Step 6 of 12
Washing the Arms
Wash your right arm from the fingertips up to and including the elbow, three times. Then wash the left arm the same way.
The elbow itself is part of what must be washed, so let the water pass a little above it. Push back sleeves and watches, and make sure nothing that blocks water, such as paint or nail polish, is left on the skin or nails.
Starting with the right side was the Prophet's way ﷺ in washing and in all good things. The washing of the arms itself is an obligation named in the verse, and the four schools agree on it.
All four schools agree on this step.
- Qur'an 5:6
- Sahih Muslim 226Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 168 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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