– aḥdatha: taken from ḥudūth (something coming into existence after non-existence). In the legal sense, ḥadath denotes the occurrence of whatever breaks ritual purity.
– ḥattā: a preposition of limit meaning “up to, until.” The verb yasmaʿa (he hears) is in the subjunctive, governed by an implied an after ḥattā, and yajida (he detects) is conjoined to it.
– “a sound … an odor”: that is, he hears a sound issuing from the rear or perceives an odor coming from the same place.

Lessons derived from the ḥadith

1. The default assumption is that a previously established state remains in force. Hence, if a person is ritually pure and then imagines that he has nullified it without being absolutely certain, he is still considered pure and should disregard such doubts and misgivings.
2. Satan can take on forms and perform acts that seem real, yet in truth they are merely his stratagems by which he seeks to corrupt a Muslim’s worship and plunge him into doubts and illusions.
3. A Muslim must be strong-willed and resolute so that Satan finds no way to confuse his worship. He should strive against these satanic fantasies; when Satan blows into his breast and says, “You have broken your ablution,” he must reply, “You are lying!”
4. Satan is a manifest enemy to the children of Adam. Whoever allows him to persist will be led astray. If he cannot mislead a person through desires, he will come by way of dubious notions. The Muslim, therefore, must strive against him, drive him away, and rout him, as Allah the Exalted says: “Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party so that they may become companions of the Blaze” (Qur’an 35:6).
5. Wind that exits from the anus nullifies wudūʾ and invalidates the prayer, provided one is certain that it has actually occurred.
6. When doubts become frequent they carry no legal weight, and a person should pay them no attention.