Water, cleanliness and impurities

To pray, one must be pure. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Purification is half of faith" (Muslim 223), and Allah says: "Allah loves those who repent and He loves those who purify themselves" (meaning of verse 2:222).

Two kinds of purity In fiqh, two things are distinguished: • Impurity "of state" (al-ḥadath): a state one is in after using the toilet, after deep sleep, after intimate relations, and so on. It cannot be seen; it is lifted by wudu (minor ḥadath) or by the full bath, ghusl (major ḥadath). That is the subject of the next lessons. • "Material" impurity (an-najaasa): a specific dirt on the body, the clothes or the place of prayer. It is removed by washing it. That is the subject of this lesson.

The water that purifies • Natural water (rain, tap, spring, well, sea, melted snow) is pure and purifies. About the sea, the Prophet ﷺ said: "Its water is pure, and its dead animals are lawful" (Abu Dawud 83, Tirmidhi 69) [À VÉRIFIER : numéros]. • Water remains purifying as long as its colour, taste or smell has not been changed by an impurity. • Water changed by something pure (soap, tea, juice) becomes another drink or liquid: wudu is not made with it. The details (small quantities, water already used for wudu) [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche].

The most common impurities Agreed by all: human urine and faeces; blood that flows in quantity (meaning of verse 6:145); pork; an animal that died without being slaughtered (except fish and locusts); menstrual blood. Discussed: the dog (its saliva is impure for the majority, and a vessel it has drunk from is washed seven times, once with earth: Bukhari 172, Muslim 279; the Maliki school does not consider the dog itself impure); semen (pure for the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, impure for the Hanafis and Malikis); small amounts of blood [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche]. Not impure: sweat, tears, human saliva, the believer's body. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The believer does not become impure" (Bukhari 283, Muslim 371).

How to remove an impurity • Wash it with water until it is gone; a stain that will not come out despite washing is not a problem. • For the urine of a baby boy who is not yet eating, sprinkling water is enough (Bukhari 223, Muslim 287). • For menstrual blood on clothing: scrape it, rub it with water, then wash it (Bukhari 227, Muslim 291). • The clear fluid released with desire (madhy): wash the area and renew wudu, but it does not require ghusl (Bukhari 269, Muslim 303). • When in doubt: what was pure stays pure. You do not wash "just in case".

In the toilet • On entering, say: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْخُبُثِ وَالْخَبَائِثِ allaahumma innii a'uudhu bika mina l-khubuthi wa l-khabaa'ith "O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the male and female devils" (Bukhari 142, Muslim 375). • On leaving: غُفْرَانَكَ ghufraanak, "(I ask) Your forgiveness" (Abu Dawud 30, Tirmidhi 7) [À VÉRIFIER : numéros]. • Clean yourself with water (istinjaa'), or failing that with paper or stones, an odd number of times, at least three wipes (istijmaar: Muslim 262). Use the left hand. • Take care with splashes of urine: the Prophet ﷺ passed by two graves and said that one of the two dead was being punished because he did not protect himself from his urine (Bukhari 216, Muslim 292). • Do not face the qibla, or turn your back to it, in the open; inside a building, [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche].

Surah At-Tawba praises the people of the mosque of Qubaa', "men who love to purify themselves": listen to verse 9:108 in the recitation block.

Exercise: check your prayer corner and your prayer clothes: are they clean? Where is the most convenient place at work or school to make wudu?

Understanding the lesson

Explanation Ṭahaara is not an obsession with cleanliness: it is a preparation. Before standing before Allah, we present ourselves clean, as we would take care of our appearance for an important appointment. It also has an inner meaning: the clean body reminds the heart that it too must purify itself of sins. The basic rule is ease. Everything is pure as long as we do not know with certainty that an impurity is there; water is pure as long as an impurity has not changed it. Doubt does not create an obligation. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The religion is ease" (Bukhari 39). For a new Muslim, the essentials are simple: clean yourself properly after the toilet, wear clean clothes, pray on a clean place. The details (quantities, rare cases) come with time and with questions to the imam. The schools differ on several points (the status of dogs, semen, small amounts of blood, water already used) [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche]. Each relies on texts; follow what the centre teaches. Common misunderstandings: thinking you must wash everything again at the slightest doubt; thinking a stain that will not come out makes prayer impossible; believing that a woman in her period is "impure" as a person (her body, sweat and saliva are not impure).

Lessons to draw from it • Always have water at hand in the toilet, or a small bottle. • Keep clothing and a mat set aside for prayer, clean. • Rely on certainty, not on worry. • Learn the two toilet supplications: they turn an ordinary act into an act of faith.

Key points to remember • Ḥadath (a state, lifted by wudu or ghusl) and najaasa (dirt, removed by washing). • Natural water purifies, as long as no impurity has changed its colour, taste or smell. • Impurities agreed by all: urine, faeces, flowing blood, pork, carrion, menstrual blood. • When in doubt, what was pure stays pure.

The main message Purification opens the door to prayer: we take care of our body, our clothes and our place of prayer, simply and without excess, to come before Allah in the cleanliness He loves.