impure, and this is a rationalization (ta'lil) from the Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- that must be adopted. Furthermore, because it is the removal of an impurity, it cannot be achieved with an impurity, just like washing. If one performs istinja' with an impure substance, it is possible that istijmar after it would not be valid, because the site has become contaminated by an impurity other than the discharge, thus nothing but water suffices for it, just as if it had become impure initially. It is also possible that it would be sufficient, because this impurity is subordinate to the impurity of the site, and it is removed by its removal.
39 - Issue: He said: (Except for dung, bones, and food).
The general ruling is that it is not permissible to perform istijmar with dung or bones, and it is not sufficient according to the majority of scholars. This is the opinion of al-Thawri, al-Shafi'i, and Ishaq. Abu Hanifah permitted istinja' with both, because they dry the impurity and purify the site, so they are like a stone. Malik permitted istinja' with the pure form of both. We have already mentioned the prohibition of the Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- concerning them. Muslim (1) narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, who said: The Messenger of Allah -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- said: "Do not perform istinja' with dung or bones; for they are the provision of your brothers among the jinn." Al-Daraqutni (2) narrated that the Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- forbade performing istinja' with dung or a bone, and said: "They do not purify." He stated: Its chain of narration is sahih (authentic). Abu Dawud (3) narrated from him, peace be upon him, that he said to Ruwayfi' ibn Thabit, Abu Bakrah (4): "Inform the people that whoever performs istinja' with excrement (raji') or a bone, he is free from (5) Muhammad." This is general regarding the pure form of them, and a prohibition necessitates corruption and lack of sufficiency. As for food, its prohibition is established by way of warning (tanbih), because the Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- provided the reason for the prohibition regarding dung and decaying bones in the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud,
= Aḥmad, with this wording, in: al-Musnad 1/338, 427, 450. (1) We did not find it in Muslim. It is only in al-Tirmidhī, in: The Chapter on the Dislike of what is used for Istinjāʾ, from the Chapters on Purification, and in: The Tafsīr of Sūrat al-Aḥqāf, from the Chapters of Tafsīr, ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī 1/36, 12/143. (2) In: The Chapter on Istinjāʾ, from the Book of Purification, Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī 1/56. (3) In: The Chapter on what is prohibited to be used for Istinjāʾ, from the Book of Purification, Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1/9. It was recorded by Imām Aḥmad, in al-Musnad 4/108, 109. (4) The kunya was omitted from the original. (5) In M there is an addition: "dīn". And in al-Tirmidhī: "For Muḥammad, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, is free from it."
