Class Three Notes, Chapter: “In Regards To Purifying The Impurities”

From the benefits in this chapter:

That which is impure is purified by washing it until the impure substance no longer remains, neither its colour, smell, or taste.

The origin in purifying is to use water.

But water isn’t specified in the cleaning of impurities. That is because the impurity is present so long as the impure substance is present. If this impure substance is removed, then the impurity is removed, and that may occur with other than water as well.

For this reason, Imam Abu Haneefah, Abu Yusuf, and in one report from Ahmad took the opinion that the impurity is removed with any pure liquid, and with anything which makes the impure substance go away. They used as proof the following narration of Aisha رضي الله عنها in al Bukhaari:

“None of us had more than a single garment and we used to have our menses while wearing it. Whenever it got soiled with blood of menses, we used to apply saliva to the blood spot and rub off the blood with our nails”

This stance is that which Shaykhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyah, Imam As Saadi and Imam Al Uthaymeen deemed correct.

Does one have to have an intention to remove impurities? No, it’s not a condition to have an intention. That which clarifies that is what Shaykh Al Uthaymeen mentioned in Fatawaa Nur Alad Darb and elsewhere. The meaning of his speech is:

“If a man were to lay out his Thawb on the roof and thus rain came down and purified it, then it is pure because it is not a condition for the removal of impurities to have an intention for it”

How is water in which its characteristics have changed purified?

Shaykh Al Bassam mentions [not translated word for word 1/138 of Tawdeehul Ahkaam] from the Council of the Major scholars some of the following ways:

  1. By the impurity ceasing on its own
  2. By adding pure water to it until the impurity ceases
  3. Its impurity is removed due to [the passing of] a long time period
  4. The affect of the Sun on it which removes its impurity
  5. Wind passing on it

Or similar to that.

From the methods are the recent methods of purifying water in which different chemicals and the likes are used to purify this water. Then it is pure so long as it is purified and cleaned completely and returns to its original state and nothing from the impurities which made it impure remain (ie. in smell, taste, or colour).

They mention also it is ok to also drink this water so long as there are no harms in regards to one’s health due to drinking it.He mentions from ‎مجلس المجمع الفقهي الاسلامي لرابطة العالم الاسلامي that this cleaning is done in four stages:

  1. Deposition
  2. Ventilation
  3. Killing germs
  4. Sterilizing it with chlorine

Benefit:

If some water drops on a person’s Thawb and he doesn’t know whether it is pure or not, does he ask regarding it?

Shaykhul Islaam said:

It’s not obligatory to wash it rather not even recommended upon the correct stance and similarly it isn’t recommended to ask regarding it upon the correct stance. As for purifying the saliva of the dog, then we mentioned it in the previous class that one washes it seven times, the first time [being] with sand.

These are some benefits, Allah knows best.

Compiled by

Majid Jawed Al-Afghanee
Abu Layl