Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (1/155)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

crosswise, he should use it crosswise, since no clear sunnah has been established regarding this.

“Beginning with the right side of his mouth, …”

His statement, “beginning with the right side of his mouth,” is supported by the fact that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, “liked to begin with the right in putting on his sandals, combing his hair, purifying himself, and in all his affairs” (1).

The scholars differed as to whether one should use the tooth-stick with the right hand or the left hand (2).

Some said: with the right hand, because using the tooth-stick is a sunnah, and the sunnah is an act of obedience and a means of drawing near to Allah Most High. It should therefore not be done with the left hand, since the left is reserved for removing filth, based on the principle that the left hand is used for filth and the right for everything else.

Since it is an act of worship, it is preferable to perform it with the right hand.

Others said that the left hand is preferable, and this is the well-known position of the madhhab, because it is used to remove what is unpleasant, and removing such things is done with the left hand, as in cleansing oneself after relieving oneself and using stones for that purpose.

Some Mālikīs made a distinction: if one uses the tooth-stick to cleanse the mouth—as when waking from sleep, or to remove the effects of eating and drinking—then he should use the left hand, because this is the removal of what is unpleasant (3).

But if he uses the tooth-stick in order to attain the sunnah, then he should use the right hand, because it is purely an act of devotion. For example, if he performs ablution and uses the tooth-stick at the time of ablution, then shortly afterward comes to the prayer, he uses the tooth-stick in order to attain the sunnah.

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari, Book of Ablution, chapter: “Beginning with the Right Side in Ablution and Ghusl,” no. 168, whose wording is cited here; and Muslim, Book of Purification, chapter: “Beginning with the Right Side in Purification and Other Matters,” no. 268, on the authority of Aishah. (2) See Majmu al-Fatawa, 21:108-113; al-Insaf, 1:272-273. (3) See Sharh al-Zurqani ala Mukhtasar Khalil, 1:72.

عرضاً استاك عرضاً؛ لعدم ثبوت سُنَّة بيِّنَةٍ في ذلك. مُبْتَدِئاً بِجَانِبِ فَمِهِ الأيْمَنِ، .......... قوله: «مبتدِئاً بجانب فَمِه الأيمن»، والدَّليل أن النبيَّ ﷺ «كان يُعجبُه التيمُّن في تنعُّله، وترجُّله، وطُهوره، وفي شأنه كلِّه» (١). واختلف العلماء هل يستاك باليد اليُمنى أو اليُسرى (٢)؟ فقال بعضهم: باليمنى؛ لأن السِّواك سُنَّةٌ، والسُّنَّةُ طاعةٌ وقُربةٌ لله تعالى، فلا يكونُ باليُسرى؛ لأنَّ اليسرى تُقدَّم للأذى، بناءً على قاعدةٍ وهي: أن اليسرى تقدَّم للأذى، واليُمنى لما عداه. وإذا كان عبادة فالأفضل أن يكون باليمين. وقال آخرون: باليسار أفضل، وهو المشهور من المذهب؛ لأنَّه لإِزالة الأذى، وإِزالة الأذى تكون باليُسرى كالاستنجاء، والاستجمار. وقال بعض المالكية: بالتَّفصيل، وهو إِنْ تسوَّك لتطهير الفَمِ كما لو استيقظ من نومه، أو لإزالة أثر الأكل والشُّرب فيكون باليسار؛ لأنه لإزالة الأذى (٣). وإِنْ تسوَّك لتحصيل السُّنَّة فباليمين؛ لأنه مجرد قُربة، كما لو توضَّأ واستاك عند الوُضُوء، ثم حضر إِلى الصَّلاة قريباً فإِنَّه يستاك لتحصيل السُّنَّة.

(١) رواه البخاري، كتاب الوضوء: باب التيمُّن في الوضوء والغُسْل، رقم (١٦٨) واللفظ له، ومسلم، كتاب الطهارة: باب التيمُّن في الطهُور وغيره، رقم (٢٦٨) عن عائشة ﵂ .. (٢) انظر: «مجموع الفتاوى» (٢١/ ١٠٨ ـ ١١٣)، «الإِنصاف» (١/ ٢٧٢، ٢٧٣). (٣) انظر: «شرح الزرقاني على مختصر خليل» (١/ ٧٢).