Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Karim Yahya, SunniPath Academy Teacher
It mentions in Reliance that one should start washing at their elbows when making wudhu from a faucet. It says in another text that one should start at the fingertips unless someone is pouring water for one. And do Ibn Hajar and Ramli differ on this issue? Does Imam Ramli hold the view that one should start washing at the elbows and ankles when making wudhu from the tap?
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate
In The Reliance of the traveler, the translator, Allah preserve him, treats water pouring from a tap like a person pouring water for someone performing ablution. This is also what we have learned from our teachers. However, it should be noted that using a tap is not considered asking someone else for help (isti’anah).
What is in The Reliance of the Traveler corresponds to what is in al-Rawdah by Imam Nawawi, Allah be pleased with him. Bushra al-Karim says it is also the position Imam Ramli held, Allah have mercy upon him. According to Shaykh Ibn Hajar, Allah’s Mercy upon him, one begins with the fingers and toes regardless of whether someone else is pouring water for them or not. He said in his commentary on Ba Fadl:
And starting to wash the arm and foot (i.e. each arm and foot) with the fingers [and toes] if one pours for them self. However, if someone else pours for them, one starts with the elbow and ankle. This is what is in al-Rawdah, but the relied upon position is what is in al-Majmu’ and other than it. Which is that starting with the fingers [and toes] is better without exception (Ibn Hajal-Haytami, al-Minhaj al-Qawim [Beruit, Dar al-Fikr, 1996], 49).
This is also what is in Tuhfah. And Allah knows best and He alone gives success (tawfiq).
Abdul-Karim Yahya