Taharah: Purification and Its Legal Foundations

Ibn Qudamah opens Al-Kafi with the chapter on taharah (purification), following the classical arrangement of Islamic legal texts that reflects the logical priority of purification as a prerequisite for the major acts of worship. He grounds each ruling in Quranic verses and prophetic hadiths, providing the student with a textual basis rather than simply stating rulings.

Water in Al-Kafi is classified according to its suitability for ritual purification. Pure, purifying water is that which remains in its original state — called ma' mutlaq (absolute water). Such water may be used for wudu and ghusl regardless of its source, whether rainwater, river water, well water, or seawater. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about the sea: 'Its water is pure, and its dead are lawful' (Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi — declared sahih).

Water that has been used in an obligatory purification becomes musta'mal (used). Ibn Qudamah presents the Hanbali position that such water is pure in itself but no longer capable of ritual purification, because the hadath has, in a sense, been transferred to it. However, he acknowledges that there is scholarly disagreement on this point, and the Shafi'i position (that musta'mal water is pure and purifying) is a valid scholarly view.

Regarding najasah (physical impurity), Ibn Qudamah enumerates the categories of najis substances: urine and feces of beings whose flesh is not lawfully eaten, blood in large amounts, carrion (maytah), the flesh of swine, wine (khamr) and other intoxicants. The method of purification varies: urine of an infant boy who has not yet eaten food is removed by sprinkling water over the spot without scrubbing, based on the hadith of 'A'ishah (al-Bukhari, Muslim). Other urine requires washing until the traces are removed.

Wudu (minor ablution) is analyzed in Al-Kafi with attention to its pillars, its obligations, and its recommended acts (sunan). Ibn Qudamah is careful to distinguish between what is obligatory and what is recommended, preventing the student from treating recommended acts as if they were obligations. The sequence and continuity of wudu are affirmed as conditions based on the Quranic verse (5:6) and prophetic practice.

Ghusl (major purification) becomes obligatory upon five occurrences, as discussed with reference to Quranic commands and prophetic hadith. Ibn Qudamah notes the scholarly disagreement on whether muwālāh (continuity) is a condition of ghusl, ultimately siding with the view that it is recommended but not strictly obligatory for ghusl as it is for wudu.

Tayammum (dry ablution using earth) is discussed in detail, including the conditions under which it is permitted: absence of water, inability to use water due to illness or injury, and extreme cold when no means of heating water is available. The Hanbali school, following some hadiths, holds that anything on the surface of the earth — dust, sand, stone — may be used for tayammum as long as it is clean, even if it leaves no trace on the hands.