Ibni ’Âbidîn wrote in Radd-ul mukhtâr:

It is sunnat-i muakkada to use a miswâk when performing an ablution. A hadîth-i-sherîf declares: “The namâz which is performed after using a miswâk is seventy-fold superior to the namâz without a miswâk. ” A miswâk must be straight, as wide as the second small finger, and a span long. The miswâk is derived from a branch of the erâk (peelo) tree growing in Arabia. [Shaving it about two centimetres from the straight end, you keep this part in water for a couple of hours. When you crush it, it will open like a brush. ] When the erâk tree cannot be found, a miswâk can be made from an olive branch. You should not make it from a pomegranate branch. If an erâk or olive tree cannot be found or if one does not have teeth, the sunnat must be carried out with one’s fingers. The miswâk has more than thirty advantages, which are written in Tahtâwî’s Hâshiyatu Marâq al-falâh. Firstly, it causes one to die with îmân in one’s last breath. It is makrûh for men to chew gum without any ’udhr (strong necessity), even when they are not fasting. Women must use chewing gum when they are not fasting instead of a miswak by intending to do the sunnat.

Today, September 22^nd. The Sun enters in Libra (Mizan) constellation and fall season begins. This season continues for 90 days and ends on 21^st December. The Sun will be in Libra for 31 days and will be in Scorpio on 23^rd October.