Part 8

1 Tayammum: Performing dry ablution with clean earth (when water is unavailable or one cannot use it).

As a Muslim is legally required to be pure from minor and major ritual impurities in order to perform prayer, he is also commanded to purify his body, clothes and remove any spot of impurity. Allah says:

The Prophet (PBUH) commanded a woman to wash the menstrual blood from her garment '. With this in mind, it is our duty to shed more light on this issue, namely the removal of impurity, illustrating the most important related rulings, hoping that it may benefit Muslims. Faqihs (may Allah have mercy on them) used to specify a separate chapter in their volumes entitled “A Chapter on the Removal of Impurity” i.e. the removal of the impurities that afflict pure objects, such as clothes, utensils, sheets, floors, etc. Water is the basic means used for the removal of impurity, as it is the original means of purification, as described by Allah Who says:

“,, And sent down upon you from the sky, rain by which to purify you...” (Quran: Al-Anfal: 11)

Impurity may be linked to the ground, the floor, or what is connected to them, such as walls, water basins, rocks, etc. In such a case, it is sufficient to remove such impurity by washing it only once, i.e. to pour water once until it covers the impure object, as the Prophet (PBUH) ordered to pour a bucket of water over the urine of the Bedouin who had urinated in the mosque’. Such an impurity is naturally removed when covered with rainwater or floods. So long as the impure object is removed by pouring water, or by rainwater or floods, it is sufficient to deem the area concerned pure. On the other hand, impurity may not be related to the ground, the floor, or what is connected to them, such as the impurity caused by dogs, swine, or what is related to them. In this case, the impure object must be washed seven times, one of them with earth, for the Prophet (PBUH) said:

“When a dog licks a utensil belonging to anyone of you, let him wash it seven times, the first of them with earth. ”

Still, this ruling is not restricted to utensils; it is also applicable to clothes, sheets, and the like. If the impure object is related to neither dogs nor swine, such as urine, stool, blood, and the like, it has to be washed, rubbed, and wrung out until it is completely removed, leaving neither sign nor color.

1, Squeezable things such as clothes, so they must be wrung out after washing.

2. Unsqueezable things such as leather and the like, so they have to be overturned during washing.

3. Things that can neither be wrung out nor overturned; such things have to be washed, scrubbed and then pressed with a heavy object until most of their water dries.

When the filthy area on one’s body, clothes, a small place of prayer, or the like, cannot be located, the whole suspected area has to be washed until it is certain that impurity has been removed. Still, if the impure area itself cannot be identified, the whole object has to be washed.

As for a pure material soiled with urine of an infant, it is sufficient to purify it with sprinkling water, not washing it, as stated in the hadith narrated on the authority of Umm Qays Bint Mihsan (may Allah be pleased with her), She narrated:

“I brought my baby son (who had not started eating ordinary food then) to Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) who took him and made him sit in his lap. The child urinated on the garment of the Prophet (PBUH), so he (PBUH) asked for water and sprinkled it over the soiled area without washing it."

However, if the child is old enough to eat ordinary food, the ruling on his/her urine is regarded as that of grown-ups. In such cases, urine is to be removed by washing as in the case of other kinds of impurity.

+ Major impure objects, such as those caused by dogs and the like

+ Minor impure objects, such as the urine of infants (who have not yet started eating ordinary food)

At this point, there must be distinction between pure and impure urine and manure of animals. Those of legally edible animals, such as camels, cows, sheep and the like, are pure, according to a hadith related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim stating that the Prophet (PBUH) gave permission to the people of “Uraynah to take the urine and milk of the camels of charity as medicine’. This hadith implies that the urine of camels is pure, for it is impermissible to take an impure object as medicine, Some may argue that the Prophet permitted taking or drinking such urine as medicine only in case of necessity. To this, we say that the Prophet (PBUH) never enjoined washing the trace of the urine of camels before performing prayer, which shows that he did not deem it impure. It is also stated in a sahih (authentic) hadith that the Prophet (PBUH), before the Prophet's Mosque was built, would perform prayer at sheepfolds’ and would command his Companions to perform prayer in such folds,’ though they had been surely urinated in.

“Purity is the original ruling on all kinds of manure except for those which are ruled out...”"

The leftover of legally edible animals is pure and so is the leftover of cats, according to the hadith narrated on the authority of Aba Qatadah, who reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said about cats:

“It (i.e. a cat) is not impure; it is one of those (male or female domestic animals) which go round among you.”

(Related by Al-Tirmidhi, who deems it sahih (authentic), and other compilers of Hadith)’

In the hadith at hand, the Prophet (PBUH) resembled cats to servants who go round among their masters waiting for their orders. Thus, deeming cats pure as stated in the hadith is a way of relieving Muslims from strictness and difficulty. Some scholars maintain the same ruling on legally inedible animals smaller than cats, such as birds and the like. They view that the leftover of such small animals (or birds) is as pure as that of cats. On the other hand, the manure, urine, and the remaining food of any legally inedible animals other than cats and their likes are impure.

Thus, taking care of physical and moral purity is central in a Muslim's life. Moral purity requires monotheism and devotion to Allah, in both words and deeds. As for physical purity, it includes purifying oneself from major and minor ritual impurities, as well as purification from all kinds of tangible impurities. This is because our religion, Islam, is the religion of purity, cleanness, and purification from both physical and spiritual filthiness. A Muslim must always observe purity and cleanness, for the Prophet (PBUH) said:

So, a Muslim must concern himself with purity and avoid all kinds of impurity; Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) has stated that the commonest reason for the torture in the grave is one’s being soiled with urine without purifying oneself ". Hence, if you are soiled with impurity, you must hasten to purify yourself in order to keep yourself pure, especially when you want to perform prayer. Always check your state of purity, and when you want to enter a mosque, for example, you should check the cleanness of your shoes; if you find something filthy, you have to remove it and clean your shoes, and do not ever enter a mosque with filthy shoes. May Allah guide us all to whatever pleases Him of words and deeds.

7 Muslim (800) [2/271]; see also Fayd Al-Qadir (4/415) and As-Silsilah Ad-Da ‘ifah (2902).

8 See Ibn Taymiyah’s Majnit ‘ul-Fatdwé (20/339), (21/40, 74, 75, 534, 587, 613) and (25/239). See also Al-Ikhtiydrat Al-'Ilmiyyah p41.

9 Abi Dawid (75) [1/49], Al-Tirmidhi (92) [1/153], An-Nasa’i (68) [1/58] and Ibn Majah (367) [1/228].

“And they ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those

Menstruation is the flow of a type of natural blood from the womb at specific times. This blood is habitually discharged every month for six or seven days, and the period can be more or less than that. In other words, a woman's monthly period can be longer or shorter depending on the different nature of each woman as predetermined by Allah.

Rulings Stated in the Noble Qur’an and the Sunnah Concerning Menstruation

Itis prohibited for a menstruating woman either to perform prayer or observe fasting, as the Prophet (PBUH) said to Fatimah Bint Ab Hubaysh:

Thus, the prayer and fasting of a menstruating woman are deemed invalid, as the Prophet (PBUH) has prohibited that,’ and the Prophet's prohibition means it is invalid to perform what he has prohibited. Therefore, a woman who performs such acts of worship in that state of impurity is considered to be disobedient to Allah and His Messenger (PBUH).

When the menstrual period is over, a woman has to make up for the missed days of fasting according to the juristic consensus, without making up for the prayers she has missed. *A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:

“When we menstruated during the life of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH), we used to be commanded (by Allah’s Messenger) to make up for the missed days of fasting, but we were not ordered to make up for the missed prayers.”

It is impermissible for a menstruating woman to make tawdéf (circumambulating the Ka‘bah), to recite the Noble Qur'an, or to stay in a mosque. In addition, it is prohibited for her husband to have sexual intercourse with her until her period is over and she takes a ritual bath. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“And they ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you...” (Qur'an: Al-Bagarah: 222) The phrase “..keep away from wives during menstruation” means not to have sexual intercourse with them within that period. The Prophet (PBUH) also said:

“You can do everything (with your wives during menstruation) except sexual intercourse (or copulation, as in another version).”"

It is permissible for the husband of a menstruating woman to enjoy her by kissing, touching, and the like, except for having sexual intercourse with her.

It is impermissible for the husband of a menstruating woman to divorce her before her menstrual period is over, as Allah says:

“O Prophet, when you [Muslims] divorce women, divorce them at [the commencement of] their waiting period...”

That is, when they become pure (from menstruation, sexual intercourse, etc.). Also, the Prophet (PBUH) ordered a man who had divorced his wife during her menstrual period to take her back and to divorce her (if he insisted) when her period was over.

Once the menstrual blood stops discharging, a woman becomes pure and her menstrual period is deemed over. She must then take a ritual bath, after which she is allowed to do whatever acts of worship which were prohibited for her during menstruation. After blood stops discharging, a woman does not have to be concerned about any secretion or yellowish discharge, as indicated in the hadith narrated on the authority of Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said:

“We never considered yellowish discharge as a thing of importance (as menstruation).”

This hadith is related by Al-Bukhari and other compilers of Hadith, and it is deemed a marfii' (Traceable) hadith, for the Prophet (PBUH) has approved of its content.

If the discharge of a woman in a state of menstruation or postnatal bleeding stops before sunset, it is obligatory for her to perform both the Zuhr (Noon) and the ‘Asr (Afternoon) Prayers of the same day, and if the discharge stops before dawn, it is obligatory for her to perform both the Maghrib (Sunset) and the ‘Isha’ (Night) Prayers of the same night. This is because the time of prayer for the latter is a permissible time of prayer for the former in case of a legal excuse. Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“So, the majority of scholars, such as Malik, Ash-Shafi'i, and Ahmad view that if a menstruating woman's discharge stops at the end of daytime, it is obligatory for her to combine performing both the Zuhr and the ‘Asr Prayers of the same day, and if the discharge stops at the end of the night, it is obligatory for her to combine performing both the

Maghrib and ‘Isha’ Prayers of the same night. This is because there is a legal common specified time for every two successive prayers to be combined due to a legal excuse, To clarify, if a woman's discharge stops at the end of the day, it is obligatory for her to perform the Zuhr Prayer before the ‘Asr Prayer, for it is still a permissible time to perform the Zuhr Prayer, i.e. she is still at the specified period of the Zuhr Prayer. Likewise, if that was at the end of the night, it is obligatory for her to perform the Maghrib and the ‘Isha’ Prayers, as she is still at the specified time of the Maghrib Prayer. This ruling was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdur-Rahman, Abtt Hurayrah, and Ibn ‘Abbas,”®

Ifa woman starts discharging before she can perform an obligatory prayer at its specific time, the preponderant opinion is that she is not required to make up for such a prayer after her discharge stops. In this respect, ShaykhulIslam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“The opinion of the Hanafi and Maliki Schools is the most cogent, as they maintain that a woman is not required to make up for such a missed prayer after her discharge stops. This is because making up for such a prayer necessitates a new legal command, and there is none in this case. Her delay of prayer is based on a legal excuse, so she is not to blame, as the delay is not out of negligence. If a Muslim oversleeps or forgets to perform a prayer at its due time, though it is not out of negligence, the time of prayer starts for him when he gets up or remembers, and thus his prayer is not considered a way of making up for a missed one.”

Istihadah is an irregular vaginal bleeding other than menstruation, caused by a vein called in Arabic ‘Al-‘ Adhil. The case of mustahddah' is so confusing, for the blood of menstruation resembles that of Istihédah. The question here is: Since the mustahédah is legally considered pure, how can she distinguish between menstruation and bleeding of istihadah when her bleeding continues all the time? How can she distinguish then between menstruation and istihddah, bearing in mind that she is legally and ritually deemed pure in the latter case?

When a woman used to have a stable, regular menstrual period (i.e. having certain duration of menstrual period) before she had istihadah. In such a case, a woman can distinguish between both states relying on her stable menstrual period, (i.e. the bleeding that contradicts the duration of her menstrual period is regarded as that of istihadah). Thus, such a woman can wait until her usual period ends, then deem any other bleeding as istihadah, as the Prophet (PBUH) said to Umm Habibah in this regard:

“Remain away (from prayer) equal (to the length of time) that your menstrual period used to prevent you. After that (after the period of usual courses), bathe yourself and perform prayer.”

(Related by Imam Muslim)’ Moreover, the Prophet (PBUH) said to Fatimah Bint Abi Hubaysh:

“This (i.e. istihddah) is from a blood vein, not (usual) menstruation. So, when your real menstrual period begins, give up performing prayer.”

When a woman does not have a regular menstrual period, but her bleeding is always distinguishable; sometimes she bleeds malodorous, thick, and black blood (i.e. having the characteristics of menstruation blood), and some other times she bleeds red blood which is neither thick nor malodorous. Such a woman is to consider the former kind of blood as that of her menstrual period, during which she gives up prayer and fasting, regards the other kind of blood as that of istihadah, the period in which she can perform prayer and observe fasting, for she is considered ritually pure in this case. The Prophet (PBUH) said to Fatimah Bint Abii Hubaysh: