Overall meaning:
Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—the Prophet’s attendant, relates that whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered the place for relieving himself, he and another boy would bring the water with which he purified himself of filth. It was kept in a small leather water-skin. They would also bring something with which he could conceal himself from the people’s view: a short staff tipped with iron that he would plant in the ground and over which he would hang a cloth to screen himself from passers-by.
Points derived from the hadith
- It is permissible to use only water for istinjāʾ, and this is better than using stones alone because water cleanses more thoroughly. The optimal practice, however, is to combine stones and water: begin with the stones, then follow them with water to achieve complete purification. Al-Nawawī said: “The consensus of the early and later scholars, and of the jurists in every land, is that the best course is to combine stones and water—using the stone first to lessen the impurity and reduce direct hand contact, then washing with water. If one wishes to suffice with just one of the two, that is permissible, whether or not the other is available; and if he limits himself to one, water is superior to stone.”
- A Muslim should prepare the water he will need before entering the lavatory so that he will not have to rise afterward and risk soiling himself.
- He must guard himself from being seen, for looking at the ʿawrah is forbidden. Thus the Prophet ﷺ would fix the ʿanazah in the ground and drape a cloth over it as a screen.
- It is permissible to employ children for such tasks, even if they are free.
Hadith 5
Abū Qatādah al-Ḥārith ibn Ribʿī al-Anṣārī—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “When any one of you is urinating, let him not hold his private part with his right hand, nor wipe himself after relieving himself with his right hand, nor breathe into a vessel.”⦗1⦘
Overall meaning:
This noble hadith consists of three priceless pieces of advice and valuable benefits that