Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 217
sahih

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) went to answer the call of nature, I used to bring water with which he used to clean his private parts.

حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي رَوْحُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي عَطَاءُ بْنُ أَبِي مَيْمُونَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا تَبَرَّزَ لِحَاجَتِهِ أَتَيْتُهُ بِمَاءٍ فَيَغْسِلُ بِهِ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 4, Hadith 83
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 1, Book 4, Hadith 216 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The teachings of Islam urge Muslims to purify themselves both physically and in intangible ways. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught us how to purify ourselves after relieving ourselves. In this hadith, Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) speaks of when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) went out to relieve himself – the Arabic term refers to going out to a spacious, flat piece of land where they used to go to relieve themselves, because they used to go out to places where there were no people, before they acquired outhouses and bathrooms in their houses. Hence Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he used to bring water to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so that he could wash himself and clean the site of the urine and faeces, to make sure that it was clean. What is mostly known of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is that he used to clean himself with pebbles, as is proven in the reports. The hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) highlights the fact that it is valid to clean oneself with water. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) was a servant of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); he used to follow him wherever he went to see how he could serve him, and so that he could do whatever was asked of him. He knew how much the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) loved to purify himself with water after Allah praised those who purify themselves..
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