How Physical Impurity Is Purified

Read the bilingual lesson for How Physical Impurity Is Purified and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. Visible Impurity: Remove the Impurity Itself

وَيَطْهُرُ مُتَنَجِّسٌ بِنَجَاسَةٍ مَرْئِيَّةٍ بِزَوَالِ عَيْنِهَا وَلَوْ بِمَرَّةٍ عَلَى الصَّحِيحِ

When impurity has a visible body or trace, purification is achieved by removing the impurity itself. If one washing removes it completely, the correct position stated here does not require an artificial count of three washes.

2. A Stubborn Trace That Is Hard to Remove

وَلَا يَضُرُّ بَقَاءُ أَثَرٍ شَقَّ زَوَالُهُ

After the impurity itself has been removed, a remaining color or smell that is genuinely difficult to eliminate does not prevent legal purity. Soap is not a separate legal requirement; the point is that a genuinely difficult residual trace is excused.

3. Invisible Impurity on a Squeezable Item

وَغَيْرُ الْمَرْئِيَّةِ بِغَسْلِهَا ثَلَاثًا وَالْعَصْرِ كُلَّ مَرَّةٍ

For non-visible impurity on a squeezable garment, the matn gives three washes with squeezing after each wash. This is the straightforward method taught here.

4. Items That Cannot Be Squeezed

وَفِي غَيْرِ الْمُنْعَصِرِ طَهَارَتُهُ بِغَسْلِهِ ثَلَاثًا مَعَ التَّجْفِيفِ كُلَّ مَرَّةٍ

A non-squeezable item is washed three times, allowing it to drain/dry sufficiently between washes as prescribed. The purpose is to replace the function of squeezing without damaging the item.

5. Wiping Smooth Surfaces and Rubbing Khuffs

وَيَطْهُرُ الْخُفُّ وَنَحْوُهُ بِالدَّلْكِ مِنْ نَجَاسَةٍ لَهَا جِرْمٌ وَلَوْ كَانَتْ رَطْبَةً، وَيَطْهُرُ السَّيْفُ وَنَحْوُهُ بِالْمَسْحِ

• A khuff or similar footwear can be purified by rubbing off an impurity that has a physical body, even while that body-like impurity is moist, under the stated preferred position.
• A smooth non-absorbent item such as a sword, mirror or glazed surface can be purified by wiping away the impurity.
• A purely liquid absorbed impurity is not made removable merely by drying; ordinary washing remains the rule unless a specific source exception applies.

6. Pure Removing Liquids, Dry Earth, and Transformation

وَتَطْهُرُ النَّجَاسَةُ عَنِ الثَّوْبِ وَالْبَدَنِ بِالْمَاءِ وَبِكُلِّ مَائِعٍ مُزِيلٍ كَالْخَلِّ وَمَاءِ الْوَرْدِ ... وَإِذَا ذَهَبَ أَثَرُ النَّجَاسَةِ عَنِ الْأَرْضِ وَجَفَّتْ جَازَتِ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَيْهَا ... وَتَطْهُرُ نَجَاسَةٌ اسْتَحَالَتْ عَيْنُهَا

• Clothing/body impurity may be removed by water and, under this position, another pure liquid that actually removes it, such as vinegar or rosewater.
• Impure earth becomes suitable for prayer when the impurity's trace disappears and the ground dries; the text separately does not use that ground for Tayammum under the preferred view.
• A substance whose impure identity genuinely transforms, such as becoming salt or ash, becomes pure under the stated rule.

7. Dry and Wet Semen

وَيَطْهُرُ الْمَنِيُّ الْجَافُ بِفَرْكِهِ عَنِ الثَّوْبِ وَالْبَدَنِ، وَيَطْهُرُ الرَّطْبُ بِغَسْلِهِ

The matn gives a special rule: dry semen may be removed by rubbing/scraping from clothing and, under the stated narration, the body; wet semen is washed. This special rule is not generalized to all impurities.

Practice questions

Question 1

How is a garment contaminated with a visible impurity (Najasah Mar'iyyah like blood) purified according to the correct opinion?

Washing it exactly seven times.
By removing the physical substance itself (zawāl 'aynihā), even if done in a single wash.
By burying it in clean soil for 3 days.
Only by burning the affected area.

Question 2

If a stubborn blood stain remains on a garment after washing it thoroughly, the garment remains impure and cannot be worn for prayer.

Question 3

How is a garment contaminated with an invisible impurity (Najasah Ghayr Mar'iyyah like dry urine) purified?

Rubbing it against a stone.
Washing the garment three times and squeezing ('asr) it thoroughly after each wash.
Leaving it in the sun for 24 hours.
Wiping it with a damp cloth.

Question 4

For non-squeezable items (like heavy leather or carpets), washing them three times and allowing them to drip-dry completely between each wash is legally sufficient.

Question 5

How are smooth, non-porous surfaces like steel swords or glass mirrors purified according to the text?

They must be soaked in vinegar for 3 hours.
They must be washed and squeezed three times.
By thoroughly wiping (Mas'h) them with a clean cloth or soil.
They can never be purified once contaminated.

Question 6

Match the contaminated items with their correct legal purification methods:

Question 7

If a body-like impurity such as feces is on a khuff, rubbing it off can purify the khuff under the stated rule even while that impurity is still moist.

Question 8

Classify the following scenarios into "Legally Pure" and "Legally Impure":

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