the siwak in the late afternoon for a person who is fasting.”

This is an issue about which the scholars hold two opinions. The first forbids using the siwak after the sun has passed its zenith, arguing that it removes the odor mentioned in the Prophet’s statement, “The odor that comes from the mouth of a fasting person is more fragrant to Allah than the scent of musk.” The second opinion allows it, maintaining that it falls under the general wording of his saying, “Were it not that I might impose hardship on my community, I would have commanded them to use the siwak at every prayer.” Al-Nasāʾī cited this very hadith under that heading, and it represents the stronger of the two views, for the hadith itself points to it.

Al-Sindī, in his marginal notes on the Sunan, highlighting Imam al-Nasāʾī’s precision, wrote: “From this one may deduce what the author expressed in the chapter heading. It is plain that this is a subtle inference and a remarkable display of alertness on the author’s part. May Allah reward him—how penetrating and sharp is his understanding!”

The highest chains of transmission found in Sunan al-Nasāʾī are those with four narrators. The collection comprises a total of fifty-one books, and the