablution (Wudu)

Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Ṣaffar, from Yaʿqub ibn Yazid, from al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Washshaʾ, from Dawud ibn Zurabi, who said: I asked Abu Abdullah عليه السلام about ablution (Wuduʾ), and Imam عليه السلام said to me: "Perform it three times." Imam عليه السلام then said to me: "Do you not witness Baghdad and their armies?" I replied: "Yes." Imam عليه السلام continued: "One day, I was performing ablution in the house of al-Mahdi, and one of them saw me, though I was unaware of his presence. He said, 'Whoever claims you are so-and-so is lying, as you perform this type of ablution.' I said to him, 'By Allah سبحانه وتعالى, I was commanded to do this.' "