Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib said: "Would anyone do that except women!" 'Ata' said: "Washing the anus is an innovation (muhdath)." Al-Hasan used not to perform istinja' with water. Two views were narrated from Hudhayfah regarding this. Ibn 'Umar did not use water for istinja' then he did it, and he said to Nafi': "We have tried it and found it to be good." This is the school of Rafi' ibn Khadij, and it is the correct view, due to what Anas narrated, saying: "The Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- used to enter the privy, and I and a boy like me would carry an idawah (a small leather water vessel) (7) of water and an 'anzah (a small spear or staff) (8), so he would perform istinja' with water." Narrated by both [Bukhari and Muslim] (9). And from 'Aishah, that she said: "Command your husbands to cleanse themselves with water, for I am too shy to tell them [that], but the Messenger of Allah -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- used to do it (10)." Al-Tirmidhi said: "This is a sahih (authentic) hadith." It was narrated by Sa'id, and Abu Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet -may Allah bless him and grant him peace- that he said: "This verse was revealed concerning the people of Quba': {Wherein are men who love to purify themselves} (11). He said: "They used to perform istinja' with water, so this verse was revealed concerning them." Narrated by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah (12). Because it cleanses the area and removes the impurity, it is permitted, just as if the impurity were on any other part of the body. If one wishes to limit himself to only one of them, then water is better, due to the hadith we have narrated, and because it cleanses the area, removes both the substance and the trace, and is more thorough in cleaning. If one limits himself to the stone, it is sufficient, without dispute among the scholars, due to the reports we have mentioned and because it is the consensus of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. The best practice is to perform istijmar with the stone and follow it with water. Ahmad said: "If he combines both, it is more beloved to me."