over which Allah’s name has been mentioned, restored to its fullest covering of flesh; and every dropping shall be fodder for your animals.” The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “So do not cleanse yourselves with either of them, for they are provisions for your brothers among the jinn.” This is established in Sahīh Muslim and elsewhere through the hadith of Ibn Mas‘ūd.

The Prophet’s prohibition, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, against cleansing oneself with bones and dung is established in several hadiths, including the report of Abū Hurayrah in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and elsewhere. Sahīh Muslim and other collections also relate that Salmān said:

“Someone said to me, ‘Your Prophet has taught you everything—even how to defecate!’ I replied, ‘Indeed! He has forbidden us to face the direction of prayer when defecating or urinating, to cleanse ourselves with the right hand, to cleanse ourselves with fewer than three stones, or to cleanse ourselves with dung or bones.’”

Sahīh Muslim and other collections also relate that Jābir said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade us to wipe ourselves with bones or droppings.”

This prohibition also appears in the hadith of Khuzaymah ibn Thābit and others.

The reason for this prohibition is explained in the hadith of Ibn Mas‘ūd. Sahīh Muslim and other collections relate from Ibn Mas‘ūd that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“A caller from among the jinn came to me, so I went with him and recited the Quran to them.”

He continued: “He then took us and showed us their traces and the traces of their fires. They asked him for provisions, and he said: ‘You shall have every bone over which Allah’s name has been mentioned that comes