Taharah in Mughni al-Muhtaj

The taharah chapter of Mughni al-Muhtaj exemplifies ash-Shirbini's pedagogical approach: clear explanation of Al-Nawawi's Minhaj text, supported by reference to the major Shafi'i authorities, with particular attention to making the technical language accessible.

On water, ash-Shirbini explains the Minhaj's compact formulations in detail. The definition of 'mutlaq' water — water that retains its original name 'water' without qualification — is explained through examples: pure rainwater, river water, well water, and seawater are all mutlaq; water described as 'rose water' or 'barley water' has lost its unqualified name. This linguistic analysis of the criterion for absolute water reflects ash-Shirbini's characteristic approach of explaining the legal concept through its semantic foundation.

The discussion of the two-qullah threshold in Mughni al-Muhtaj provides the classical scholarly estimates of the qullah's volume and explains the principle: above this threshold, the normal presumption of purity is reinforced; below it, any contact with najasah renders the water impure regardless of visible alteration. Ash-Shirbini reproduces the different estimates from the major Shafi'i authorities and provides guidance on which estimate is most reliable for legal purposes.

For wudu, ash-Shirbini's commentary is particularly valuable on the question of the basmala and its place in the Shafi'i legal discussion. The Minhaj's brief statement on the recommended elements of wudu is expanded into a full discussion of the sunnah practices and their evidential basis. The recommendation to say the basmala before beginning wudu, to rinse the mouth and nose three times each, to take fresh water for the ears, and to rub the limbs during washing — each receives its evidential grounding.

On the nullifiers of wudu, Mughni al-Muhtaj carefully explains the Shafi'i distinctive regarding skin contact. The relevant Quranic verse (4:43) uses the phrase 'or you have touched women' as a condition that requires purification before prayer. The Shafi'i school interprets this as a reference to direct skin contact rather than the euphemism for intercourse that the Hanafi school prefers. Ash-Shirbini explains this interpretive choice and the internal Shafi'i disagreement about whether contact breaks the wudu of the woman as well as the man.

The ghusl and tayammum chapters provide complete treatments with ash-Shirbini's characteristic clarity. On tayammum, he addresses the question of what substances qualify as 'clean earth' for the purpose of this purification, applying the Shafi'i position that the substance must be of the turab category — earth, sand, or minerals of the earth — and must not be contaminated.