against al-Nawawī and those with him, but he would have agreed with them in considering this narration erroneous. And infallibility belongs to Allāh alone. As for his statement, "There is no objection to the narrator being unnamed..." it is acceptable, but only when the narration in which the name appears is not anomalous, as is the case here. Supporting what has been stated, Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq corroborated Hishām's narration, saying: "Fāṭimah bint al-Mundhir narrated to me from Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr who said: 'I heard a woman ask the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) about her garment when she is purified from her menstruation, what should she do with it? He said: If you see blood on it, then scrape it, then rub it with water, then sprinkle the rest of it and pray in it.'" It was recorded by Abū Dāwūd (385), al-Dārimī (1/239) with this wording, and al-Bayhaqī (2/406), and its chain is sound. Her statement "I heard a woman" suggests that she was not the one who heard it directly, as is apparent. (Note) In this narration, there is an addition "then sprinkle the rest of it," which is significant because it clarifies that the statement in Hishām's narration "then let her sprinkle it" does not mean to sprinkle the place of the blood, but the entire garment. This is supported by the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah who said: "One of us would menstruate, then scrape the blood from her garment when she purified herself, wash it, and sprinkle the rest of it, then pray in it." It was recorded by al-Bukhārī (1/326), Ibn Mājah (1/217), and al-Bayhaqī (2/406-407). The apparent meaning of the ḥadīth, like the one before it, indicates that water is sufficient for washing menstrual blood and that it is not obligatory to use any cleansing agents like lotus leaves or soap, but there is evidence that suggests it is obligatory, which is the forthcoming ḥadīth: "Scrape it with a rib, and wash it with water and lotus leaves."