it brings no benefit or only aggravates the matter, then he should not boycott him; for boycotting is a remedy that is used only where it does good. When it does no good, the default ruling is that it is forbidden to shun a believer, because the Prophet ﷺ said: “It is not lawful for a believer to shun his brother for more than three days; they meet and each turns away from the other, and the better of the two is the one who initiates the greeting of peace.”

Among the supplementary points mentioned in this ḥadīth is istinshāq (sniffing water into the nose). It is part of the fiṭrah, for it cleanses and removes what is inside the nose and is therefore an act of purification. Istinshāq is performed in wuḍūʾ and outside of wuḍūʾ; whenever you need to clean your nose, sniff water and cleanse it. People differ in this regard: some require it only during wuḍūʾ, while others need it frequently.

Likewise, among the sunan of the fiṭrah is maḍmaḍah (rinsing the mouth), because it cleanses the mouth. The mouth needs cleaning, as food, grease, and the like pass through it; thus maḍmaḍah is one of the characteristics of the fiṭrah.

Another practice is istinjāʾ (washing the private parts after relieving oneself). Wakīʿ interpreted the phrase intiqaṣ al-māʾ as referring to istinjāʾ, because istinjāʾ is an act of cleansing, purification, and removal of impurity.

Also included is washing the barājim. Scholars have explained that the barājim are the creases at the joints of the fingers; the underside of these joints requires more thorough cleaning than