Taharah in Al-Muqni: The Hanbali Approach

Al-Muqni's taharah chapter presents the Hanbali school's purification law with the systematic clarity that Ibn Qudamah brings to all his works. The chapter covers the classification of water, the types of impurity, the obligations of wudu and ghusl, and the rules for tayammum — presenting the Hanbali positions while noting internal differences within the school where they exist.

The Hanbali school's classification of water for purification distinguishes between water that is pure and purifying (tahur), water that is pure but not purifying, and water that is impure. Large bodies of water (qullatain or more) remain pure until they actually change in one of their characteristics. Small bodies of water become impure when any impurity touches them, even without a change in characteristics — consistent with the general Hanbali reliance on the two-qullah hadith.

On wudu, Al-Muqni presents the Hanbali obligations: intention; washing the face, including mandatory rinsing of the mouth and nose as part of the face washing (a distinctively Hanbali and Maliki position making these acts fard in wudu); washing the arms to the elbows; wiping the entire head; wiping the ears (as part of the head wiping, not a separate obligation); washing the feet; and performing all in the specified order (tartib) and continuously (muwalat). Ibn Qudamah notes that the obligation of tartib is a matter of significant disagreement, with the Maliki school not requiring it, but he upholds it as the correct Hanbali position.

The wiping of the full head is a Hanbali requirement: a partial wipe as in the Shafi'i school is insufficient. The evidence is the multiple hadiths showing the Prophet wiping his entire head from front to back and then back to front. The Hanbali school's more demanding standard on head wiping reflects Imam Ahmad's position that the Prophetic practice constitutes the minimum obligation, not merely a recommended sunnah.

The distinctive Hanbali invalidators of wudu include the eating of camel meat — a ruling that has attracted considerable scholarly attention because it is based on a specific hadith in Sahih Muslim and lacks an obvious rational basis, demonstrating the Hanbali commitment to following authenticated texts even without apparent logical rationale. Ibn Qudamah presents this ruling in Al-Muqni alongside the textual evidence, acknowledging that other schools do not share this position.

The touching of private parts as an invalidator of wudu is also presented in Al-Muqni as the Hanbali position — based on the hadith 'Whoever touches his private parts, let him perform wudu' authenticated by Ahmad and others. The Hanbali position is that any direct skin contact with one's own private parts (front or back) invalidates wudu, regardless of whether it is intentional or accompanied by desire.

For ghusl, Al-Muqni lists the Hanbali obligations: intention, removing anything that prevents water reaching the skin, rinsing the mouth and nose, and washing the entire body. The active rubbing of the body (dalk) is considered a confirmed sunnah in the Hanbali school but not an obligation — the Maliki school treats it as obligatory. Al-Muqni notes the conditions that make ghusl obligatory: ejaculation from sexual arousal, sexual intercourse (whether or not accompanied by ejaculation), the ending of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, and entering the state of Islam.