Chapter: One who did not perform wudu' from eating sheep meat and flour, and Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) ate it and did not perform wudu'.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Reciter: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the Book of Wudu':
"Chapter: One who did not perform wudu' from eating sheep meat and flour". "And Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) ate it and did not perform wudu'".
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This chapter heading indicates the depth of al-Bukhari's (may Allah have mercy on him) insight. He said: "Chapter: One who did not perform wudu' from eating sheep meat". He is referring to wudu' from eating camel meat, but he did not quote the hadith because it does not meet his conditions for inclusion; therefore, it is in Sahih Muslim: Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It contains two authentic hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): the hadith of al-Bara' and the hadith of Jabir ibn Samurah".
Camel meat invalidates wudu', whether raw or cooked, in small or large quantities, whether fat or meat; all of it invalidates it. The liver, intestines, stomach, heart, and head—everything inside the camel, everything within the camel's skin, invalidates wudu' without distinction. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Perform wudu' from eating camel meat," and he knew that people would eat the entire camel. They eat the lean meat, they eat the fat, they eat the intestines, and they eat the stomach; all of it is eaten. Perhaps if you compared the lean meat to the rest, you would find that the rest is more abundant. Accordingly, wudu' is obligatory from eating camel meat, but wudu' is not obligatory from eating sheep meat, nor from beef or the rest of the animals.
Now, if a person eats pork, is wudu' obligatory for him?
The questioner : No, it is forbidden.
The Shaykh : No, [wudu' is not obligatory] in cases of need or dire necessity. If a person is compelled and eats it, his wudu' does not become invalid, even though it is the most impure. This is because camel meat has a characteristic that is not found in other meats, which is its stringiness. For this reason, you find that camel owners are the most severe in temperament and the coarsest, and the meat is the same. So when a person performs wudu', it mitigates the intensity of this meat and its effect on the body.
Now, regarding his statement: "and flour", a person might ask: What is the commonality between sheep meat and flour?
Flour, as you know, is roasted grain that is then ground and eaten. It is mixed with oil or something else and eaten. He (may Allah have mercy on him) is referring to wudu' from what has been touched by fire. Is wudu' obligatory from what has been touched by fire, or is it not?
The command regarding this has been transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:Mishkat al-Masabih 303, 304 However: such as bread, cooked food, and the like.
The correct view is that wudu' from what has been touched by fire is not obligatory, because the last practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was that he did not perform wudu' from it.
Then he mentioned three of the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman. They ate from sheep meat and from flour and did not perform wudu'. It will come later that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself ate from sheep meat and did not perform wudu'.
Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the Book of Wudu':
"Chapter: One who did not perform wudu' from eating sheep meat and flour". "And Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) ate it and did not perform wudu'".
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This chapter heading indicates the depth of al-Bukhari's (may Allah have mercy on him) insight. He said: "Chapter: One who did not perform wudu' from eating sheep meat". He is referring to wudu' from eating camel meat, but he did not quote the hadith because it does not meet his conditions for inclusion; therefore, it is in Sahih Muslim:
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to perform wudu' from eating camel meat
أن النبي صلّى الله عليه وسلم أمرنا بالوضوء من لحم الإبلCamel meat invalidates wudu', whether raw or cooked, in small or large quantities, whether fat or meat; all of it invalidates it. The liver, intestines, stomach, heart, and head—everything inside the camel, everything within the camel's skin, invalidates wudu' without distinction. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Perform wudu' from eating camel meat," and he knew that people would eat the entire camel. They eat the lean meat, they eat the fat, they eat the intestines, and they eat the stomach; all of it is eaten. Perhaps if you compared the lean meat to the rest, you would find that the rest is more abundant. Accordingly, wudu' is obligatory from eating camel meat, but wudu' is not obligatory from eating sheep meat, nor from beef or the rest of the animals.
Now, if a person eats pork, is wudu' obligatory for him?
The questioner : No, it is forbidden.
The Shaykh : No, [wudu' is not obligatory] in cases of need or dire necessity. If a person is compelled and eats it, his wudu' does not become invalid, even though it is the most impure. This is because camel meat has a characteristic that is not found in other meats, which is its stringiness. For this reason, you find that camel owners are the most severe in temperament and the coarsest, and the meat is the same. So when a person performs wudu', it mitigates the intensity of this meat and its effect on the body.
Now, regarding his statement: "and flour", a person might ask: What is the commonality between sheep meat and flour?
Flour, as you know, is roasted grain that is then ground and eaten. It is mixed with oil or something else and eaten. He (may Allah have mercy on him) is referring to wudu' from what has been touched by fire. Is wudu' obligatory from what has been touched by fire, or is it not?
The command regarding this has been transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:
Perform ablution because of anything which has been touched by fire
توضؤوا مما مست النارThe last of the two practices of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was to leave off performing wudu' from what has been touched by fire
كان آخر الأمرين من رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلم ترك الوضوء مما مست النارThe correct view is that wudu' from what has been touched by fire is not obligatory, because the last practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was that he did not perform wudu' from it.
Then he mentioned three of the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman. They ate from sheep meat and from flour and did not perform wudu'. It will come later that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself ate from sheep meat and did not perform wudu'.