Muslim

Commentary:
(1)
In the previous chapter, the discussion was about not performing ablution (wudu) after eating meat, but all the incidents mentioned there pertain to goat meat. Whereas, in the hadiths of the chapter under study, the command to perform ablution after eating camel meat has been given. In fact, in the second hadith, the distinction between the issue of camel and goat has been explicitly clarified.

(2)
Some scholars have declared this ruling abrogated because Jabir radi Allahu anhu said:
The last practice of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was not to perform ablution after eating something cooked by fire. (Sunan Abi Dawud, Al-Taharah, Chapter: On Not Performing Ablution from What Has Been Touched by Fire, Hadith: 192; Sunan Al-Nasa'i, Al-Taharah, Chapter: Not Performing Ablution from What Has Been Changed by Fire, Hadith: 185)
However, this hadith of Jabir radi Allahu anhu is general, and the hadith under discussion is specific; therefore, there is no contradiction between the two.
In the case of camel meat, the hadith of Bara’ bin Azib radi Allahu anhu will be acted upon, meaning that after eating it, ablution should be performed. And in the case of the meat of other animals, the hadith of Jabir radi Allahu anhu will be acted upon, meaning that after eating it, prayer can be performed even without a new ablution.

32.

Benefits:

These ahadith are evidence that ablution (wudu) is nullified by eating camel meat, and after consuming camel meat, performing ablution for prayer becomes obligatory. Imam Nawawi rahimahullah states that the majority of scholars—that is, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali radi Allahu anhum, as well as Ibn Mas’ud, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Ibn Abbas, Abu Darda, Abu Talhah, Amir ibn Rabi’ah, Abu Umamah radi Allahu anhum, and the majority of the Tabi’un, Malik, Abu Hanifah, Shafi’i, and the companions of Shafi’i rahimahullah—hold the view that camel meat does not nullify ablution. Whereas Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, Yahya ibn Yahya, Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Khuzaymah rahimahullah are of the opinion that eating camel meat does nullify ablution. Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi has given preference to this view; this is also what is transmitted absolutely from the hadith scholars, and this statement is also narrated from a group of the Companions.

The latter scholars, whose position is that camel meat nullifies ablution, base their argument on the ahadith of this chapter. Although the majority of scholars hold the opposite view, nevertheless, in terms of evidence, this position is stronger. The majority of scholars have responded to these ahadith with the hadith of Jabir: the last command of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the abandonment of ablution due to anything cooked by fire, (i.e., the ruling that ablution is nullified by eating camel meat has been abrogated). This hadith (of Jabir) is general, while the hadith regarding performing ablution after eating camel meat is specific. Therefore, the specific is given precedence over the general. The permissibility of praying in sheep enclosures, except for camel enclosures, is an agreed-upon issue, and the prohibition of praying in camel enclosures is a prohibition of dislike (karahah tanzihiyyah), and the reason for this dislike is the camels’ restlessness and their causing disturbance to the worshipper during prayer.

[نووي: 47/4 - 48]

The urine and dung of animals whose meat is lawful to eat (makul al-lahm) are pure. This is the view of Malik, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ata, Thawri, Ibn Abi Layla, and Ibrahim al-Nakha’i, among others. In terms of evidence, this view is more correct and stronger. [عون المعبود: 194/1]

Lexical Explanation:
«أَتَوَضَّأُ» The interrogative hamzah is omitted here, and this is the singular first-person form.
«مِنْ لُحُومِ الْغَنَمِ» Because of eating goat meat.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ This hadith is evidence that ablution (wudu) is nullified by eating camel meat, and one should perform ablution after eating it. This is the opinion of most of the scholars of hadith. It is not necessary to know the wisdom and reason for camel meat being a nullifier of ablution, because it is not necessary for the wisdom of devotional rulings to be comprehensible to the intellect.
➋ Allamah Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah, in "I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in" [1؍147], has mentioned a very fine and rationally sound reason for this. He says: It is mentioned in narrations that there is a devil (shaytan) on every camel's hump, and it is also narrated that camels are from among the jinn and were created from them; therefore, they possess a satanic force, and the one who eats it will have a resemblance to what he eats. Thus, when a person eats camel meat, a satanic force will arise in him. And the devil was created from fire, and fire is extinguished with water. The aforementioned hadith also reflects this state: when a servant eats camel meat and then performs ablution, that ablution will include something that extinguishes this satanic force, and in this way, this corrupting thing will be removed.
➌ Is ablution nullified by eating camel meat or not? There is a difference of opinion among the Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah on this matter. Imam Ahmad, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Khuzaymah rahimahumullah and other hadith scholars hold the view that ablution does not remain valid after eating camel meat. This is also the view of al-Bayhaqi and all the scholars of hadith. On the other hand, Imam Shafi'i and Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahumallah and many of the noble Companions radi Allahu anhum and the great Tabi'in do not consider ablution to be nullified by eating the meat of any lawful animal. According to them, ablution remains valid. Their evidence is the narration of Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban, etc. [سنن ابي داؤد، الطهارة، باب فى ترك الوضوء ممامست النار، حديث : 187] These scholars interpret the ablution mentioned in this hadith as washing the hands and mouth, just as one washes the hands and mouth after eating and drinking. In this regard, they take the lexical meaning of ablution, not the technical (shar'i) meaning. They say that the final ruling is that there is no need for ablution after eating something cooked with fire. However, this is not correct. Imam Nawawi rahimahullah has said that the position of Imam Ahmad rahimahullah and others is stronger in terms of evidence. The hadith of Abu Dawud and others is general, while this hadith in Sahih Muslim is specific to camels; therefore, the specific ruling takes precedence over the general ruling. Moreover, it is not correct to interpret a legal term like ablution with its lexical meaning without evidence.