The 365 · Sunnah · Day 291 · Cleanliness
Istinjāʾ :: Cleansing with Water After Relieving Oneself
The hadith
عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: «كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يَدْخُلُ الخَلَاءَ فَأَحْمِلُ أَنَا وَغُلَامٌ نَحْوِي إِدَاوًة مِنْ مَاءٍ وَعَنَزَةً فَيَسْتَنْجِي بِالمَاءِ»
Anas radiya Allāhu ʿanhu said: The Prophet ﷺ would go to the bathroom, and a boy of my age and I would carry for him a small water-skin and a spear; he would cleanse himself with the water. (Bukhārī, Muslim)
Svenska: Anas berättade: Profeten ﷺ brukade gå till toaletten, och en pojke i min ålder och jag bärde åt honom en liten vattenskål och ett spjut; han renade sig med vattnet. (Bukhari, Muslim)
Sahih Bukhārī 152, Sahih Muslim 271. The Prophet ﷺ would always cleanse with water; this is the Sunnah of istinjāʾ that defines Muslim hygiene to this day.
The story
When the verse 9:108 was revealed about the people of Qubāʾ, the Prophet ﷺ visited them and asked: what is this thing for which Allah has praised you? They said: by Allah, we follow up the cleaning with stones with water. The Sunnah they had adopted was istinjāʾ plus istijmār (stones), and Allah praised them in revelation. The Sunnah of complete water-cleansing is part of the verse-praised tahārah.
Why it's here
Istinjāʾ is the cleansing of the private parts with water after urination or defecation. The Sunnah established a standard of hygiene unmatched in pre-modern civilizations. The cleansing is not optional; it is the prerequisite for tahārah, salah, and the believer's daily worship. The Muslim's washroom is structurally different from the non-Muslim's because of this Sunnah.
Try it today
1) Install a water-cleaning system in your bathroom (hand-held bidet, lota). 2) Always cleanse with the LEFT hand. 3) Use a sufficient amount of water for thorough cleansing. 4) Wash hands afterwards with soap.
In your day
Always cleanse with water after using the bathroom. Modern bathrooms in Muslim-majority lands include a water source (hand-held or fixed); install one if you do not have one. Toilet paper is not a substitute; the Sunnah requires water.
A reflection to carry
There is a precise teaching. The salaf considered the istinjāʾ as the foundation of salah-validity. The believer who prays without proper istinjāʾ has compromised his salah. The standard is strict. Modern Muslim travelers often complain about bathrooms without water; the salaf would travel with their own water-containers rather than skip the Sunnah. We have softened on this; the Sunnah has not changed.
Read the longer reflection
There is a deeper teaching about why Islam emphasizes this small daily Sunnah. The body's expulsions are the lowest moments of the day's hygiene; the believer's response is the highest standard of cleaning. The contrast trains the believer: the lowest moments require the highest tahārah. The principle scales: the heart's worst moments (sin, anger, despair) require the highest tahārah (tawbah, dhikr, duʿāʾ). The bathroom Sunnah is the daily rehearsal of the soul Sunnah. Tonight, ensure your bathroom is Sunnah-compliant. If you travel where it is not, carry water. The believer's day cannot be a Sunnah day without this base. Yā Allāh, save us from the carelessness of body-cleansing that compromises the soul-cleansing. Make us of those whose istinjāʾ You praised in the verse of Qubāʾ. Āmīn.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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