Anf (the nose, and its rulings in purification, prayer, fasting and retaliation)

الأنف

Anf is the nostril, plural anaf or unuf, and its rulings vary with its place. ¹ Washing the inside of the nose by sniffing water in is sunna, while washing the outside is obligatory as part of the face; in full washing the outside is obligatory for all, and the inside is obligatory for the Hanafis and sunna for others. ¹ Placing the nose with the forehead on the ground in prostration is sunna for the majority and obligatory for the Hanafis. ¹ If medicine or water inhaled through the nose reaches the stomach or throat, the fast is broken by the views of many jurists, with disputes over the detail. ¹² A deliberate injury to the nose calls for retaliation where an equal can be exacted without wrong, and otherwise for blood money; loss of the sense of smell alone carries blood money. ²

Definition

Anf is the nostril, plural anaf or unuf. Its rulings vary with its place. ¹

In purification and washing

Washing the inside of the nose by sniffing water in is sunna; the outside is obligatory as part of the face. ¹
In full washing the outside is obligatory for all, and the inside is obligatory for the Hanafis and sunna for others. ¹

Prostration

Placing the nose with the forehead on the ground is sunna for the majority of jurists; the Hanafis hold it obligatory. ¹

Entry into the body through the nose while fasting

If a fasting person applies medicine by the nose and it reaches the stomach, throat or brain, his fast is broken and he owes repayment; the Malikis hold it is broken only if it reaches the interior or the throat. ¹
Excessive sniffing where water reaches the stomach or throat: the Hanbalis and Shafi'is have two views, and the Malikis hold the fast broken. ¹²

Injury to the nose

A deliberate injury calls for retaliation where an equal can be exacted without wrong, as the Qur'an states in sura al-Ma'ida (5:45); otherwise, or if the injury is accidental, blood money is due. ²
Loss of the sense of smell alone carries blood money; loss of smell together with the cartilage carries two blood payments; cutting part of the nose carries a proportionate share. ²

Where the nose is treated

Sniffing in purification, washing and the washing of the dead; pouring a nursing mother's milk into the nose in suckling; and making a nose of gold or silver in dress. ²

Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation

In the lexicon, adhm is the bone that has flesh on it, plural 'idham and 'izam. Most jurists hold that a human bone is pure, whether living or dead, of a Muslim or not; that a fish bone stays pure after death; and that the bone of a lawfully slaughtered edible animal is pure and may be used. The bone of carrion, or of a non-edible animal, is impure according to the Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Ishaq, and cannot be purified; the Hanafis hold it pure, and 'Umar disliked oiling in ivory. On cleansing after excretion with a bone, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis forbid it; the Hanafis dislike it as forbidden but accept that it suffices; the Malikis forbid a carrion bone and allow a pure bone with disapproval. Most jurists allow retaliation for a bone only at a joint, since equality cannot be achieved elsewhere.

Anf (the nose, and its rulings in purification, prayer, fasting and retaliation)

At a glance