Hadiths on Purification, Prayer, and Fasting

The Sunan of Abu Dawud opens with the Book of Purification (Kitab at-Taharah), and al-Azimabadi's commentary on this section is among the most detailed portions of the Awn al-Ma'bud. The legal importance of purification as the prerequisite for prayer means that the hadiths in this section carry enormous practical weight, and al-Azimabadi treats them with corresponding thoroughness.

The famous hadith about the water that remains pure unless its color, taste, or smell changes received extended treatment in the commentary. Al-Azimabadi traces the debate among hadith scholars about the chains of this narration and its precise wording, then moves to the jurisprudential implications: the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools accepted this criterion for judging when water becomes ritually impure (najis), while the Hanafi school relied on a different set of principles involving quantity thresholds. Al-Azimabadi presents both positions with their textual foundations.

The hadiths on wudu (ablution) and ghusl (full ritual bath) are treated with similar thoroughness. Al-Azimabadi explains the disagreements over whether wiping the head (mash al-ra's) must cover the entire head or may be limited to a portion, citing the hadiths supporting each position and the reasoning of the scholars who adopted them. His commentary on the hadiths dealing with the prayer of the traveler (qasr as-salah) — shortening four-unit prayers to two — is notable for its detailed survey of the minimum travel distance that triggers this permission.

On fasting, Sunan Abi Dawud contains important narrations about the beginning and ending of Ramadan, the conditions for the validity of the fast, and the acts that break or merely diminish it. Al-Azimabadi's commentary addresses the famous hadith permitting the traveler to break the fast in Ramadan, examining the conditions under which this permission applies and whether fasting while traveling is actually dispreferred or merely sub-optimal.

The sections on supererogatory worship — voluntary fasts, night prayer, and dhikr — also receive careful attention. Al-Azimabadi draws out the prophetic hadiths emphasizing the spiritual benefits of these practices while being careful to maintain the distinction between obligatory and recommended worship.