Taharah: Purity and Its Conditions

The chapter on taharah in Nihayat al-Muhtaj opens with a discussion of water and its legal classifications, following the organizational structure of Al-Nawawi's Minhaj. Ar-Ramli's treatment is characteristically precise: he distinguishes between mutlaq water (absolute, unrestricted water suitable for ritual use), water that has been used (musta'mal), and water that has been mixed with a pure substance to the point of altering one of its defining properties — color, taste, or smell. Only mutlaq water may be used for ritual purification (taharah), whether wudu, ghusl, or tayammum when water is unavailable.

Ar-Ramli gives detailed attention to questions of quantity. The two-qullah threshold (approximately 190 liters by common Shafi'i estimation) marks the dividing line between water that becomes impure upon contact with najasah and water that retains its purity unless its characteristics are visibly altered. He transmits and evaluates multiple scholarly opinions on exactly what constitutes a qullah in volumetric terms, referencing both classical commentators and the linguistic tradition to establish the most reliable estimate.

On wudu, ar-Ramli carefully enumerates the obligatory acts (fara'id) — intention, washing the face, washing both arms to and including the elbows, wiping part of the head, washing both feet to and including the ankles, and performing these in the correct sequence. He distinguishes these from the emphasized sunnahs of wudu, such as the basmala, using a siwak, rinsing the mouth and nose, wiping the full head and ears, and maintaining continuity (muwalah) in the performance of the acts. Neglecting a fard nullifies the wudu; neglecting a sunnah does not, though it diminishes the perfection of the act.

The discussion of ghusl (full ritual bath) covers the conditions that make it obligatory: sexual intercourse or orgasm (janabah), the end of menstruation (hayd) or post-natal bleeding (nifas), death (for the washing of the deceased), and, according to a view discussed at length, conversion to Islam if one had been in a state of janabah prior to conversion. Ar-Ramli addresses the minimum obligation of ghusl — a single intention followed by water reaching every part of the external body — as well as its complete sunna form, which mirrors many elements of wudu performed before the bath.

Particularly valuable is ar-Ramli's treatment of tayammum, the dry ablution performed with clean soil when water is unavailable or injurious. He specifies the conditions: the absence of sufficient water within a reasonable distance, valid impediment to water use such as illness or extreme cold, the use of clean earth (turab), and the covering of the face and hands in proper sequence. The Shafi'i school holds that tayammum is valid for a single fard prayer and must be renewed for each subsequent fard, a position ar-Ramli defends with detailed reasoning against contrary positions in other schools.