exclusive when reconciliation is possible, because that would entail disregarding half of the Sunnah—namely, the practical Sunnah.

As for the hadith of Ibn Abbas, it is weak; and even if it is authentically established as a Companion’s statement (mawquf) (1), it has been contradicted.

This demonstrates the weakness of the evidence of those who hold that camel meat does not invalidate ablution. The hadith requiring ablution after eating camel meat thus remains free of any counterevidence capable of opposing it. Since this is so, it is obligatory to act upon it and to affirm what it entails.

As for ablution after drinking camel milk, the correct view is that it is recommended rather than obligatory, for two reasons:

First: the numerous authentic hadiths concern ablution after eating camel meat, whereas the hadith concerning ablution after drinking its milk has a sound chain of transmission, though some scholars have deemed it weak (2).

Second: Anas narrated in the account of the Uraniyyun that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed them to join the camels of charity and drink from their urine and milk (3) … Yet he did not instruct them to perform ablution after drinking their milk, despite the need for such clarification. This indicates that ablution after drinking it is recommended.