aromatic woods; because it was narrated from Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Do not use the wood of sweet basil or pomegranate for toothpick cleaning, for both of them stir up the root of leprosy." Narrated by Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Azdi the Hafiz with his chain of transmission (17). It is said: Using the wood of sweet basil as a miswak harms the flesh of the mouth. If one uses his finger or a cloth, it has been said: He does not fulfill the Sunnah, because the Shari'a did not prescribe it, and the cleansing does not occur to the same degree as it does with wood. The correct position is that he fulfills the Sunnah to the extent of the cleansing achieved, and a small part of the Sunnah is not to be abandoned because of one's inability to perform its complete form. And Allah knows best.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Baqi (18) informed us, Rizq Allah ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Tamimi (19) informed us, Abu al-Husayn ibn Bishran (20) informed us. Ibn al-Bakhtari (21) informed us, Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Salih (22) narrated to us, Khalid ibn Khidash (23) narrated to us, Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna (24) narrated to us, and some of my family narrated to me, from Anas ibn Malik, that a man from Banu 'Amr ibn...
(17) Abu al-Fath Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Azdi al-Mawsili. He settled in Baghdad and narrated there. He was a memorizer of hadith (Hafiz) and authored books in the sciences of hadith. There are rare (ghara'ib) and rejected (manakir) reports in his narrations. He passed away in the year 367 AH; it is also said 374 AH in Mosul. Tarikh Baghdad 2/243, 244; Tadhkirat al-Huffaz 3/967; al-'Ibar 2/367, 368. (18) Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Baqi ibn Muhammad al-Ansari al-Baghdadi al-Hanbali, the Qadi of the Maristan. He was knowledgeable in the sciences and versatile, having studied every discipline. His auditions were authentic (sahih). He passed away in the year 535 AH. Al-'Ibar 4/96, 97; Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila 1/192-198. (19) Abu Muhammad Rizq Allah ibn Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Tamimi al-Baghdadi, the jurist and preacher, the shaykh of the Hanbalis, who died in the year 488 AH. Al-'Ibar 3/320; Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila 1/77-85. (20) Abu al-Husayn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Bishran al-Umawi. He was truthful (saduq), possessed complete nobility, and was outwardly religious. He died in the year 415 AH. Tarikh Baghdad 12/98, 99; Al-'Ibar 3/120. (21) Perhaps this is Abu Amr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja'far al-Naysaburi al-Muzakki al-Hafiz, the author of al-Arba'in al-Marwiyya. He was one of the prominent memorizers of hadith in scholarly discussion. He died in the year 396 AH. Al-'Ibar 3/61, 62. (22) Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Salih al-Wazzan. He was truthful (saduq) and there is no harm in him. He died in Surr man Ra'a in the year 281 AH. Tarikh Baghdad 4/28, 29. (23) Khalid ibn Khidash ibn 'Ajlan al-Muhallabi, their mawla, the Basran. He settled in Baghdad and narrated from Malik ibn Anas, Hammad ibn Zayd, and several others. He was declared reliable (wuthhiq) and he is truthful (saduq). He died in the year 223 or 224 AH. Tarikh Baghdad 8/304-307; Mizan al-I'tidal 1/629. (24) Abu Musa Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna ibn Qays al-'Anazi al-Basri al-Zamin al-Hafiz. He was trustworthy (thiqah), established (thabt), truthful (saduq), and his hadith are sound. He died in the year 167 AH. Tarikh Baghdad 3/283-285; Mizan al-I'tidal 4/24.
