Islamic Shariah Studies: Purifying (Ath-Thahaarah) ~ Hi all readers! In this article I will explain something that can be used to do ath-Thahaarah. This knowledge is important for all Muslims, because with this knowledge they will know what can be used for purifying (ath-Thahaarah) and what can not be used for it. Moreover, not all of these objects can be used to obligatory rituals in Islam.
Broadly speaking, the things that can be used are three things that are used for purifiying (ath-Thahaarah); water, dust or sand, objects that can absorb the fluid (stone, dry tissue, dry leaves, dry wood and so on). The three items can be found below;
Water
Water is the most important thing that can be used for purifiying (ath-Thahaarah). Description of this purity of water can be found in the verses of the Qur’an and the hadith of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam below;
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَرۡسَلَ ٱلرِّيَٰحَ بُشۡرَۢا بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡ رَحۡمَتِهِۦۚ وَأَنزَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءٗ طَهُورٗا ٤٨
And He it is Who sends the winds as good news before His mercy; and We send down pure water from the cloud. (Al-Furqaan [25]; 48).
Read;
قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : الْمَاءُ طَهُوْرٌ لَا يُنَجِّسُهُ شَيْئٌ إِلَّا مَا غَلَبَ عَلَى لَوْنِهِ أَوْ طَعْمِهِ أَوْ رِيْحِهِ
The Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said: “Surely the water of the holy ones can not be made unclean by anything unless there is something that changes its color, taste, or smell. [The hadith is narrated by Ibnu Majah, 521, al-Baihaqi, 1/259, ath-Thabrani, al-Kabiir, 8/104.].
قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِذَا كَانَ الْمَاءُ قُلْتَيْنِ لَمْ يَحْمِلْهُمْ الْخَبَثَ
Allah’s Messenger shallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, “If the water is as much as two qullah then the water can not be made unclean by al-Khabats [The meaning of the word al-Khabatas is something dirty and unclean in the view of Islamic law such as urine, blood, human feces and so forth].” [The hadith is narrated by Ibnu Abi Syaibah, 1/133, Abu Daud, 63, an-Nasa’i, 328, ad-Darimi, 732, Ibnu Khuzaimah, 1/49.].
In the above verse of the Qur’an there is a description of the true nature of water; holy. With that description we can also understand that the rain water that descends from the sky is the pure water that can be used for purifiying (ath-Thahaarah). So, if one day it rains from the sky and we put a sacred vessel outside the house, then the rain falling into the vessel we can use to do purifying or we make a drink.
The first hadith under the verses of the Qur’an also explains the sacredness of water. It’s just that there is a description or characteristics of water that has been turned into unclean water because it is mixed with other objects. These characteristics can be seen from changes in color, taste, and smell.
In the last hadith I call the term two qullah. Qullah is a measure of the volume of water used in Muhammad’s time. The size of two qullah today is two qullah about 270 (two hundred and seventy) liters. These two qullahs are the absolute water sizes that can be used to purify unclean.
This water can be used to eliminate al-Hadats (a trait inherent in a person that cab prevent them from performing obligatory rituals in Islam, such as praying, reading al-Qur’an and so on) and al-Khabats (something dirty and unclean in the view of Islamic law such as urine, blood, human feces and so forth, coming from outside and can be attached to clothes, body, etc.)
Dust or sand
Dust or sand is the second thing that can be used for purifiying (ath-Thahaarah). This description of the sanctity of dust or sand can be found in the verses of the Qur’an and the hadith of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam below;
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَقۡرَبُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنتُمۡ سُكَٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعۡلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىٰ تَغۡتَسِلُواْۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرۡضَىٰٓ أَوۡ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوۡ جَآءَ أَحَدٞ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡغَآئِطِ أَوۡ لَٰمَسۡتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمۡ تَجِدُواْ مَآءٗ فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدٗا طَيِّبٗا فَٱمۡسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمۡ وَأَيۡدِيكُمۡۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا ٤٣
O you who believe! do not go near prayer when you are Intoxicated until you know (well) what you say, nor when you are under an obligation to perform a bath– unless (you are) travelling on the road– until you have washed yourselves; and if you are sick, or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth, then wipe your faces and your hands; surely Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. (An-Nisaa’ [4]; 43).
قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : وَجُعِلَتْ لَنَا الْأَرْضُ كُلُّهَا مَسْجِدًا وَرَتْنَتُهَا طَهُوْرًا
The Prophet (Muhammad) shallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, “And all the earth is bowing down for us and the land is holy.” [The hadith is narrated by Ibnu Khuzaimah, Shahiih, 274.].
This dust or sand can only be used for the disappearance of al-Hadats (a trait inherent in a person that cab prevent them from performing obligatory rituals in Islam, such as praying, reading Qur’an and so on).
Things that can absorb fluids (stones, dry tissues, dried leaves, dry wood and so on).
Things that can absorb the liquid is a third type of thing that can be used for purifiying (ath-Thahaarah). This third object can be shaped stone or objects that can replace its functions, such as dry wood, dried leaves, and so forth.
Information about the use of this object can be found in the hadith bellow;
قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِذَا ذَهَبَ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَى الْغَائِطِ فَلْيَذْهَبْ مَعَهُ بِثَلَاثَةِ أَحْجَارٍ يَسْتَطِيْبُ بِهِنَّ فَإِنَّهُنَّ تُجْزِئُ عَنْهُ
Allah’s Messenger shallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, “If one of you wants to defecate then he should bring three stones that he can use to clean up because the three stones can fill it.” [The hadith is narrated by Abu Daud, Sunan, 36.].
But what I need to say is that there are some conditions to be considered when wanting to use this third thing;
One; The dirt or the unclean that comes out not in dry conditions, if it is in dry conditions it must be washed with water.
Two; The dirt or the unclean that came out did not move; urine does not pass through the tip of the penis and the dirt does not pass through the anal canal; if the place moved then the place, like stuck to the ball of the penis, then the penis ball must be washed with water.
Three; The dirt or the unclean shall not be mixed with the damp objects, be it the unclean or the pure, unless the damp objects are pure dry then that does not matter.
Four; The Dirt or the unclean it out of the usual place, the shaft of the penis and the anus hole, not from another hole.
The ordinance of its use is by rubbing this third type of object on the place of discharge or impure, as I have stated in the paragraph above.
This third type of thing can only be used to eliminate al-Khabats (something dirty and unclean in the view of Islamic law such as urine and human feces) coming out from the tip of the penis and the anus hole.
Those are the things that can be used for purifiying (ath-Thahaarah) which has been agreed by the experts of Islamic law. as for how to use it to ablution I will explain that in due time, because the discussion about it need discussion itself.
I think that’s enough for this article about purifiying (ath-Thahaarah). See you again in the next article!
Note;
We can find the discussion above in, Wahbah bin Mushthafah az-Zuhaili, al-Fiqh al-Islaami wa Adillatuhu, vol. 1, p. 196-197.
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