Taharah in Al-Wajiz: Purification and Its Conditions

Al-Ghazali's treatment of taharah in Al-Wajiz follows the standard Shafi'i framework but is notable for its clarity of exposition — a clarity that reflects both the author's profound understanding of the subject and his skill as a writer and teacher. He presents the Shafi'i positions on water, impurities, wudu, ghusl, and tayammum in a format that has been used to teach Shafi'i fiqh across the Islamic world for nearly a thousand years.

Water classification in Al-Wajiz follows the four-category Shafi'i system: tahur (pure and purifying), musta'mal (pure but not purifying after obligatory use), mixed with pure substances changing its name (pure, not purifying), and najis (impure). Al-Ghazali presents the ruling for each category without extensive evidential discussion — the Wajiz is a ruling-statement text, with evidence reserved for the commentaries and the larger works.

The distinction between small and large quantities of water (below and above two qullahs) is presented with the legal implications: small quantities become impure upon any contact with najasah; large quantities only upon change of characteristics. Al-Ghazali notes that the two-qullah threshold, while precisely stated in the relevant hadith, requires practical judgment in applying to non-standard water containers — a point that the commentaries elaborate extensively.

For wudu, al-Ghazali presents the six obligatory acts with precision: intention, face-washing (with rinsing mouth and nostrils as part of face), arm-washing, head-wiping (any part), foot-washing, and sequence. The explanation of the intention — that it must coincide with beginning to wash the face — reflects the Shafi'i school's strict requirement that intention precede or accompany the first obligatory act, not merely the act of beginning to draw or pour water.

The nullifiers of wudu receive clear treatment. Al-Ghazali notes that the Shafi'i position on skin-to-skin contact between a man and a marriageable woman (nullifying wudu) is based on a particular reading of the Quranic verse about lamastum an-nisa' (4:43) — interpreting it as referring to actual physical touch rather than sexual contact. He notes this is a position specific to the Shafi'i school and that other schools (Hanbali, Hanafi, Maliki) interpret the same verse differently.

Ghusl receives compact treatment: its obligations are intention and washing the entire body including hair. Al-Ghazali notes that the Shafi'i school does not include mouth or nose rinsing as obligatory in ghusl (unlike the Hanafi school), but these are sunnah based on the detailed prophetic descriptions of ghusl.

Tayammum is treated with the Shafi'i requirements: absence of water within approximately a mile, or inability to use water. The two-strike method (one for face, one for hands) is noted as the Shafi'i position, and al-Ghazali briefly engages with the different positions on using only one strike, preferring the two-strike approach as more consistent with the prophetic hadith.