Taharah According to the Mu'tamad Hanbali Position

Al-Mardawi's treatment of taharah in Al-Insaf is distinguished by his systematic effort to resolve the many internal disagreements within the Hanbali school on questions of ritual purity. The Hanbali tradition, having developed through multiple chains of transmission from Imam Ahmad and his diverse students, accumulated a range of opinions on purity that al-Mardawi felt compelled to evaluate and rank.

On water, the Hanbali school broadly accepts the same categories as other schools: pure and purifying water (tahur), pure but not purifying water, and impure water. Where the Hanbali school shows distinctive features is in certain details: for example, the Hanbali position on the purification of a utensil licked by a dog requires seven washings, one with earth, in agreement with the Shafi'i school and in contrast to the Maliki and Hanafi positions. Al-Mardawi traces the evidential basis for the Hanbali position and confirms it as the mu'tamad.

On the question of whether wudu is broken by touching a woman with desire, the Hanbali school has a position that distinguishes it from others. Imam Ahmad held that touching a woman with desire (or even without desire, according to some transmissions) breaks wudu. Al-Mardawi examines the various transmitted opinions of Ahmad on this question — a question complicated by multiple apparently contradictory statements — and identifies the mu'tamad position: that mere touching without desire does not break wudu, but touching with desire in a manner that would typically produce pleasure does break it.

On the five conditions of wudu — water reaching the required body parts, proper sequence (tartib), continuity (muwalah), rubbing (dalk) in the view that holds it obligatory, and intention — the Hanbali school agrees with the Shafi'is on sequence and continuity being obligatory, in contrast to the Hanafis and Malikis who differ on these points. Al-Mardawi confirms this as the stronger position within the school.

The ghusl chapter presents its own internal discussions, particularly on what triggers the obligation of ghusl. The Hanbali school requires ghusl when the two circumcised parts meet, even without ejaculation — a position shared with the Shafi'is and based on the hadis of Abu Hurayra. Al-Mardawi discusses the occasional ambiguity in Ahmad's transmitted statements on this and the strong majority position within the school, which he confirms as the mu'tamad.

Tayammum receives detailed treatment, with al-Mardawi addressing the conditions of valid dry ablution: absence of sufficient water within the relevant distance, the use of clean earth or soil, and the performance covering the face and both arms to the elbows. He addresses the Hanbali position that tayammum breaks upon the return of the ability to use water, even before the prayer time ends.