Book 3: Purification

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, “Were it not that I might distress my people, I would order them to delay the evening prayer and use the tooth stick at every time of prayer.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Shuraih b. Hani’ said that he asked ‘A'isha what God’s messenger did first when he entered his house, and she replied that he used the tooth-stick. Muslim transmitted it.

Hudhaifa said that when the Prophet (ﷺ) got up to pray during the night he cleansed his mouth with the tooth-stick. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘A'isha reported God’s messenger as saying, “Ten characteristics belong to the religion of Islam: clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, snuffing up water, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes, and intiqas, i.e. cleansing oneself with water.” The narrator said, “I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth.” Muslim transmitted it. A version substitutes circumcision for letting the beard grow. I have not found this version in the two Sahihs or in al-Humaidi’s book [Al-jam’ bain as-sahihain], but the author of the Jami‘ [Ibn al-Athir, author of Jami' al-usul] mentioned it. as did al-Khattabi in Ma'alim as-sunan* from Abu Dawud by the transmission of ‘Ammar b. Yasir. *Brockelmann, Geschichte ae arabischen Litteratur, Supp., I, 267, 275, calls this work Ma'alim as-sunna, but the title given above is more likely to be correct, as it is a commentary on Abu Dawud’s Sunan.