The evidence for this is that, in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and Abdullah ibn Mughafal, the Prophet ﷺ commanded that, if a dog laps from a vessel, it be washed seven times, (1) “one of them with soil,” (2) while another narration states, “the first of them with soil.” (3)
This narration is more specific than the first, because “one of them” includes any washing from the first through the seventh, whereas “the first of them” restricts it to the first washing. It is therefore more deserving of consideration. For this reason, the scholars—may Allah Most High have mercy on them—said: It is preferable for the soil to be used in the first washing, (4) for the following reasons:
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This is explicitly stated in the text.
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When the soil is used in the first washing, the impurity is reduced, so that after the first washing it becomes like the intermediate impurities.
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If, after the soil has been used, the water from the second washing reaches another area, that area need only be washed six times without soil. But if the soil were used in the final washing, and the second washing reached another area, that area would have to be washed six times, one of them with soil.
His statement, “dog,” includes black dogs, trained dogs and others, those which it is permissible to keep and those which it is not permissible to keep, as well as small and large dogs.