Rulings of Water Continued
& Doubts
Importance of Prayer & Ruling of its Abandonment
Facing the Qiblah & Intention in the Prayer
Etiquettes of Walking to Prayer and its Description
Description of Prayer Continued
Description of Prayer Continued
Description of Prayer Continued
Pillars and Mandatory Acts of Prayer
Two Prostrations of Forgetfulness
Supererogatory (Voluntary) Prayers
Supererogatory (Voluntary) Prayers Continued
Times of Prohibition of (Supererogatory) Prayer
Congregational Prayers & Latecomers
Jumu'ah (Congregational Friday) Prayer
Rulings of Water Continued & Doubts
If something that is pure, but not purifying, was cooked in the water or mixed with the water, and it changed its name (characteristics), 23 or if it was used in removing a ritual impurity, then it would be stripped of its attribute of being a purifier. 24
وإن طُبِخَ في الماء ما ليس بطَهُورٍ، وكذلك ما خَالَطَهُ فَغَلَبَ عَلى اسْمِهِ، أَوْ اسْتُعْمِلَ فِيْ رَفْعِ حَدَثٍ سَلَبَ طَهُوْرِيَّتَهُ.
23. Water Mixed with a Pure Substance
There is no question that the water that was mixed with a pure substance will remain pure. However, the question is whether it continues to be purifying (usable for ritual purification). According to (A) + (+H), mixing (H: without cooking; A: even with cooking) which results only in a minor change in the water's characteristics (but you would still call it water) does not render it non-purifying, since:
“The Messenger of Allah (SA) and Maymoonah (his wife) both had a ritual bath from one (water) container that had a trace of dough in it.” (A, Ma – from Umm Hâni’. al-Albâni:S)
أَنَّ النبي اغْتَسَلَ وَمَيْمُونَةَ من إِنَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ في قَصْعَةٍ فيها أَثَرُ الْعَجِينِ.
And
The Messenger of Allah (SA) also advised the people to use camphor, as well as the dried crushed leaves of the sidr tree (zizyphus Spina Christi, also known as the lote tree), which they used as soap, in the post-mortem washing of his daughter Zaynab (raḍiya Allâhu ‘anhâ – may Allah be pleased with her). (Ag – from Umm ‘Aṭiyah)
"اغْسِلْنَهَا ثَلَاثًا أَوْ خَمْسًا أَوْ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ إِنْ رَأَيْتُنَّ ذَلِكَ بِمَاءٍ وَسِدْرٍ وَاجْعَلْنَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ كَافُورًا أَوْ شَيْئًا مِنْ كَافُورٍ."
(a) + (-M, -S): the mixing or cooking of a pure substance that causes any change in the water will render it non-purifying. By agreement, mixing that is expected to occur naturally (with mud, algae, etc.) does not change the original ruling regarding water, which is that it is pure and purifying.
24. Water Used for Purification: Can It Be Collected and Reused?
(A) + (+H, +S): used water is pure, not purifying.
[Doubts Regarding Purity]
If you have doubts regarding the purity of the water or something else, or its impurity, you should base your actions on certainty. 25
وَإِذَا شَكَّ فِيْ طَهَارَةِ الْمَاءِ، أَوْ غَيْرِهِ، أَوْ نَجَاسَتِهِ، بَنَى عَلى الْيَقِيْنِ
If the filthy spot on your garment or otherwise was indiscernible, you should wash the part of your garment [or whatever else] that would be sufficient to make you certain that you have washed off the impurity.26
وَإِنْ خَفِيَ مَوْضِعُ النَّجَاسَةِ مِنَ الثَّوْبِ أَوْ غَيْرِهِ، غَسَلَ مَا يَتَيَقَّنُ بِهِ غَسْلَهَا.
25. Doubts
The above position means that if you are sure that it was pure, and you only suspect that it has become impure, you should assume it is pure; in contrast, if you are sure that it became impure, and you doubt whether it was purified after that (such as by adding a larger amount of water or by evaporation of the impure substance), you should assume that it is still impure. In other words, maintain the status quo until you are certain it has changed. This means: cast the doubt away. The second agreed-upon major universal legal maxim is:
"Certainty is not negated by doubt.
اليَقِين لا يَزول بالشَّك
Many people suffer from obsessions regarding their purity that can be devastating. The righteous predecessors were simple and not obsessive. In a narration deemed reliable by Ibn Taymiyah, ‘Umar (raḍiya Allâhu ‘anhu – may Allah be pleased with him) once passed by a gutter and got wet. His companion asked the owner of the property if the water was pure or not, whereupon ‘Umar told the owner not to answer the question, and he went on his way.
26. This is based on the foundational (uṣooli) maxim:
If pure water was indistinguishable from impure water, 27 and you did not find any other water, you should make tayammum and avoid both [meaning the pure and the impure water].
وَإِنِ اشْتَبَهَ مَاءٌ طَاهِرٌ بِنَجِسٍ، وَلَمْ يَجِدْ غَيْرَهُمَا تَيَمَّمَ وَتَرَكَهُمَا.
If there are both clean and unclean garments, then you should pray a certain number of times, that number being equal to the number
وَإِنِ اشْتَبَهَتْ ثِيَابٌ طَاهِرَةٌ بِنَجِسَةٍ، صَلَّى فِيْ كُلِّ ثَوْبٍ
“The act necessary to fulfill an obligation is obligatory.”
ما لا يَتِمُّ الواجِبُ إلا به فهو واجِب
27. (t): This confusion could only happen if, for example, someone lost his or her senses, or in the dark, because the water is rendered impure only if it is observed that it has changed due to an impurity.
28. (t): This confusion cannot happen to someone whose senses are intact because the used water is purifying, and the water that is mixed with a pure substance is rendered non-purifying only if its characteristics are changed to the point where it is no longer called water.
29.This is because in this case, you would be sure that you made wuḍoo’ with purifying water. Even if your second wuḍoo’ was done with water that was pure but not purifying, you would still be ready for the prayer. This is unlike the previous example where if the second wuḍoo’ was performed using impure water, then you would have impurity on your body and could not pray in this condition.
of unclean garments plus one. You should make each prayer in a different garment. 30
صَلاَةً بِعَدَدِ النَّجِسِ، وَزَادَ صَلاَةً.
30. For example, if you are certain that you have three unclean garments, you pray that prayer four times, each time in a different garment. This way, you will be certain that at least one of the prayers was done in a clean garment. (And if you were to have five unclean garments, you would pray six times, each time in a different garment.) (a) + (-H, -S, -t): You should do your best to identify the unclean garment and then pray in the garment(s) you thought to be clean.