Muwatta Imam Malik، الحديث 2

This hadith combines two distinct but related purification instructions within a single narration. The first half addresses istinshaq and istinthar, the acts of drawing water into the nostrils during wudu and then expelling it, which the Prophet ﷺ commands as part of properly performed ablution, ensuring the nasal passage, easily overlooked in a rushed washing, receives genuine cleaning rather than a superficial splash. The second half shifts to a related but separate topic, istijmar, the practice of cleaning oneself with stones (or similar clean, absorbent materials) after using the toilet, instructing that this be done using an odd number of stones or wipes.

The requirement of an odd number reflects a broader pattern found across many areas of Islamic worship and practice, where odd numbers are frequently preferred, as seen in the number of units in witr prayer or the recommended number of dates eaten before Eid prayer. Scholars generally explain the odd-number instruction here practically: it typically requires a minimum of three wipes to ensure the affected area is genuinely cleaned rather than merely touched once or twice, with the odd-number rule functioning as a built-in safeguard against inadequate cleaning while also reflecting the broader spiritual preference for odd numbers in Islamic ritual.

Imam Malik compiled the Muwatta in Madinah during the second Islamic century as a record of the living legal practice of the city where the Prophet ﷺ himself lived and taught, drawing on hadith transmitted through Madinan scholars alongside the practical consensus (amal) of the Madinan community. This particular hadith, concerning the basic mechanics of wudu and post-toilet hygiene, reflects the kind of everyday, practically essential guidance that formed the backbone of Malik's collection, intended less as a work of narrow hadith criticism and more as a comprehensive guide to lived religious practice as understood by the generation closest to the Prophet's ﷺ own community.

Classical Maliki jurists, building on this and related hadiths in the Muwatta, generally hold that thoroughly rinsing the nose (istinshaq) during wudu is a strongly recommended (sunnah mu'akkadah) rather than an absolutely obligatory act, a position shared broadly across the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanafi schools, while the Hanbali school holds it to be obligatory specifically in the context of ghusl (the full ritual bath) though still recommended in ordinary wudu; this divergence is a commonly cited example in comparative fiqh literature of how the same hadith can yield different but each internally consistent legal conclusions depending on a school's broader methodological principles regarding recommended versus obligatory acts.

Commentators on the Muwatta, including the extensive later commentary by al-Baji in al-Muntaqa Sharh al-Muwatta, also discuss the odd-number requirement for istijmar in some detail, generally concluding that the minimum acceptable number is three, with additional wipes permitted in odd increments beyond that if needed for genuine cleanliness, and noting that this hadith is frequently read alongside other Muwatta narrations addressing the broader etiquette of using the toilet, together forming a fairly comprehensive early legal picture of Islamic bathroom hygiene.

For daily practice, this hadith is a direct, actionable instruction: when performing wudu, take a genuine moment to draw water fully into the nostrils and expel it forcefully, rather than a quick token splash near the nose, since the purpose is actual cleaning rather than ritual gesture. This is especially relevant for those who perform wudu quickly before work or school and may be tempted to rush this particular step more than others.

For matters of post-toilet hygiene, where modern plumbing has made water-based cleaning (istinja) far more common and generally preferred by contemporary scholars over stone-based cleaning where water is available, this hadith's underlying principle, thoroughness over minimal effort, still applies directly: whether using water, tissue, or another clean material, the goal should be genuine cleanliness rather than the fastest possible completion of the act, and where dry materials are used, following the odd-number guidance remains a living sunnah many Muslims still observe.

This hadith reveals the Prophet's ﷺ meticulous attention to detail even in matters of private, largely unwitnessed personal hygiene, demonstrating a thoroughness that extended into the smallest components of daily ritual rather than being reserved only for visible, public acts of worship.

Abu Hurairah, as one of the most dedicated students of the Prophet's ﷺ teaching and among the largest single sources of preserved hadith, contributed extensively to precisely this category of practical, everyday legal guidance, since his close and constant presence with the Prophet ﷺ gave him detailed knowledge of ordinary ritual practice that many other Companions, occupied with family, trade, or military duties, had less regular opportunity to observe and transmit in such careful detail.

I have taught this hadith to more students than I can count, and I always pause on the same small detail: how easy it would be to simply wet the outside of the nose and call it wudu, and how deliberately the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, closed off that shortcut. Draw the water in, he said, and then expel it properly. It is such a small thing, and yet I have come to see, over the years I spent close to him, that this was precisely his way: nothing done by half-measures, not even the parts of worship that no one else would ever notice or check. (Creative narrative based on authentic hadith)

Modern medical understanding of nasal hygiene confirms that regular nasal irrigation, essentially the same physical action described in this hadith, helps clear allergens, bacteria, and particulate matter from the nasal passages, and nasal irrigation techniques similar in principle to istinshaq are now recommended by some contemporary ENT specialists as part of managing allergies and reducing the frequency of upper respiratory infections.

The four legal schools differ on whether istinshaq during wudu is obligatory (fard) or merely recommended (sunnah), with the Hanbali school generally treating it as obligatory in ghusl specifically, while the Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Maliki schools regard it as a strongly emphasized sunnah in ordinary wudu; this hadith is central to that discussion since its imperative wording ('let him put water into his nose') is read by some jurists as indicating obligation and by others as a strong recommendation consistent with other imperative commands elsewhere in the Sunnah that scholars agree are recommended rather than obligatory.

You are teaching a new Muslim how to perform wudu, and they mention they usually skip properly rinsing their nose because it feels uncomfortable and they assume it is a minor optional step. Using the specific instruction in this hadith, how would you explain its importance in a way that is encouraging and practical rather than making them feel they have been doing something seriously wrong all along?