Statement on the Ruling of Istinja' (Cleaning Oneself) with Water
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
[Al-Fatihah 1:1-2], and we ask Allah for peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. He mentions istinja' with water; what does that mean, and is this correct? For this is a mention by the people of the land of the name of the mechanism.
The Shaykh:
Yes, among the scholars, other than Malik, there are those who disapprove of istinja' with water. They say this is because it involves touching the 'awrah and touching the impurity. It was known among the Arabs, and in Islam, that they used stones for cleaning and did not touch their 'awrah. This was the known practice in Makkah, known among the emigrants, the people of Makkah, who used stones. They only came to know istinja' when they arrived in Madinah. Istinja' was practiced in Madinah because they were neighbors of the Jews, and the Jews used istinja', so this was known in Madinah, among the people of Madinah.
And what the evidence indicates is the permissibility of both: istinja' with water and istijmar with stones. Both are established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and there is no evidence supporting those who prohibited it. As for it being a touching of the impurity or the 'awrah, that is for the sake of necessity. It is permissible to touch the 'awrah for the sake of necessity, and to touch the impurity for the sake of necessity, removing it and washing it. This is for necessity. One is only prohibited from touching the 'awrah and the impurity when there is no necessity. As for whether this occurred in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), no one has a say in it.
The presenter:
Sahih Muslim 379
The Shaykh:
Yes.
(1) In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. (2) [All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds -
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَThe Shaykh:
Yes, among the scholars, other than Malik, there are those who disapprove of istinja' with water. They say this is because it involves touching the 'awrah and touching the impurity. It was known among the Arabs, and in Islam, that they used stones for cleaning and did not touch their 'awrah. This was the known practice in Makkah, known among the emigrants, the people of Makkah, who used stones. They only came to know istinja' when they arrived in Madinah. Istinja' was practiced in Madinah because they were neighbors of the Jews, and the Jews used istinja', so this was known in Madinah, among the people of Madinah.
And what the evidence indicates is the permissibility of both: istinja' with water and istijmar with stones. Both are established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and there is no evidence supporting those who prohibited it. As for it being a touching of the impurity or the 'awrah, that is for the sake of necessity. It is permissible to touch the 'awrah for the sake of necessity, and to touch the impurity for the sake of necessity, removing it and washing it. This is for necessity. One is only prohibited from touching the 'awrah and the impurity when there is no necessity. As for whether this occurred in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), no one has a say in it.
The presenter:
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god
الله اكبر الله اكبر اشهد ان لا اله الا الله اشهد ان لا اله الاThe Shaykh:
Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، بداية من باب قضاء الحاجة — islamhouse.com (49:59)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.