Narrated by Abu Hurairah
Tell me, if there were a river at the door of one of you and he bathed in it five times every day, would any dirt remain on him? They said: "No dirt would remain on him." He said: "That is the likeness of the five prayers: through them Allah wipes out sins."
Sahih al-Bukhari 528, Sahih Muslim 667
What this hadith teaches
Every prayer is a fresh wash for the soul. The minor sins we fall into between prayers are cleaned away when we pray, as long as major sins are avoided.
Reference and grade
- Grade
- Sahih: agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim
- Narrator
- Abu Hurairah
- Chapter
- Why prayer matters
The hadith in Arabic نص الحديث
أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ أَنَّ نَهَرًا بِبَابِ أَحَدِكُمْ، يَغْتَسِلُ فِيهِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ خَمْسًا، مَا تَقُولُ ذَلِكَ يُبْقِي مِنْ دَرَنِهِ ". قَالُوا لاَ يُبْقِي مِنْ دَرَنِهِ شَيْئًا. قَالَ " فَذَلِكَ مِثْلُ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ، يَمْحُو اللَّهُ بِهَا الْخَطَايَا
Arabic text of Sahih al-Bukhari 528, as given on sunnah.com.