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.
(12) He is Abu al-Mughirah Simak ibn Harb ibn Aws al-Dhahli al-Kufi, who died in the year 123 AH. See the opinions of the Imams concerning him in his biography in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 4/232-234. (13) Omitted from M. (14) He perhaps refers to Abd al-Wahid ibn Ziyad al-'Abdi, the freed slave of the al-'Abd tribe, the Basran. He narrates from 'Asim al-Ahwal, from Abd Allah ibn Sarjis, and his death was in the year 186 AH, or 187 AH. See: Tadhkirat al-Huffaz 1/258. (15) Reported by al-Bukhari in the Chapter on a man performing ghusl with his wife, and the Chapter on whether a person in a state of janaba may put his hand in the vessel before washing it if there is no impurity on his hand other than janaba, from the Book of Ghusl; and in the Chapter on the intimacy with a menstruating woman, from the Book of Menstruation; and in the Chapter on what is permissible regarding depictions, from the Book of Clothing. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/72, 74, 82, 7/216. And Muslim in: The Chapter on the Recommended Amount of Water for Ghusl from Janaba, and the Ghusl of a Man and Woman from a Single Vessel, etc., from the Book of Menstruation. Sahih Muslim 1/255. And Abu Dawud in: The Chapter on Performing Wudu with the Remnants of a Woman, and the Chapter on the Amount of Water that Suffices for Ghusl, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Abi Dawud.
