or by performing istijmar with stones or with any material that serves the same purpose. Combining the two is better, but resorting to either one by itself is sufficient.

Istijmar may be carried out with stones or with substitutes such as coarse paper, cloth scraps, and the like—anything that will cleanse and dry the outlet. Three cleansing wipes that remove every trace are the minimum requirement; one may add more if necessary. It is not permissible to use bones or animal droppings, for the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—forbade that. He must remove every remnant of the discharge and dry the place so that no impurity remains on his body or is transferred elsewhere on his person or clothing.

Some jurists have maintained that istijmar is a precondition for the validity of wudu and must precede it; if he performs wudu before istijmar, his wudu is invalid. They adduce the agreed-upon hadith of al-Miqdad: “He washes his private part, then performs wudu.”

Al-Nawawi said: “The sunnah is to perform istinja before wudu, thereby avoiding the scholarly dispute and protecting one’s state of purity from being broken.”

O Muslim, take care to guard yourself against urine, for neglecting that is one of the causes of punishment in the grave. Abu Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Safeguard yourselves from urine, for most of the torment of the grave is because of it,” related by