is conversing privately with his Lord, so he must not spit in front of him or to his right, but to his left or beneath his foot.” This is the narration of Anas.

In the two Sahih collections, Abu Hurayrah said:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw phlegm on the mosque’s qiblah wall. He turned towards the people and said: ‘Why does one of you stand facing his Lord and spit phlegm in front of him? Would any of you like someone to face him and spit phlegm in his face? If one of you needs to spit phlegm, let him do so to his left or beneath his foot. If he finds nowhere, then like this.’ He spat into his garment and folded one part over the other.”

Thus, he instructed people to spit into their garments when the other options were unavailable—not because spitting into a garment is a legally prescribed substitute, but because doing so otherwise soils the garment unnecessarily. Likewise, for cleansing oneself with stones after relieving oneself, he prescribed three stones, or, for someone unable to find them, three handfuls of earth. This is because earth cannot be used as effectively as stones, not because it is a legally prescribed substitute. There are many similar examples.

His noble pronouncements therefore show that the correct position in these matters reflects the latitude of his upright, monotheistic law, and that he imposed no hardship upon his community. Every position supported by his pronouncements has been upheld by a group of scholars, may Allah be pleased with them. Thus, praise be to Allah, the Muslim community has never unanimously rejected any of these teachings, for they do not unite upon misguidance. Rather, they must refer their disagreements to Allah and the Messenger. When they do so, the perfection of his religion becomes clear, as does the way its teachings confirm one another.

They also show that anyone among the earlier or later generations who issued a contrary ruling—while exercising scholarly judgment and fearing Allah to the best of his ability—is rewarded for doing so and incurs no sin, even if