of the Companions. Ahmad said: 'Most of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: If she has been alone with the water, one should not perform wudu from it.' As for the hadith of Maymunah, Ahmad said: 'I refute it due to the condition of Simak (12), as no one reports it other than him.' He also said: 'There is a severe disagreement regarding this; some report it as marfu' (attributed to the Prophet) and some do not. Moreover, it is possible that she was not alone with it, and it is interpreted in that way to reconcile the two reports.'

Section: Our companions differed regarding the definition of being "alone" (khalwa) with it. Al-Sharif Abu Ja'far provided a statement indicating that "khalwa" is when no one is present whose presence would negate the state of seclusion in marriage, whether it be a man, a woman, or a discerning young boy; because it is one of the two types of seclusion, its presence is negated by the attendance of any of these, just as the other [is negated]. Al-Qadi said: "It is that no Muslim man observes her; if a boy, a woman, or a disbelieving man observes her, it does not remove it from the state of khalwa." Some of the companions went to the view that khalwa is her using the water without the man participating in its use, because Ahmad said: "If she is alone with it, it does not please me that he should perform ghusl with it. But if they begin using it together, there is no harm in it." This (13) is based on the statement of Abd Allah ibn Sarjis: "Perform ghusl together; he is like this, and you are like this"—Abd al-Wahid (14) said in his gesture: "The vessel was between them—and if she is alone with it, do not go near it." Reported by al-Athram. Aishah used to perform ghusl with the Messenger of Allah from a single vessel, both of them drawing from it together. This is agreed upon (15), so the generality of the prohibition is specified by this, and we remain upon the general rule in everything else.