Summary:
- Muhammad only learned to use water for cleaning in the last year of his life.
- For 62 years (including 22 years of “revelation”), he cleaned with stones, even when water was available.
- The idea of washing with water did not come from Allah, but from Jews whom Muhammad and his companions observed.
Think about it: during those 22 years, dozens of detailed rules about relieving oneself were revealed (use 3 stones to clean, don’t face Qibla while relieving, don’t use the right hand, don’t use dung or bones). Yet not once did Allah mention the most logical rule: “Use water if it is available.”
- A truly wise God would have said from the start: “Clean with water when possible; use stones only if water is unavailable.”
- Instead, Allah never corrected the primitive method. Muhammad died without ever making water obligatory, leaving most companions still using only stones.
- It was only Aisha, after his death, who timidly encouraged Muslims to use water.
This is not divine wisdom. It is human error. For 22 years, Muslims practiced an unhygienic method while the “All-Knowing” God stayed silent.
Ironically, Islamists today mock the West for using toilet paper. Yet in India, China, and East Asia, people had been using water for thousands of years, long before Muhammad learned it from his Jewish neighbours.
(1) Hadiths that prove that Allah initially revealed the unhygienic ruling of STONES (despite availability of water)
The following Hadiths show that when the rulings about relieving oneself were revealed, Allah first made the unhygienic ruling of using 3 stones.
Sahih Muslim 262b, Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 16, and Sunan an-Nasa’i 49:
Salman (who was a companion of Muhammad) said that (one among) the polytheists remarked: I see that your friend even teaches you about the excrement. He replied: Yes, he has in fact forbidden us that anyone amongst us should cleanse himself with his right hand, or face the Qibla. He has forbidden the use of dung or bone for it, and he has also instructed us not to use less than three pebbles (for this purpose).
This Hadith proves that these multiple rulings about defecation had already been revealed in Mecca, when a polytheist gave these remarks about them. So, the questions are:
- Why didn’t Allah reveal the use of water along with those other rulings?
- Why did Allah make Muhammad and Muslims use the unhygienic way of 3 stones for the entire 13-years-long Meccan period?
And this unhygienic practice of using 3 stones continued in Medina too:
Sunan an-Nasa’i 44:
It was narrated from ‘Aishah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When any one of you goes to the Gha’it (toilet to defecate), let him take with him three stones and clean himself with them, for that will suffice him.”
Sahih Bukhari, 156:
Narrated `Abdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) went out to answer the call of nature and asked me to bring three stones. I found two stones and searched for the third but could not find it. So took a dried piece of dung and brought it to him. He took the two stones and threw away the dung and said, “This is a filthy thing.”
(2) Muhammad learnt the method of using water from humans (Jews)
The following verses were revealed about the companions of Muhammad, who used to pray in the Mosque of Quba. Those companions were praised for their purification.
Quran 9:107-108:
And [there are] those [hypocrites] who took for themselves a mosque (i.e. the mosque of Masjid al-Dirar مسجد الضرار) for causing harm and disbelief and division among the believers and as a station for whoever had warred against Allah and His Messenger before … (While) another mosque (i.e. Masjid Quba مَسْجِد قُبَاء) founded on righteousness from the first day is more worthy for you to stand in. Within it are men who love to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves.
Ibn Kathir recorded the following traditions under the commentary of this verse, which tell that Muhammad learnt the use of water from his companions, who ultimately learnt it from their neighbouring Jews:
(Multiple narrations from Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Tabarani, Imam Ahmad, Ibn Khuzaymah, etc.)
- The Prophet asked the people of Quba: “What is this purification that Allah has praised you for?”
- They replied: “We wash our private parts with water after relieving ourselves.”
- In some reports: “We had Jewish neighbours who used to do this, so we copied them.”
- In another: “We found it written in the Torah to clean with water.”
Important:
- The incident of Masjid al-Dirar took place in the 9th year of Hijri, after the Expedition of Tabuk.
- Surah al-Tawbah was revealed in the 9th Hijri year—just one year before Muhammad’s death.
Thus, this proves Muhammad was not using water till the 9th Hijri year, just one year before his death.
(3) After Muhammad’s Death
Even after “discovering” water in the last year, Muhammad never made it obligatory or even recommended. No command from Allah or Muhammad.
Result: Most companions continued using only stones even after his death.
It was only Aisha who tried to spread the practice:
Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 19 (Sahih):
Aisha said: “Encourage your husbands to clean themselves with water, for I am too shy to tell them, and Allah’s Messenger used to do that.”
If water had been obligatory or even Sunnah, daily ignorance among companions would have been impossible.
What This Reveals About Revelation Itself
- True wisdom doesn’t arrive 22 years late, second-hand, and hidden.
- An All-Knowing Allah would have prioritised water from day one.
There was no divine guidance. Muhammad observed others, adopted it late, and never properly taught it. This is not a perfect religion—it is human trial, error, and borrowed wisdom.
Objections & Responses
Objection 1: Muslims say: “We believe in infallibility; what we don’t understand is divine wisdom beyond us.” Response: Islam never shows the “tree” (Allah, angels, miracles)—only “branches.” When branches show clear flaws, demanding blind faith is evasion.
Objection 2: Narrations from Abu Hurayrah/Anas prove Muhammad used water earlier. Response: Those narrations have no dates. Abu Hurayrah converted only 3 years before Muhammad’s death. He himself narrated the Quba incident proving Muhammad learned it late. Aisha’s post-death statement is decisive—companions remained unaware.
PS: Using stones is abrasive and risky for infections. Half the world knew water hygiene for millennia without prophets. Muhammad needed Jewish neighbours at age 62. This is the reality of Islam’s “perfect religion.”
