Did Prophet and His Followers Pray Without Ablution
Did Muhammad ﷺ and His Followers Pray Without Ablution?
Preliminary Note
The title itself raises a question that compels us to ask the Christian author: Do you pray without ablution or with ablution?
The answer: Without a doubt — Christians pray while they are impure. Not merely without ablution, but while in a state of ritual impurity.
If the questioner believes that prayer (according to his own belief) is permissible without ablution, then why the question? Since he accepts prayer in a state of impurity, what objection could there be to prayer without ablution before ablution was even prescribed?
Before answering the two questions posed by the author, an important note must be addressed regarding the arrangement of Surahs according to their order of revelation:
Revelation Order Surah No. 3 Surah Al-Muzzammil No. 50 Surah Al-Isra No. 92 Surah An-Nisa No. 112 Surah Al-Ma’idah
The Questions Posed
Q1: How did Muhammad ﷺ and his followers pray before the five daily prayers were made obligatory (i.e., before the Night of Isra and Mi’raj)?
Q2: How did Muhammad ﷺ and his followers pray during the period between the obligation of the five daily prayers (at Isra) and the obligation of ablution in Surah Al-Ma’idah (Surah No. 112) — before the verse of ablution was revealed? Did they pray without ablution while in a state of impurity?
Answer
First: The Principle of Obligation
Assuming the author’s premise were correct, it is fundamentally invalid to hold a Muslim accountable for not fulfilling an obligation before it was imposed.
- A person is not accountable for not paying Zakat before Zakat was prescribed.
- A person is not accountable for not fasting before fasting was prescribed.
- Therefore, a Muslim cannot be held accountable for praying without ablution before ablution was prescribed.
This is self-evident and requires no scholarly elaboration.
Second: Prayer Was Imposed From the Very Beginning of Revelation
Had the author reflected on the order of revelation he himself cited, he would have recognised that prayer was imposed in Mecca — before Isra and Mi’raj.
Allah ﷻ commanded the Prophet ﷺ in Surah Al-Muzzammil (Revelation Order No. 3):
“O you wrapped in garments! Arise to pray the night, except for a little — half of it, or subtract from it a little, or add to it; and recite the Qur’an with measured recitation.”
— Al-Muzzammil (73:1–4)
This is a Meccan Surah, revealed at the very beginning of revelation — well before Surah Al-Isra (No. 50).
Al-Qurtubi on Night Prayer — Three Scholarly Opinions
- Sa’eed ibn Jubayr: The obligation was directed to the Prophet ﷺ alone.
- Ibn Abbas: It was obligatory upon the Prophet ﷺ and the prophets before him.
- Aisha & Ibn Abbas (the correct view): It was obligatory upon the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions.
Evidence from Sahih Muslim — narrated through Zurara ibn Awfa from Sa’d ibn Hisham:
Aisha (رضي الله عنها) said: “Allah made night prayer obligatory at the beginning of this Surah. So the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions stood for a year. Allah withheld the end of the Surah for twelve months, until He revealed the alleviation at its conclusion — and night prayer became voluntary after having been obligatory.”
Conclusion
What was imposed on the Night of Isra and Mi’raj was not prayer itself, but specifically the five daily prayers with their known rak’ahs. Before that, prayer consisted of two rak’ahs in the morning and two in the evening — similar to the prayer of our master Ibrahim (عليه السلام).
Third: Ablution Was Taught Before Any Quranic Verse Was Revealed About It
From the Seerah of Ibn Hisham (Ibn Ishaq’s narration):
“When prayer was made obligatory for the Messenger of God ﷺ, Jibreel (عليه السلام) came to him in the upper part of Mecca and struck the ground with his heel. A spring gushed forth. Jibreel performed ablution, and the Messenger of God ﷺ watched to learn how to purify himself for prayer. The Messenger of God ﷺ then performed ablution as he had seen Jibreel perform it. Then Jibreel stood and prayed with him. Then the Messenger of God ﷺ came to Khadija and performed ablution for her, to teach her purification as Jibreel had taught him. She performed ablution as he had shown her, and he prayed with her as Jibreel had prayed with him.”
— Seerah Ibn Hisham, Vol. 2, p. 82
From the account of Professor Amr Khaled regarding the second meeting with Jibreel:
Jibreel took the Prophet ﷺ into the desert, struck the ground, and a spring emerged. He then taught the Prophet ﷺ ablution — washing the right hand, then the left, wiping the head — and then taught him the prayer. He said: “O Muhammad, do two rak’ahs in the morning and two in the evening.”
From the story of Ali ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) — the first boy to accept Islam:
Ali saw the Messenger ﷺ and Lady Khadija praying. He asked the Prophet ﷺ about it, learned that he was the Messenger of God, and embraced Islam.
This confirms that prayer with ablution was practiced from the very beginning of revelation.
Fourth: Ablution Was Known Before the Verse of Al-Ma’idah
Evidence from Surah An-Nisa (revealed before Surah Al-Ma’idah):
“O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying, and not in a state of major ritual impurity, except when passing through — until you have bathed. And if you are ill or on a journey, or one of you comes from relieving himself, or you have touched women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Pardoning.”
— An-Nisa (4:43)
The phrase “and do not find water” is decisive proof. Water was already the established means of purification. This verse merely addressed exceptions — illness, travel, absence of water.
Evidence from the Hadith of Aisha (رضي الله عنها):
“Asma’s necklace was lost. The Prophet ﷺ sent men to search for it. Prayer time came, but they had no water and were not in a state of purity. They prayed without performing ritual purification. They mentioned this to the Prophet ﷺ, so Allah revealed the verse concerning tayammum.”
— Narrated by Aisha | Sahih Al-Bukhari, No. 5882
Note carefully: Aisha mentioned the revelation of the verse of tayammum (dry ablution) — not the verse of ablution — because ablution was already obligatory. It was practiced before any Quranic verse on the topic was recited, until the verse of Al-Ma’idah was revealed to formally enshrine it in recited scripture.
Key Principle: Ablution is Meccan in its obligation and Medinan in its recitation.
Fifth: Confirmation from the Night Journey
Al-Bazzar, Al-Tabarani, and Al-Bayhaqi (authenticated in Dala’il Al-Nubuwwah) narrated from the hadith of Shaddad ibn Aws:
On the Night Journey, the Prophet ﷺ passed by a land of palm trees. Jibreel instructed him to dismount and pray — and he did so. He then prayed at Midian (near the tree of Musa عليه السلام), at Mount Sinai (where Allah spoke to Musa), and at Bethlehem (where Isa ibn Maryam عليه السلام was born). He also led the prophets in prayer.
This narration makes clear: the Prophet ﷺ already knew how to pray before the Night Journey. The Night Journey imposed the five daily prayers, not the institution of prayer itself.
A Question Directed at the Christian Author
You question how Muslims prayed before ablution was revealed in Surah Al-Ma’idah.
We ask you:
- Where did Isa (عليه السلام) — whom you worship — explicitly declare, “I am your Lord, so worship Me”?
- Where did he teach you how to pray?
- How is your prayer valid while you are in a state of ritual impurity?
He lived among you for over thirty years. Yet:
“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed: ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’”
— Luke 22:41–42
To whom was he praying, if he himself is God?
Closing Remarks
Allah ﷻ said:
“A faction of the People of the Scripture wish they could mislead you, but they mislead not except themselves, and they perceive it not.”
— Aal Imran (3:69)
“And had it not been for Allah’s favour upon you and His mercy, a party of them would have resolved to mislead you. But they mislead not except themselves, and they do not harm you at all. And Allah has sent down to you the Book and wisdom and taught you what you did not know. And the favour of Allah upon you has been great.”
— An-Nisa (4:113)
All praise is due to Allah, and may His peace and blessings be upon His final Messenger ﷺ