Ablution is obligatory before the five daily prayers in addition to other obligatory prayers except the Funeral Prayer. It is obligatory to wash the face and the two arms, and pass the hand over, for Shia, the head and the feet. Similarly, it is recommendable, in the ritual ablution, to wash the hands and rinse the mouth and the nose in addition to the other actions. The specialist physicians mention important advantages for the ablution. They are as follows:
1. Water that is shed on the face and the hands helps in activating the dermal capillaries. This increases the heart vivacity, activates the body respiratory processes, and helps in inhalation and exhalation. Consequently, the perceptive motivated nerves are stimulated. Then, the stimulation moves to the whole cardiac, gastric, and plutonic nerves, as well as all of the organs and glands.
2. Eyes are protected against ophthalmic because they are washed with water several times a day.
3. The nasal channels are cleaned from the germs gathering there by rinsing the nose.
4. The skin is protected against dermatomes. The face and the hands are uncovered organs that are vulnerable to the affection of microbes. Immunity will certainly be obtained if those organs are washed several times a day.
5. The oral cavity is protected against the germs that penetrate because of the pollution of hands. If the hands are always clean, they will not carry any microbe. Diseases that affect the human body through polluted hands are the digestive parasites, typhoid, and paralysis. At any rate, the ablution is the most notable means of protecting the human bodies against such serious diseases.
6. The ablution alleviate tense nerves and anger, as physicians aver. The Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) said: “Rage is the Satan. The Satan is created of fire. Water extinguishes fire. You should perform the ablution whenever you are enraged.”