al-Ghurrah and others. On one occasion, he said, “Perform ablution after eating camel meat, but do not perform ablution after eating sheep meat. Pray in sheepfolds, but do not pray in camel enclosures.” Whoever performs ablution after eating camel meat will be spared the rancor and hardness of heart that afflict those who habitually eat it without performing ablution—such as the Bedouins—which the Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—alluded to in a hadith recorded from him in the two Sahih collections: “Harshness and hardness of heart are found among the boisterous owners of camels, while tranquility is found among those who tend sheep.”

Two reports are related from Ahmad concerning whether ablution must be performed after eating any other prohibited meat. They are based respectively on whether the ruling is exclusive to camel meat, or whether prohibited meat warrants ablution even more than permissible meat containing a degree of harm.

The authors among the followers of al-Shāfiʿī and others likewise agreed with Ahmad on this principle. They recognized that whoever believed this ruling to have been abrogated by the omission of ablution after eating food touched by fire was far off the mark. The hadith distinguishes between the two kinds of meat, thereby showing that the effective cause is what differentiates them, not what they have in common.

They also adopted what the hadith entailed: ablution is to be performed after eating camel meat whether raw or cooked. This hadith came after the abrogation, which is why he said regarding sheep meat, “If you wish, do not perform ablution.” Moreover, the abrogation was established only through the omission of ablution after eating sheep meat, so it has no general applicability. This is the meaning of Jābir’s statement: “The latter of the two practices