What is Sunan an-Nasa'i 42 about?

This hadith from Sunan an-Nasa'i (Book of The Book of Purification), narrated by 'Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad (narrated) from his father that he heard 'Abdullah say:, states: ""The Prophet (ﷺ) wanted to defecate, and he told me to bring him three stones. I found two stones and looked for a third, but I could not find any, so I picked up a piece of dung and brought them to t…"

Is this hadith authentic?

This hadith is graded Sahih. Sahih hadiths are considered the most authentic grade in hadith classification.

Which collection is this hadith from?

This hadith is from Sunan an-Nasa'i, which contains 5,768 hadiths across 52 books. It is hadith number 42 in the Book of The Book of Purification.

I searched for a different number — is this the right hadith?

Hadith numbering varies across editions and translations (USC-MSA, Dar as-Salam, Fath al-Bari, and others). If you followed a link citing a different number but landed here, you may have been redirected to the canonical version in our library. If you were looking for a different hadith entirely, use the search bar to find it by text.

‹

#41

#42

Sunan an-Nasa'i

#43

›

Sunan an-Nasa'i #42

The Book of Purification

Sahih

The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.

أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، عَنْ زُهَيْرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، قَالَ لَيْسَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ ذَكَرَهُ وَلَكِنْ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ الأَسْوَدِ عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ، يَقُولُ أَتَى النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْغَائِطَ وَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ آتِيَهُ بِثَلاَثَةِ أَحْجَارٍ فَوَجَدْتُ حَجَرَيْنِ وَالْتَمَسْتُ الثَّالِثَ فَلَمْ أَجِدْهُ فَأَخَذْتُ رَوْثَةً فَأَتَيْتُ بِهِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَأَخَذَ الْحَجَرَيْنِ وَأَلْقَى الرَّوْثَةَ وَقَالَ ‏ "‏ هَذِهِ رِكْسٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرِّكْسُ طَعَامُ الْجِنِّ ‏.‏

"The Prophet (ﷺ) wanted to defecate, and he told me to bring him three stones. I found two stones and looked for a third, but I could not find any, so I picked up a piece of dung and brought them to the Prophet (ﷺ). He took the two stones and three away the dung and said: "This is Riks." Abu 'Abdur-Rahman (An-Nasai') said: Riks is the food of the jinn.

Narrated by 'Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad (narrated) from his father that he heard 'Abdullah say:

Context

This hadith narrates an incident where the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) instructed a companion to bring him three stones for cleanliness after using the restroom. The companion could only find two stones and brought dung instead, which the Prophet rejected, emphasizing the importance of using clean materials for purification. This illustrates the Prophet's attention to hygiene and etiquette.

Modern Application

In contemporary life, this hadith serves as a reminder of the importance of cleanliness and proper etiquette in personal hygiene practices, especially in communal settings.

Topics

This hadith is tagged with Prophetic Etiquette because it emphasizes the Prophet's guidance on maintaining cleanliness and proper conduct in personal matters.

Prophetic Etiquette