بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله و صلاة و سلام على نبينا محمد و على آله و اصحابه اجمعين
Mashallah from some of the diligent Muslims who look for the khair (good) might ask “can I use soap with wudu (ablution) due to the Coronavirus outbreak in my area? “
The answer is water is pure and it purifies other things with it so water is pure as stated by Allah the Most High says in Quran:
وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً طَهُورًا
We send down pure water from the cloud,
Related to the water that is permissible to use we can find this in the books of Fiqh.
In fiqh as long nothing changes the water in taste, color, and smell it is useable for acts of worship such as Wudu and Ghusl and other issues related to Taharaah ( purity).
If something mix in the water that is Taahir ( lawful and pure the opposite of Najis, Taahir it pure but not water in its totality, such as stone, rock, food such as apple or fruit juice, wood stick). As long the soap is pure and does not change the conditions of the water where it no longer water.
Some scholars such as Imam An-Naawi and Shaykh Salih al Uthymeen had said using soap with wudu is an over zeal for the one who makes wudu with soap just to be extra clean. This form of zeal is extreme and a biddah (innovation in the religion).
This is base on the person’s intention.
Base on using soap to prevent the spread of disease or virus to oneself and others due to the spread of Coronavirus soap can be used with wudu as cleaning one’s hands. But I would recommend using soap that is pure before wudu. If one used it with wudu make sure it’s washed off (cleansing off the soap’s lather) and Allah knows best.
Washing hands before wudu because the fear of germs or filth and germs is a form of naijs (filth) is also a sunnah:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِذَا اسْتَيْقَظَ أَحَدُكُمْ مِنْ نَوْمِهِ فَلَا يَغْمِسْ يَدَهُ فِي الْإِنَاءِ حَتَّى يَغْسِلَهَا ثَلَاثًا فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَدْرِي أَيْنَ بَاتَتْ يَدُهُ
160 صحيح البخاري كتاب الوضوء باب
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace, and blessings be upon him, said, “When one of you awakens from sleep, do not let him dip his hands into the vessel until he washes them three times. Verily, he does not know where his hand spent the night.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 160, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 278
The benefit of this hadeeth is the vessel in which the water is held does not become corrupted with najis or germs and it spread to others. So washing his hand in this hadeeth related to waking up early in the morning not knowing where he hands been, is protection for oneself and others from harm.
Imam An-Naawi in the view related to this hadeeth of washing his hands before dipping in the water vessel it can be from waking up from day or night or he has doubts about his hands (if they are clean or not).
Written by Abul Baraa Muhammad Amreeki
Note: Some of the Fuqaha Scholars of Fiqh differ on washing the hands after waking up is this waking up from the night or any type of sleep. Some say when he wakes up from the night some say at any time night or day.
Works of Abul Baraa Muhamad Amreeki 
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