Is using the miswak done with the right hand or the left hand?
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The questioner : Regarding the miswak, is it a matter of cleanliness or among the virtues of deeds, and what is the established view?
The Shaykh : The question is not clear to me.
The questioner : Do you mean with the right hand or the left?
The Shaykh : Ah, good.
The questioner : This...
The Shaykh : I do not have a definitive opinion on this matter, because on one hand, it could be said to be done with the left.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And on the other hand, it could be said to be done with the right, but...
The questioner : Which one is more likely in your view?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Which one is more likely?
The Shaykh : Nothing is more likely in my view.
The questioner : Do what you do.
The Shaykh : I do not restrict myself to either of these.
The questioner : Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him).
The Shaykh : No, I do not remember what he said.
The questioner : A great deal, perhaps around forty or fifty pages. I am reading and have reached volume two, page twenty.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He strongly rejects the issue that it is among the virtues of deeds and that it is permissible with the right hand, bringing forth many proofs, or rather, many indications...
The Shaykh : With the left hand, meaning.
The questioner : Yes, he holds that this is a matter of cleanliness, although what I know from Ibn Hajar’s investigations in *al-Fath* is: "That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used the miswak in the mosque," and so on, and this indicates that it is among the virtues of deeds. So I said I would ask the Shaykh, and now I am doing both.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : Does it not appear, and Allah knows best, that it is stronger to say it is from the practice of using the right hand?
The Shaykh : By Allah, there is a perspective for each, so I have not affirmed anything.
The questioner : ... Ibn Taymiyyah, around forty or fifty pages, I read many things from him, sometimes like this and sometimes like that, so I said I would ask the Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Perhaps the first thing, since there is no explicit Sunnah on the matter, is to vary.
The questioner : He tells you: "The first thing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would do when he woke up was to use the miswak"; so in terms of cleanliness, I say if a person actually notices that it is for cleanliness, he uses it with the left now.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And if he sees that he has risen for prayer, he has just performed ablution, and Allah knows best. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : The question is not clear to me.
The questioner : Do you mean with the right hand or the left?
The Shaykh : Ah, good.
The questioner : This...
The Shaykh : I do not have a definitive opinion on this matter, because on one hand, it could be said to be done with the left.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And on the other hand, it could be said to be done with the right, but...
The questioner : Which one is more likely in your view?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Which one is more likely?
The Shaykh : Nothing is more likely in my view.
The questioner : Do what you do.
The Shaykh : I do not restrict myself to either of these.
The questioner : Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him).
The Shaykh : No, I do not remember what he said.
The questioner : A great deal, perhaps around forty or fifty pages. I am reading and have reached volume two, page twenty.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He strongly rejects the issue that it is among the virtues of deeds and that it is permissible with the right hand, bringing forth many proofs, or rather, many indications...
The Shaykh : With the left hand, meaning.
The questioner : Yes, he holds that this is a matter of cleanliness, although what I know from Ibn Hajar’s investigations in *al-Fath* is: "That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used the miswak in the mosque," and so on, and this indicates that it is among the virtues of deeds. So I said I would ask the Shaykh, and now I am doing both.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : Does it not appear, and Allah knows best, that it is stronger to say it is from the practice of using the right hand?
The Shaykh : By Allah, there is a perspective for each, so I have not affirmed anything.
The questioner : ... Ibn Taymiyyah, around forty or fifty pages, I read many things from him, sometimes like this and sometimes like that, so I said I would ask the Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Perhaps the first thing, since there is no explicit Sunnah on the matter, is to vary.
The questioner : He tells you: "The first thing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would do when he woke up was to use the miswak"; so in terms of cleanliness, I say if a person actually notices that it is for cleanliness, he uses it with the left now.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And if he sees that he has risen for prayer, he has just performed ablution, and Allah knows best. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Allah knows best.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.