Taharah (Purity) is an essential feature of all Muslims. It means an entire purity and cleanliness of body, clothes, places and all life aspects, Purity And use of Water is an essential for human beings. http://en.islamkingdom.com/

1. 10
The Chapter of Purification
Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship
1
Purification
And Water
Purification literally means
Cleanliness 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 s
Purification
Definition of Purification
Types of Purification
1. Inner Purification
2. Physical Purification
Water
Types of water
Pure water
Impure water
Types of Purification
1. 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 ‫ﷺ‬ 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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2. 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 ‫ﷺ‬ 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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3. 12
The Chapter of Purification
Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship
Impure Water (water
whose characteristics
have been changed by
)impurities
Used Water
Pure water
Water mixed with an
impurity, but whose
characteristics have not
.changed
Water
Types of Water
Plain Water
Types of Water
The 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 ‫ﷺ‬ used to say:
“Oh Allah, purify me from my sins with snow, rain,
and hail,”(1)
and he‫ﷺ‬ 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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4. 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 ‫,ﷺ‬ on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas
 who said “One of the wives of the Prophet‫ﷺ‬
took a ghusl (a bath for ritual purification) from a
qisa’a(1)
, then the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬ 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 ‫ﷺ‬ 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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5. 14
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 ‫ﷺ‬ 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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6. 15Illustrated Islamic Jurisprudence for the Acts of Worship
Issues for Discussion
1. 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 ‫ﷺ‬ 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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