Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

, najis ( ar, نجس) means ritually unclean. According to Islam, there are two kinds of najis: the essential najis which cannot be cleaned and the unessential najis which become najis while in contact with another najis. Contact with ''najis'' things brings a Muslim into a state of ritual impurity ( ar, نجاسة, links=no ''najāsa'', in opposition to ṭahārah, ritual purity). Ritual purification is then required before religious duties such as regular prayers are performed.

Islamic law

According to the

Shafi'i The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ex ...

, as systematised by

Al-Nawawi Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī ( ar, أبو زكريا يحيى بن شرف النووي;‎ (631A.H-676A.H) (October 1230–21 December 1277), popularly known as al-Nawawī or Imam Nawawī, was a Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and ...

in his book ''Minhadj'', the following things are ''najis'':

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

and other spirituous drinks, dogs, swine,

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

, excrements, and the

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

of animals whose meat Muslims are not allowed to eat. Spirituous drinks are not impure according to the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...

school, while living swine and dogs are not impure according to the

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as prima ...

s. There is a difference of opinion as to whether alcoholic drinks are ''najis''. To the list of impure things enumerated by al-Nawawi, Shi’a jurists traditionally add dead bodies and non-believers.Lewis (1984), p.34 Additionally, meat of any animal which is killed in a manner other than that prescribed by Islam is najis. ''Najis'' things cannot be purified, in contrast to things which are defiled only (''mutanajis''), with the exception of wine, which becomes pure when made into

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

, and of hides, which are purified by tanning.

''Muṭahhirāt'' ('purifying agents')

It is possible to purify a thing which has become ''najis''. These ''muṭahhirāt'' agents that can purify ''najis'' can be divided into three groups:

The mutahirat

*the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

*the Sun *

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

- The Qur'an says: “He

llah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

is the one who sends the winds as good news before His mercy; and We send down pure water from the cloud." ( 25:48) According to the shari'ah, water can be of two types: ''muṭlaq'' and ''muḍāf''. ''Muṭlaq'' is pure water without putting it to a scientific test. The five forms of ''muṭlaq'' are the following:

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

, well water, running or flowing water (

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

), ''kur'' water (

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wor ...

), and less than ''kur''. ''Muḍāf'' is diluted water

Physical change

*''istiḥālah'' (chemical change) *''inqilāb'' (change in properties) *''intiqāl'' (change in place) *''zawāl li-ʿayni n-najāsah'' (disappearance of the source of najāsah) *''istibrāʾ'' (quarantining)

Spiritual change

* Islam . *''tabaʿīyyah'' (following) *''ghaybat al-muslim'' (absence of a Muslim) Not all of these agents can purify every ''najis''. However, among the agents water is the most universal purifying agent while the other agents are limited.

Sources of law

The notions of ritual impurity come mainly from the Qur'an and ahadith. Swine and blood are declared forbidden food in the Qur'an.

References

External links

Laws of Islam concerning ritual purity

{{Authority control Ritual purity in Islam Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Arabic words and phrases Islam and other religions Islamic terminology