to al-Nawawī and those with him; rather, he would have agreed with them in judging this narration erroneous.

Infallibility belongs to Allah alone.

As for his statement, “Nor is it far-fetched that a narrator might leave [a name] unspecified …,” this is valid, but only when the narration in which the name is specified is not anomalous, as it is here.

Further supporting the foregoing is that Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq corroborated Hishām’s narration, saying:

“Fāṭimah bint al-Mundhir related to me from Asmāʾ bint Abū Bakr, who said: ‘I heard a woman asking the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about her garment after she had become pure from her menstruation: What should she do with it? He said: If you see blood on it, scrape it off, then scrub it with water, then sprinkle water over the rest of it, and pray in it.’”

It was recorded by Abū Dāwūd (385), al-Dārimī (1/239)—whose wording is cited here—al-Bayhaqī (2/406); and its chain is good.

Her statement, “I heard a woman,” makes it unlikely, as is apparent, that she herself was the woman asking the question.

Note: This version adds, “then sprinkle water over the rest of it.” This is an important addition, for it clarifies that the words in Hishām’s narration, “then sprinkle water over it,” do not mean sprinkling the place of the blood alone, but the entire garment. This is further attested by the hadith of ʿĀʾishah, who said:

“One of us would menstruate, then, upon becoming pure, scrub the blood from her garment, wash it, sprinkle water over the rest of it, and then pray in it.”

It was recorded by al-Bukhārī (1/326), Ibn Mājah (1/217), and al-Bayhaqī (2/406–407).

The apparent meaning of this hadith, like that of the preceding hadith, indicates that water alone suffices for washing menstrual blood and that it is not obligatory to use any cleansing agents, such as sidr (lote leaves), soap, and the like. However, there is evidence indicating that this is obligatory, namely the following hadith:

“Scrape it with a rib-bone, and wash it with water and sidr (lote leaves).”