Explanation of the author's statement: "Using a soft, clean twig that is not harmful and does not crumble, or using a finger and a cloth, is a recommended practice."
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The Shaykh : The author said "the use of a miswak". Pay attention, we need to analyze the grammar now. "The use of a miswak" is the subject. So, where is the predicate? It is "recommended." It is not "with a twig." "With a twig" is a prepositional phrase attached to "the use of a miswak," because "the use of a miswak" is a verbal noun that functions like its verb. "The use of a soft, clean twig that is not harmful and does not crumble is recommended". We will discuss this later. "Recommended" is the predicate. First, he said, may Allah have mercy on him, "the use of a miswak with a twig." I said, the prepositional phrase is attached to what? To "the use of a miswak with a twig."
The questioner : How is it attached to "recommended"?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : ... with a twig.
The Shaykh : No, no. "The use of a miswak" means using a miswak with a twig. That is, if one uses a miswak with a twig. The phrase "with a twig" includes all types of twigs, whether from palm fronds, from their branches, from grape vines, or otherwise. It covers every twig, so it is a general term encompassing all twigs. The restrictions that follow are principles that exclude the remaining twigs. So, by saying "twig," he excluded using a cloth or fingers, as that is not a recommended practice according to the author's view. Second, "soft". What did this exclude? It excluded the remaining hard twigs. What are the dry, hard twigs? These hard twigs are not used for miswak. Why? First, because they do not provide the benefit of a soft twig. Second, because they may cause harm. They harm the gums if they touch them, and they harm the layer on the bone. The teeth rub against them, and this is one point. Second, "clean". Here, a twig that does not clean. They say a twig that has no hair becomes very moist. It does not clean. If you pass it over your teeth, it does not benefit them at all due to its excessive moisture and lack of hair, which affects the removal of dirt. Okay. "not harmful". This is to avoid what causes harm. They said, for example, as-sa' (sweet acacia) and basil, and everything that has a pleasant scent. This is harmful. What has a pleasant scent is harmful. Yes, glory to Allah, how is it harmful? They say because it affects the smell of the mouth. This pleasant scent turns into a foul smell, not a pleasant one. Therefore, anything that has a pleasant scent, meaning a good smell, not a flavor, is not used for miswak because it is harmful.
The questioner : Is it "other than harmful" or "other than harmful"? The alif is open.
The Shaykh : No, "other than" is better. "Other than" is an attribute. "not harmful, does not crumble". What does "does not crumble" mean? It does not fall apart. If it falls apart, it is of no benefit; rather, it hurts you more. Because if it falls apart in your mouth, it means it has filled it with irritation. One with a twig of ghada. Do you know ghada? The ghada that is used for fuel, not the ghada, because it is closer to the arak that is not known. We must force him to take us to the desert at his expense. Okay, to show it to him. We, in any case, ghada is a type of wood and twigs used for fuel. This crumbles. That is, if you use it for miswak, it crumbles immediately. This is not recommended for miswak because it is of no benefit; rather, it only adds dirt to the mouth. He said, "not with a finger and a cloth". Using a finger for miswak is not a recommended practice, and the recommended practice is not achieved by it, whether that is during ablution or not. This is the author's view. However, some scholars differed on this, including al-Muqaffa, the author of al-Muqni', whose book this is an abridgment of, and his cousin, the commentator of al-Muqni'. They said that the recommended practice is achieved to the extent that cleaning is achieved. It was narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the description of ablution that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inserted his finger during rinsing the mouth and moved it. This indicates that using a finger for miswak is sufficient, but it is not like using a twig, without a doubt, because using a twig is more effective for cleaning. However, a person may not have any twigs available when performing ablution, so we tell him that using a finger is sufficient. And his saying, "and a cloth". How do you use a cloth for miswak, and how?
The questioner : He places it on the tip of his finger.
The Shaykh : Ah, he wraps the cloth around the finger and uses it for miswak. The author says that the recommended practice is not achieved by that. However, there is no doubt that cleaning with a cloth is more effective than cleaning with just a finger. For this reason, some scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, said that if the finger is rough, using it for miswak is sufficient. If it is not rough, it is not sufficient. Accordingly, for workers, builders, and farmers, using fingers is sufficient. As for those with soft hands, we say "softness" (na'mah) with an open alif, not "blessing" (ni'mah) with a kasrah. It does not benefit them. Okay. He says, a cloth is undoubtedly more effective than a finger. So, whoever said that a finger achieves the recommended practice said that a cloth is even more so. The word "finger" (isba'ah). They say no one makes a mistake in it grammatically, from the morphological perspective. No one ever makes a mistake in it grammatically. Some people make mistakes in its case, perhaps raising it when it should be accusative, or vice versa. But in morphology, no one ever makes a mistake in it. Why? Because the sad is silent, and the hamzah and ba are triplets. That means it is permissible to open, kasr, or dam the hamzah, and to open, kasr, or dam the ba. Three times three is nine. For this reason, some said in a poem: "Those languages and adding to them a finger (anmalah) as well. He said: "And the hamzah of anmalah is triple, and its third *** The nine in a finger, and conclude with isba'ah". But I think isba'ah is correct... or that is isba'ah. This is after the eleventh round. Okay. "The hamzah of anmalah". I repeat it a second and third time, and we will see what is different. "And the hamzah of anmalah is triple, and its third *** The nine in a finger, and conclude with isba'ah". This is twice. ANMULAH, INMULAH, UNMULAH. And you say ANMILAH, ANMALAH, ANMULAH. Yes, like that. And they are nine languages where the hamzah is triple and the mim is triple, and so is isba'ah.
The questioner : And its third?
The Shaykh : Its third is the mim. It is "anmalah": hamzah, nun, mim.
The questioner : How is it attached to "recommended"?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : ... with a twig.
The Shaykh : No, no. "The use of a miswak" means using a miswak with a twig. That is, if one uses a miswak with a twig. The phrase "with a twig" includes all types of twigs, whether from palm fronds, from their branches, from grape vines, or otherwise. It covers every twig, so it is a general term encompassing all twigs. The restrictions that follow are principles that exclude the remaining twigs. So, by saying "twig," he excluded using a cloth or fingers, as that is not a recommended practice according to the author's view. Second, "soft". What did this exclude? It excluded the remaining hard twigs. What are the dry, hard twigs? These hard twigs are not used for miswak. Why? First, because they do not provide the benefit of a soft twig. Second, because they may cause harm. They harm the gums if they touch them, and they harm the layer on the bone. The teeth rub against them, and this is one point. Second, "clean". Here, a twig that does not clean. They say a twig that has no hair becomes very moist. It does not clean. If you pass it over your teeth, it does not benefit them at all due to its excessive moisture and lack of hair, which affects the removal of dirt. Okay. "not harmful". This is to avoid what causes harm. They said, for example, as-sa' (sweet acacia) and basil, and everything that has a pleasant scent. This is harmful. What has a pleasant scent is harmful. Yes, glory to Allah, how is it harmful? They say because it affects the smell of the mouth. This pleasant scent turns into a foul smell, not a pleasant one. Therefore, anything that has a pleasant scent, meaning a good smell, not a flavor, is not used for miswak because it is harmful.
The questioner : Is it "other than harmful" or "other than harmful"? The alif is open.
The Shaykh : No, "other than" is better. "Other than" is an attribute. "not harmful, does not crumble". What does "does not crumble" mean? It does not fall apart. If it falls apart, it is of no benefit; rather, it hurts you more. Because if it falls apart in your mouth, it means it has filled it with irritation. One with a twig of ghada. Do you know ghada? The ghada that is used for fuel, not the ghada, because it is closer to the arak that is not known. We must force him to take us to the desert at his expense. Okay, to show it to him. We, in any case, ghada is a type of wood and twigs used for fuel. This crumbles. That is, if you use it for miswak, it crumbles immediately. This is not recommended for miswak because it is of no benefit; rather, it only adds dirt to the mouth. He said, "not with a finger and a cloth". Using a finger for miswak is not a recommended practice, and the recommended practice is not achieved by it, whether that is during ablution or not. This is the author's view. However, some scholars differed on this, including al-Muqaffa, the author of al-Muqni', whose book this is an abridgment of, and his cousin, the commentator of al-Muqni'. They said that the recommended practice is achieved to the extent that cleaning is achieved. It was narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the description of ablution that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inserted his finger during rinsing the mouth and moved it. This indicates that using a finger for miswak is sufficient, but it is not like using a twig, without a doubt, because using a twig is more effective for cleaning. However, a person may not have any twigs available when performing ablution, so we tell him that using a finger is sufficient. And his saying, "and a cloth". How do you use a cloth for miswak, and how?
The questioner : He places it on the tip of his finger.
The Shaykh : Ah, he wraps the cloth around the finger and uses it for miswak. The author says that the recommended practice is not achieved by that. However, there is no doubt that cleaning with a cloth is more effective than cleaning with just a finger. For this reason, some scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, said that if the finger is rough, using it for miswak is sufficient. If it is not rough, it is not sufficient. Accordingly, for workers, builders, and farmers, using fingers is sufficient. As for those with soft hands, we say "softness" (na'mah) with an open alif, not "blessing" (ni'mah) with a kasrah. It does not benefit them. Okay. He says, a cloth is undoubtedly more effective than a finger. So, whoever said that a finger achieves the recommended practice said that a cloth is even more so. The word "finger" (isba'ah). They say no one makes a mistake in it grammatically, from the morphological perspective. No one ever makes a mistake in it grammatically. Some people make mistakes in its case, perhaps raising it when it should be accusative, or vice versa. But in morphology, no one ever makes a mistake in it. Why? Because the sad is silent, and the hamzah and ba are triplets. That means it is permissible to open, kasr, or dam the hamzah, and to open, kasr, or dam the ba. Three times three is nine. For this reason, some said in a poem: "Those languages and adding to them a finger (anmalah) as well. He said: "And the hamzah of anmalah is triple, and its third *** The nine in a finger, and conclude with isba'ah". But I think isba'ah is correct... or that is isba'ah. This is after the eleventh round. Okay. "The hamzah of anmalah". I repeat it a second and third time, and we will see what is different. "And the hamzah of anmalah is triple, and its third *** The nine in a finger, and conclude with isba'ah". This is twice. ANMULAH, INMULAH, UNMULAH. And you say ANMILAH, ANMALAH, ANMULAH. Yes, like that. And they are nine languages where the hamzah is triple and the mim is triple, and so is isba'ah.
The questioner : And its third?
The Shaykh : Its third is the mim. It is "anmalah": hamzah, nun, mim.