10

The Chapter of Purification

Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship

1Purification And Water

Purification literally meansCleanliness and being free from dirt.

Purification

Major HadathMinor Hadath

a - Purification from hadath (the state of ritual impurity)

b - Purifying Oneself from Najasah (a physical impurity)

C o n t e n t sPurification

Definition of Purification

Types of Purification

1. Inner Purification

2. Physical Purification

Water

Types of water

Pure water

Impure water

Types of Purification1. Inner Purification It is the purification of the heart from polytheism, sins etc. It is not possible to attain purification when the filth of polytheism lingers in the heart. As pointed out by Allah :”O you who believe, verily, the mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in oneness of Allah and in the message

of Muhammad) are najas (impure). So let them not come near the Al-Masjid Al-Haram (the holy masjid in Makkah) after this year; and if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty. Surely, Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.” ( Tawbah:28)

And the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said: “Indeed the believer does not become impure.” (1)

(1) agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim (This will be referred to as «agreed upon» in the remainder of the book).

While in the context of Islam-ic Jurisprudence (Shari’ah),It means the removal of impurities and dirt.

Physical Purification Inner Purification

Types of Purification

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11Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship

2. Physical Purification: It is the purification of the body from dirt and impurities. Physical purification entails two forms of purification:

a. Purification from Hadath (the state of ritual impurity).

Hadath is that which, when produced from or befalls a body, prevents a Muslim from acts of worship for which purification is a requisite, e.g. As-Salah (prayer), circumambulation of the Ka’abah etc. There are two types of Hadath:

Minor Hadath: It is that which makes ablution imperative, like urine, defecation, passing wind and all other nullifiers of al-wudu’ (ablution). These will be listed later on in the text. Purification from these is achieved by performing al-wudu’. Allah says: “O you who believe! When you intend to offer Salah (daily prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles. ” (Maidah:6)

Major Hadath It is that which makes ghusl (a purificatory bath) imperative, e.g. sexual relations, menstruation etc. Purification from this state is achieved by ghusl. Allah says: “If you are in a state of janabah (i.e. after sexual relations), purify yourselves (by bathing your whole body).” (Maidah:6)

Ablution purifies the body from minor hadath.

If it is impossible to purify oneself through wudu or ghusl, then one purifies himself through Tayammum (a dry form of purification using soil, to be discussed in a later section).

b. Purification from Najasah (a physical impurity)

Removal of any physical impurity is obligatory, as Allah says: “And purify your garments” (Mudathir: 4). And the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said; “Most of the punishment in the grave is a result of the lack of cleaning (oneself from) urine” (1) and “When any of you comes to the masjid (mosque), he should be mindful of his sandals. If he sees filth or dirt on one (of them), he should wipe it (off) and then (he can) pray in them.” (2)

Purification from physical impurities entails:

1. purification of the place of prayer,

2. purification of clothes,

3. purification of the body

(1) narrated by Ibn Majah.(2) narrated by Abu Dawud.

Purification And Water

Purification of The Place of Prayer

Purification of The Body

Purification of Clothes

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The Chapter of Purification

Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship

Impure Water (water whose characteristics have been changed by

(impuritiesUsed Water

Pure water

Water mixed with an impurity, but whose

characteristics have not.changed

WaterTypes of Water

Plain Water

Types of WaterThe First Type: Pure Water It is water which is pure within itself and can be used to purify other substances.

1. Plain or Ordinary Water. It is water whose characteristics are the same as when it was created, whether it falls from the sky, e.g. rain, snow, hail, etc., or flows on the ground, e.g. water from seas, rivers, rain, wells etc. Allah says: “And we send pure water from the sky.” (Furqan:48) And He the Most High says, “He (Allah) sends down upon you from the sky water to purify you.” (Al-Anfal:11) The Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص used to say: “Oh Allah, purify me from my sins with snow, rain, and hail,”(1) and heملسو هيلع هللا ىلص also said concerning ocean water “It is pure and its carrion (dead animals) are lawful (to eat).” (2)

(1)agreed upon.(2) narrated by Abu Dawud.

Wells Seas

Rain

Rivers

Water mixed with a.pure substance

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13Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship

2. Used Water It is water which has fallen from the limbs of the one purifying himself. There is no problem with using it for purification. It has been established from the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas who said “One of the wives of the Prophetملسو هيلع هللا ىلص took a ghusl (a bath for ritual purification) from a qisa’a(1), then the Messenger of Allah ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص wanted to make wudu’ from it, so she said: ‘Oh Messenger of Allah, I was in a state of ritual impurity!’ He then said: ‘Water does not become impure.’” (2)

3. Water Mixed with a Pure Substance

The water which has been mixed with a pure substance like leaves of a tree, soil, or rust from a storage tank for example, is pure. This is as long as it has not been affected to a point where we can no longer call it water.

This sort of water may also be used for purification. This is shown in the hadith of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص where he mentioned to the women who prepared his daughter for burial, “Wash her three times, five times or more - if you see fit - with water and sidr. (3) Then use camphor in the last washing.”(4)

(1)a qisa’a is a large bowl.(2)narrated by At-Tirmidhi.(3)Sidr are grounded leaves from the lotus tree which are used when bathing for purification purposes.(4)agreed upon.

Water mixed with soil

Rust from water storage tanks

Water in which leaves are mixed

Changes Within Water When water changes, and the change renders it such that it must be called something else like tea, juice, etc., then it may not be used for purification.

Purification And Water

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The Chapter of Purification

Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship

4. Water into which an impurity has fallen but whose characteristics have not changed:

It is the water in which something impure (e.g. urine, dead animal/s) has fallen yet none of its characteristics: odor, color, or taste have changed.

This water is pure in accordance to what the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said regarding the well of Buḍȃ′ah: ”Indeed the water is pure, nothing renders it impure.” (1)

The reason for this statement was that people used to put impurities around the well and rainfall would wash it into the well. But the well water was so plentiful that the impurities didn’t have an effect on it and thus the well water remained unchanged.

The Second Type: Impure Water It is water that impurities (urine, feces etc.) has changed one of its three characteristics: odor, color or taste. This water has then become impure and its usage is prohibited. A consensus has been reached on this by the scholars of Islam.

(1) narrated by Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi.

Soup Tea

Ink

Juice

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15Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship

Issues for Discussion1. We assume water is pure; unless proven otherwise. Therefore if there is water whose purity/

impurity is not certain, we assume it to be pure. Being overly concerned about its purity or impurity in such a case is discouraged.

2. It is permissible to perform ablution with Zamzam Water. This is shown by the report where the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص called for a bucket of Zamzam water, and then drank and performed ablution from it.

A dead animal which has changed the nature of the water.

A dead animal which has not changed the nature of the water.

Purification And Water

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