Taharah in Al-Furu': Comprehensive Hanbali Purity Law

Al-Furu's treatment of taharah is characteristic of the work's encyclopedic approach: Ibn Muflih presents multiple opinions within the Hanbali school, notes the transmitted positions of Imam Ahmad and his major students, includes the positions of Ibn Taymiyyah where they are relevant or controversial, and sometimes notes the positions of other schools for comparative context.

The opening sections on water illustrate this method. The Hanbali two-qullah threshold is presented along with the scholarly discussion of its volumetric equivalent, the different estimates of the scholars, and the principle underlying the distinction. Ibn Muflih notes where Ibn Taymiyyah departed from the standard Hanbali position on water-related questions — for example, Ibn Taymiyyah's view that the two-qullah threshold is not based on a sound hadith and that impurity in standing water is determined by visible alteration regardless of quantity — while maintaining the transmitted school position as the basis for the legal discussion.

The wudu chapter in Al-Furu' is particularly detailed on the questions of nullifiers, where the Hanbali school has the most distinctive positions. On the nullifying effect of camel meat, Ibn Muflih presents the hadith evidence (the Prophet's command to renew wudu after eating camel meat), the scholars' responses, and Ibn Taymiyyah's unequivocal support for this position as correct. On touching a woman, he presents the various transmitted opinions of Imam Ahmad and the different positions they generate within the school.

The question of blood and vomiting as wudu nullifiers is a point of divergence between the Hanbali school and the majority. The Hanbali school holds that flowing blood from any part of the body breaks wudu, based on transmitted reports and the general principle of avoiding doubtful matters in worship. Ibn Muflih presents this position, notes the majority's disagreement, and provides the Hanbali evidential basis. This comparative awareness — unusual in a school-specific fiqh text — reflects Ibn Muflih's broad learning and his close association with a teacher (Ibn Taymiyyah) who regularly engaged with all four schools.

Ghusl in Al-Furu' covers the standard Hanbali positions plus the additional causes that make ghusl recommended (mustahabb) rather than obligatory: washing the deceased, the Friday ghusl, the ghusl for the two Eid prayers, and ghusl upon returning from travel or losing consciousness. Ibn Muflih notes the disagreement within the school on whether the Friday ghusl is wajib or merely mustahabb, with Ibn Taymiyyah's view that it is obligatory given the strength and consistency of the hadith evidence.

The masah 'ala al-khuffayn (wiping over leather socks) chapter in Al-Furu' is thorough. Ibn Muflih covers the conditions, the time limits (one day and night for a resident, three days for a traveler), what qualifies as footwear for this purpose, and the rulings on wiping over non-leather footwear. The Hanbali school's flexibility in accepting various types of footwear — provided they cover the area required to be washed in wudu and are normally worn — reflects the school's strong attachment to following the Sunnah's letter wherever it leads.