Explanation

This Hadīth describes the ablution of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). ‘Abd Khayr related that ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went to them after he had prayed. He asked them for water to perform ablution. At first they were surprised by this, as he had already prayed, but then realized that he wanted to teach them how the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform ablution. They brought the water and he poured some of the water onto his right hand and washed both of his hands three times. He then he rinsed his mouth and washed his nose three times using the same hand that he had taken the water with. He then washed his face three times. The limits of the face are from the normal hair line at the top of the forehead to the end of the chin, including the upper part of the beard, and from one ear to the other. He then washed his right then left arm three times, including the elbows. He wiped over his head only once. Lastly, he washed his right and then left foot three times. He said that this was the way the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution.