Virtues of Praying Two Rak`ahs After Wudu’

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “When a servant makes ablution and rinses his mouth, his wrong deeds fall from it. As he rinses his nose, his wrong deeds fall from it. When he washes his face, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from beneath his eyelashes. When he washes his hands, his wrong deeds fall from them until they fall from beneath his fingernails. When he wipes his head, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from his ears. When he washes his feet, his wrong deeds fall from them until they fall from beneath his toenails. Then his walking to the mosque and his prayer give him extra reward” (Malik, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and Al-Hakim). After finishing the rituals of wudu’ it is highly recommended to offer two rak`ahs. There is a great reward for these two rak`ahs, as reported in many hadiths.

Elaborating more on this, we cite what Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq states in his well-known book, Fiqh Us-Sunnah: Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Bilal, “O Bilal, tell me what good deed you have done in Islam that I hear the sound of your footsteps in Paradise?” Bilal said, “That after I purify myself during the day or night, I pray with that purification as much as Allah has destined for me” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). `Uqbah ibn `Amir related that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If one performs and perfects his ablution and prays two rak`ahs with his heart and face (completely on his prayer), Paradise becomes his” (Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and Ibn Khuzaimah).
Khumran, the freed slave of `Uthman, added: I saw `Uthman call for water for ablution, pour it from the pot onto his right hand and wash it three times. He then put his right hand into the container, rinsed his mouth and nose and blew the water out. Then he washed his face three times, followed by his arms up to the elbows. Then he washed his feet three times and said, “I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) make ablution like this. And then he (the Prophet) would say, ‘Whoever makes ablution like this and then prays two rak`ahs without having any other concern on his mind, all his past sins will be forgiven’“ (Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others).