The Levels (Hadith No. 255 & 256)

Salam,
Bismillah.

A lot of similar Ahadith regarding ghusl/bath have been coming lately so I’ll talk about a different aspect today inshaAllah.

Volume 1, Book 5, Number 255:

Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah:

The Prophet used to pour water three times on his head.

To get details on this Hadith, read this.

Volume 1, Book 5, Number 256:

Narrated Abu Ja’far:

Jabir bin Abdullah said to me, “Your cousin (Hasan bin Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiya) came to me and asked about the bath of Janaba. I replied, ‘The Prophet used to take three handfuls of water, pour them on his head and then pour more water over his body.’ Al-Hasan said to me, ‘I am a hairy man.’ I replied, ‘The Prophet had more hair than you’. “

Details related to the ghusl-aspect here.

I’m sure many of us won’t be able to accept the fact that taking bath/shower from 5 liters of water is enough for a person. And three handfuls of water for the hair? No way! We can come up with a number of excuses and reasons why this Sunnah is not for us. And no one will judge us, right?
But look at Sahabas’ (companions of the Prophet (SAW)) reaction to such excuses. That man said he had extra hair so three handfuls of water might not be enough for his head. And Jabir (RA) shuns him right there, saying that Prophet (SAW) had even more hair than you. Implies that such excuses will not be tolerated.

I notice two things here:

• People did voice their opinions at that time, even if they somehow went against the Sunnah.
• Companions were very strict about following and implementing the Sunnah. They could tell people the right thing and not be afraid of reaction. They knew the importance of the message they were delivering and they were confident about it.

Frankly, that’s not easy! That’s why they were and are on a higher level than us.

Try developing this quality? :)

Wassalam.