... [between] the urine of a male infant and a female infant; for he has erred and opposed the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). We have not heard from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), nor from anyone after him up to the time of the Successors (al-Tabi'un), that anyone treated the urine of a male infant and a female infant as equal. Thus, following the Sunan in that regard is safer.”

103 - Ishaq narrated to us, saying: Mu'adh ibn Hisham narrated to us, saying: My father narrated to me, from Qatada, from Abu Harb ibn Abi al-Aswad al-Du'ali, from his father, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: “Water is to be sprinkled over the urine of a male infant, and the urine of a female infant is to be washed.”

Qatada said: “This applies as long as they have not yet eaten food. Once they have eaten food, it is washed.”

• And I heard Ishaq saying: “If a male infant has eaten food, his urine is washed, just as the urine of a female infant is washed before she eats, and what is similar to that is not [considered] food; because an infant, before he reaches the stage of eating, might be licked with honey or similar things by his mother due to the scarcity of her milk. The eating of an infant refers to food when he reaches that stage. As for his excrement (salh), we do not know of any established Sunna regarding that; so washing it, whether he has eaten or not, is more beloved to us. If the matter were based on analogy (qiyas), his excrement would be likened to his urine, but abandoning analogy and following the Sunna is safer.”

104 - 'Amr ibn 'Uthman narrated to us, Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, saying: I said to Abu 'Amr: Their saying: “The urine of a female infant is washed whether she has eaten food or not, and water is sprinkled over the urine of a male infant until he eats, then [it is] washed”? He said: “They are both equal; water is to be sprinkled over both until they eat food.” Abu 'Amr did not consider clarified butter (samn) or honey which an infant licks as food, until he reaches the point of being independent of nursing because of it.