Chapter: The Siwāk

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

“Is it preferable to use the siwāk with the left hand rather than the right, or the reverse? Is it permissible to rebuke someone who uses it with the left hand? Which is better?”

He replied:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. It is preferable to use the siwāk with the left hand. Imam Ahmad explicitly stated this in the report transmitted by Ibn Mansūr al-Kawsaj, who recorded it from him in his Masā’il (Questions). We know of no imam who disagreed with this.

This is because using the siwāk falls under the removal of offensive matter, like expelling water from the nose, blowing the nose, and similar acts of removing offensive matter. These are done with the left hand, just as removing impurities—by cleansing oneself with stones and the like—is done with the left hand. Whether obligatory or recommended, the removal of offensive matter is done with the left hand.

Actions are of two kinds: those involving both limbs, and those specific to one of them. The principles of Islamic law have established that actions in which