SECTION ON PURITY · 20 – THINGS PROHIBITED IN MAINTAINING PURITY
Shayban al-Qitbani [55] narrated:
He said: Muslama bin Muhallet, while he was the governor of Egypt, appointed Ruwayfi bin Sabit as an Emir to the lower part of Egypt. Shayban says: We accompanied Ruwayfi and Kumush Shurayk from Alkama, or from Alkama to Kumush Shurayk, traveling together. Ruwayfi wanted to go to the city of Alkama. Ruwayfi said: During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him), one of us would take a weak camel belonging to a fellow believer (for use in war) on the condition that half of the spoils of war belonged to him and half to me. If the iron tip [of an arrow], or the bow, belonged to one, then the untipped arrow belonged to the other. Then he said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to me, "Ruwayf, perhaps you will live long after me among the people, so announce that whoever oils his beard to curl it, or puts a nazar [amulet] string or beads around his neck, or cleans himself with animal filth or bone, then Muhammad is far from him." [56]
**Note:** Kumush Shurayk is a place on the road to Alexandria. Alkama is a place in lower Egypt. Alkam is another place near Alkama. They are all close to Egypt. *Nizw* refers to a weak, worn-out camel. According to this hadith, one may take a fellow believer's horse or camel and weapons on condition that if spoils of war are obtained, half belongs to the owner of the animal and half to the fighter. This is the view of Awza’i and Ahmad bin Hanbal. (Maalim al-Sunnah vol. 1, p. 36). The hadith strongly discourages curling or knotting the beard, putting amulets on horses or camels, using bones or animal dung for cleansing. Because stone, wood, do not have the authority to protect a person from calamity. Only Allah rescues people from disasters. Therefore, one should only trust in Him and not in beads or charms.
Shaym bin Baytan transmitted to Ayyash from Abu Salim al-Jayshani, who narrated it from Abdullah bin Amr, that Abdullah related this hadith from Abu Salim while he was a guard at the gate of Elyun. Abu Dawud said: The fortress of Elyun is on a mountain in Fustat. Again, Abu Dawud said: Shayban (Ganabi) is Shayban bin Umayyad, nicknamed Abu Huzaifa.
**Note:** Elyun is the old name of Egypt. After it was conquered by Muslims, it was named Fustat. There was also a city called Elyun in Yemen.
Fustat means "city." It was also the name of a region in Egypt and Basra.
Jabir bin Abdullah narrated:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade us from purification with bone and animal offal. [57]
Abdullah bin Mas’ud narrated: The Jinn delegation came to the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"O Muhammad! Forbid your community from purifying themselves with bones, offal, and charcoal. Because Allah has provided them as sustenance for us." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then forbade purification with those things. [58]
**Note:** "Humama" in the text of the hadith is the singular form of “humem” and means charcoal. The Jinn delegation that came to the Messenger of Allah arrived before the Hijrah, to Mecca, and appeared before the Prophet as envoys of the Jinn of Nusaybin. They had previously been forbidden from hearing news from the heavens. They came to investigate the reason. After listening to the Prophet, they believed and returned. (Manhal vol. 1, p. 143)