I say, with Allah's guidance: These concepts are closely related according to the language: Istinja is either wiping or washing the place of excrement, or seeking to remove it. The purpose is purification, and it may refer to general cleanliness. Istinqa means seeking cleanliness, which is purity. Istibra means seeking absolution in general, and in the context of purification, it refers to seeking the bladder's clearance from urine traces. All relate to seeking cleanliness, but jurists have specified the use of each term in a particular context, and their expressions differ on this. Ibn Abidin said in Radd al-Muhtar regarding the differentiation between these three, 1/344: 'Istibra is seeking absolution from discharge by walking or coughing until certain of the absence of traces. Istinqa is seeking cleanliness, which involves rubbing the anus with stones or fingers during Istinja with water. Istinja is the use of stones or water. This is the most accurate interpretation of these three as in the Ghaznawiyya,' slightly modified. Al-Karkhi called Istinja 'Istijmar,' as it involves seeking a small stone, and Al-Tahawi called it 'Istitaaba,' meaning seeking purity, which is cleanliness. See: Al-Bada'i 1: 18 2, and Allah knows best.