Whoever wishes to go to relieve himself must remove anything he has that has remembrance of Allah Most High on it, such as a signet ring or anything else. Then he proceeds to enter with his left foot, saying as he enters: In the name of Allah, I seek refuge with Allah from harmful and repulsive things, and from filthy uncleanliness, the accursed Satan [“Bismillah A’udhu billah min al-khubuth wa al-khaba’ith wa min al-rijs al-najas al-shaytan al-rajim” ]. He is not to lift up his garment until he has gotten down near the ground; he is not to face the qiblah or turn his back towards it; he is not to face the sun or the moon; he is not to urinate in a crack in the ground nor in an animal hole, nor under a fruit tree, nor in the shadow of a wall, nor in the middle of the road; and he is not to sit above something he needs, nor underneath it; and he is not to talk. If he sneezes, he is to pronounce praise to Allah [“Al-hamdu Lillah”] in his heart, and when he finishes he is to move away from where he is in order to cleanse himself in another location. Cleansing [istinjaa] is obligatory for anything that comes out of the two passages [i.e. the front and the rear], except for gas; if he remains uncertain whether or not anything has come out, it is fine for him to wipe with stones [istijmar]. The characteristics of something used to wipe is that it be solid, pure, not something that can be eaten, not something that is forbidden, and not attached to an animal. This includes stones, wood, pottery, dirt, and things similar to these. It does not include food items, dung, or decomposing bones, because these are food for the genies [jinn]. A stone with three corners is fine. Our companions disagree on the manner of performing istijmar; most of them say that one is to take the first stone in his left hand and begin with this from the front of his right side, dragging it backwards; then he repeats this towards the place from which he began. Then he takes the second stone and begins with it from the front of the left side, dragging it backwards; then he repeats this towards the place from which he began. Then he takes the third stone and moves it in a circle around the hole, and repeats this in the center. Al-Sharif Abu Ja’far and Ibn ‘Aqil held that he is to include the whole area with each stone, since if he did not include the whole area, it would be something pieced together, not repetition. In case the stuff can not be removed with three stones, he is to use more until he is clean. It is desirable for a man to begin with his front parts, lest his hand become impure from his front parts if he begins from the rear. However a woman is free to chose in this regard, although it is best to use stones and water together; if she wants to limit it to one of these, water is best. If a woman is a virgin, then if she likes she can wipe the location of urine with the solid object described above, or if she likes she can wash it. When what is coming out reaches past the place where it comes out, nothing is permitted but water. If she is a previously married woman, then whenever urine comes out to the brink but does not freely flow, only wiping the place where urine came out is required. If it flows freely and some of it enters the vagina, washing it is required. If she does not know – has urine gotten into the vagina or not? – it is desirable to wash it. And withholding this knowledge from women is spiteful, since if washing from impurity is required, and she does not wash, then she has harmed the acceptability of her prayer. Some women think that if they wash wherever urine has gotten on the inside of the vagina, that this harms the fast, but it is not so. For indeed the urine is not connected to the stomach, and it is more desirable to insert a finger to wash it; this does not invalidate the fast, as it is similar to the mouth, in contrast to the rear, which is indeed connected to the stomach. And whenever anyone comes out from relieving himself, he is to proceed with his right foot first upon leaving, and he is to say: Your forgiveness; praise be to Allah who has removed the harm from me and has restored me to health [“Ghufranak; al-hamdu lillah aladhi adhhab ‘anni al-adha wa-‘afani” ].