observed from him was to omit ablution after eating food touched by fire.” For Jābir saw him perform ablution, and then saw him eat mutton without performing ablution. No general formulation concerning this has been transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. Even had such a formulation been transmitted, it would entail abrogating a specific ruling by means of a general text whose inclusion of that precise case had not been established—a principle rejected by most Mālikīs, Shāfiʿīs, and Hanbalīs.

Moreover, it has not been established that the hadiths prescribing ablution after eating food touched by fire were abrogated. Indeed, it has been said that they came later. Nevertheless, one of the two positions in Ahmad’s school is that ablution after such food is recommended, not obligatory; according to the other position, it is not recommended.

Just as the Sunnah enjoined avoiding physical impurities and cleansing oneself of them, it likewise enjoined avoiding spiritual impurities and cleansing oneself of them. The Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—said, “When one of you gets up during the night, let him draw water into his nostrils, for Satan spends the night in his nasal cavity.” He also said, “When one of you rises from sleep at night, he must not dip his hand into the vessel until he has washed it three times, for none of you knows where his hand spent the night.” Thus, he cited Satan’s spending the night in the nasal cavity as the reason for commanding this washing. It is therefore known that this necessitates purification even in the absence of any visible impurity. It is consequently not implausible that the same is the reason for washing the hand of a person rising from sleep at night.

Likewise, he forbade prayer in camel enclosures and said, “Camels are jinn, created from jinn.” It is also reliably reported that he—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—said, “The entire earth is a place of prayer