Sahih al-Bukhari 5457
Sahih al-Bukhari · Book 70: Food, Meals · The handkerchief.
Narrated Sa`id bin Al-Harith:
حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ الْمُنْذِرِ ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ فُلَيْحٍ ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَنَّهُ سَأَلَهُ عَنِ الْوُضُوءِ مِمَّا مَسَّتِ النَّارُ، فَقَالَ لاَ قَدْ كُنَّا زَمَانَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لاَ نَجِدُ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً، فَإِذَا نَحْنُ وَجَدْنَاهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَنَا مَنَادِيلُ، إِلاَّ أَكُفَّنَا وَسَوَاعِدَنَا وَأَقْدَامَنَا، ثُمَّ نُصَلِّي وَلاَ نَتَوَضَّأُ.
that he asked Jabir bin `Abdullah about performing ablution after taking a cooked meal. He replied, "It is not essential," and added, "We never used to get such kind of food during the lifetime of the Prophet except rarely; and if at all we got such a dish, we did not have any handkerchiefs to wipe our hands with except the palms of our hands, our forearms and our feet. We would perform the prayer thereafter with-out performing new ablution."