Chapter Two
Rulings of Purification (Ahkam at-Tatahor)
from al-Hadath al-Asghar and al-Janabah
It was mentioned above that Al-Hadath means an occurrence (Hoduth) that makes purification by ablution or washing obligatory, as a pre-requirement for another act in which purity is a condition. What makes ablution obligatory is Al-Hadath al-Asghar and what makes thorough washing obligatory is Al-Hadath al-Akbar. In the following, we shall explain the details of each, limiting the second one to janabah, since we are going to list all types of al-Hadath al-Akbar in two further chapters.
al-Hadath al-Asghar and its ablution (Wudu)
(A) Things that affect/make al-Hadath
102. Al-Hadath takes place as a result of the following:
First and second: Urine and stools coming out from the natural outlets, or from other outlets if that is usual, and even if it is unusual as long as they are regarded as urine and stools; there is no difference between small or large amounts of it.
Third: Wind from the stools outlet or a diseased outlet.
Fourth: Sleep that overwhelms the mind, which takes place when the hearing is no longer operational (as it is when one is awake); like sleep, all states that overwhelm the mind such as insanity, drunkenness, losing consciousness etc.
Fifth: Al-isithadah (blood coming from women other than during the menses), as shall be detailed later.
(B) Consequences of Al-Hadath al-Asghar
103. It is forbidden for anyone to touch the Arabic words of the Holy Qur’an, whether they are in the Qur’an or otherwise, but it is not forbidden to touch a translation of the meanings of the verses.
104. It is not forbidden to touch sacred words that are not part of a Qur’anic verse such as the word ‘Allah’ and the rest of His names and attributes, although it is better to abstain from touching them; also, it is not forbidden to touch the name of the Prophet (sawa), the Imams (as) and the angels (as).
105. There is no difference between touching with the hand and touching with any other part of the body, even with the hair if it is attached to the skin.
106. The ruling regarding words common to the Qur’an and others depends on the intention of the writer; when in doubt of his intention, touching is allowed.
107. Al-Hadath al-Asghar is not removed except by ablution (Wudu), and this is why ablution has become a condition for the correctness of many obligatory and recommended things, and a condition of completeness in others, the details of which are as follows:
a- Things for which ablution is an obligatory condition:
First: Obligatory prayers, daily and others, whether offering them within their designated time (ada’) or afterwards (qada’), on behalf of one’s self or others; also the Ihtiyat prayer (prayer offered to remedy some of the doubts in prayers) and the offering of prayer afterwards (qada’) or the forgotten parts such as teshehhod or sejdah; the same applies to recommended prayers.
Second: The Ka’bah circum-ambulation in pilgrimage and small pilgrimage (‘omrah), whether obligatory or recommended.
Third: Ablution (wudu) may become obligatory in certain circumstances, such as if one vow or makes an oath to stay in a pure state throughout one's life or for a certain period, in this case ablution becomes obligatory; or it may be a requirement for another obligatory act such as if salvaging a copy of the Qur’an from an impurity requires touching its words (purity is a condition in this case as mentioned earlier).
b- Things in which ablution (wudu) is recommended:
In addition to the fact that ablution is recommended as it is, it is also recommended to be in a state of purity, and to renew the ablution if performed some period of time before, for the Ka’beh circum-ambulationthat is not part of the duties of pilgrimage and ‘omreh, for the two sehw (the state of losing concentration during prayers) sajdah, for reading the Qur’an and related things apart from touching, for entering mosques and the gracious tombs, for carrying out the rituals of pilgrimage and ‘omreh in which ablution is not a condition, and for offering prayers of the dead and others.
(C) The conditions of ablution
108. When carrying out ablution, certain conditions have to be met:
First: The purity of water as explained in the najasat earlier; ablution using impure water is not valid, nor using water state of purity/impurity of which is doubtful in some way, nor using water of istinja’ (washing after passing urine or stools) although it is pure.
Second: The water must be pure (motlaq) and so ablution cannot be done using mixed (moodaf) water; that would render the ablution void, whether it was intentional or out of ignorance or forgetfulness.
Third: The water must be free to use (moobah), and so it is not accepted to use usurped (meghsub) water for ablution if one knows this and did it (the usurping) intentionally – such ablution becomes void; also the ablution becomes void – as an obligatory precaution – if affected by someone who is ignorant through carelessness in trying to learn the ruling. However, ablution does not become void through forgetfulness, if the person forgetting was himself the one who did the usurping.
That said, the place where the person stands does not need to be free (mobah), nor the area he is in, nor the water outlet, nor the container if he takes the water from it using his hand, but the ablution does become void if he performs it by immersing (rams) himself in it, unless the norm regards this as normal usage for the container.
Fourth: The purity of the organs of ablution, which is sufficient if it is done while pouring the water of ablution, without the need of separating the purification wash from the ablution wash.
Fifth: The water must reach the skin, so if something prevents this (hajib), the ablution is not satisfactory; thin layers that are hard to remove such as paint and sticking materials, although they are objects, are not a hajib, and It would be better and recommended as a precaution to remove it. In addition, when there is doubt that a Hajib exists, one has to check if the doubt is reasonable, otherwise, if not should not be considered. If someone has concerns before ablution that something might be a hajib, he must remove it, but if he is concerned after completing the ablution that there is something preventing the water reaching one of his ablution organs when he was performing Wudu, or if he knows that such a thing prevents the water reaching one of his ablution organs, but after the ablution he becomes doubtful whether he did or did not remove it, or if he saw after ablution a hajib but doubted whether this came after or before the ablution, One is advised as a precaution to remove the hajib and renew their Wudu.
Sixth: Mobashereh, i.e. the person himself is to perform the acts of ablution, which are the actual washing or wiping of the organs of the ablution; but it is acceptable with other acts that are not related to the actual washing or wiping, such as the pouring of water in the hand of the person, though its is recommended not to do it (mekrūh).
If the person cannot perform ablution himself, the following situations apply:
a- His inability is total, in which case he should start with the niyyeh (intention) of the ablution; it is better if the helper does that as well, then the helper pours the water on the person’s face and hands, then takes the wetness from of the person’s hand and wipes his head and feet.
b- The same as in the above case, but the person can move his limbs; here the ruling is the same, but the wiping of the head and feet must be done by the person’s own hands.
c- If he can carry out some of these acts, the helper’s role has to be kept to what the person cannot do, but the wiping must be performed using the person’s hand, unless if he cannot, in which case the rulings in (a) above applies.
Seventh: Order (tertib), which is: washing the face first, followed by the right hand, then the left hand, then wiping the head, followed by wiping the right and left feet together, or the right foot, then finally the left foot.
However, disturbing the order does not render the ablution void, whether it is intentional – and not as the initiation of a forbidden ruling – or through lack of awarenss (sehw), but he has to remedy it so that the order is observed, in which case his ablution is valid unless mowalat (see below) is not observed.
Eighth: Mowalat, which is the succession of the acts of ablution one after the other, so that if one stops for a while long enough to be normally regarded as disturbing the succession and the unity of the ablution act, the ablution becomes void; this often means the drying out of the previous organ before starting with the next one.
Ninth: There is nothing that prevents performing the ablution, but if this is the case, it becomes one of the things that makes teyemmom (using soil not water) obligatory, as will be explained later.
(D) The acts of ablution (Wudu)
Before starting to detail the acts of ablution, we must mention that ablution must take place out of intention (niyyeh), and the intention is the decision that is present in the mind to carry out the act when one is embarking on it, and willing to do it; also it must continue to the end of ablution, and it should be performed, exclusively, for Allah the Most High, and to no one else.
As a whole, ablution consists of two washes and two wipes: washing the face and the hands and wiping the head and the feet. The details are as follows:
First: Washing the face and hands
109. It is obligatory to wash the face from the edge of the hair on the head (at the top of the forehead) to the edge of the beard lengthwise, and across the area that falls between the thumb and the middle finger – when putting the hand on the face – breadthwise.
110. It is obligatory to wash the skin, but it is not necessary that the water reaches the skin under the hair, but rather that the exposed area is washed, unless the hair is sparse, not fully covering the skin, such as fine hair, or (scattered) coarse hair, in which case it (the skin) must be washed.
111. He who has hair on his forehead, or (the reverse) he whose hair has fallen away from it, or whose fingers are longer or shorter than what is normally proportional to his face, should turn (in judgement) to the common norm in all this.
112. It is obligatory to wash both hands, the right first then the left, starting from the elbow and ending up at the finger tips. The elbow is the joint that includes both the upper arm and forearm bones.
113. It is obligatory when washing the hands to wash the skin and the hair (fine or coarse), as well as what looks like an additional finger or the like that is considered joined to the hand.
114. The amputee whose arm is cut from the elbow has no obligation to wash it, but if it is cut lower than the elbow, he must wash what is left.
115. It is obligatory to add a little more than the mentioned limits in the face and hands so as to ensure that the required areas are washed. Also, washing must be performed from top to bottom, as is commonly done. Moreover, it is not sufficient to do anything that is not regarded as washing, such as wiping, but the water must be poured, even if by the hand, on the areas to wash with it.
Second: Wiping the head and feet
116. It is obligatory to wipe the head, and the area of that is the uppermost edge of the face which is the area between the edge of the hair (at the top of the forehead) and the centre (between the horizontal and vertical parts of the head), but it is not obligatory to wipe all of this area, only what is within it (the minimum); it is better to cover, by wiping, an area equal three joined fingers.
117. It is not allowed to wipe the hair that is outside the head area, which is the hair that, when stretched, falls outside the head limits; thus one must comb the hair out and wipe what is inside the head limits.
118. The bald person should wipe his head according to the common norm.
119. It is obligatory to wipe the top part of each foot, the right followed by the left, but it is allowed to wipe both of them together; the area to be wiped is from the tips of the toes to the top of the foot, but it is better when wiping to reach the joint of the leg, and breadthwise whatever is covered by the wipe (the minimum), but better to wipe to the width of three fingers.
120. It is obligatory when wiping the head and feet to observe the following:
1- The wiping of the head and feet must be done with the wetness left over from the ablution water on the hand, even if it is scarce, and no new water can be taken
2- The wiping of the head must be done with the palm of the right hand, and it is an obligatory precaution to wipe the toppart of the right foot with the palm of the right hand and the top part of the left foot with the palm of the left hand; but if wiping with the palms is not possible, the top part of the hand should be used in the same order.
3- The area to be wiped must be free of any apparent wetness, but a light wetness that is not apparent and that would be overwhelmed by the wetness of the wiping does not affect the validity of the ablution.
4- The wiping organ and the wiped organ/part must come in contact, so it is not acceptable to wipe over any covering, such as a turban or socks unless this is by compelling necessity, such as cold weather, or over a bandage etc.
121. It is not obligatory to wipe with the whole of the palm, part of it is acceptable; the amputee who has lost his hands may wipe with his arm. Also, it is acceptable to carry out the wiping of the head and feet in the reverse order, although it is better to follow the recommended order.
(E) The doubts in ablution
122. Doubts may arise over ablution, or over its conditions and parts, the details of which are as follows:
First case: The person has had Al-Hadath and doubts whether he (later) has carried out ablution; in this case he decide that his Al-Hadath is still not removed (by ablution).
Second case: He is certain of his ablution, but doubts whether he had Al-Hadath , so he decides that his ablution is still valid.
Third case: He is certain of his ablution and certain of the Al-Hadath , but does not know which one came before the other; in this case he has to carry out ablution again.
And if he finds himself in the first or third case after finishing prayers, there are two situations:
a- His doubt stretches to before the prayer, so that if his attention had been turned to it before the prayer he would also have doubt regarding his ablution; in this case his prayer is void and he has to perform the ablution and prayer again.
b- His doubt takes place in that moment, and does not stretch to what went before; in this case his prayer is valid, but he has to perform ablution for the next prayers.
But if this doubt assails him during praying, he must stop, perform ablution and start his prayer afresh.
Fourth case: He is certain of his ablution, but doubts some of its acts, and here are two situations:
First: The doubt concerns the actual washing of an organ, and there are two cases:
a- The doubt takes place after finishing the ablution completely; in this case his ablution is valid unless the doubt concerns the last organ, i.e. wiping the left foot; in this case he should take notice of that (i.e. wipe it) if mowalat (succession without pause) was not violated, or if he has not started the next prayer, or the athan (call to prayer) or iqameh (shorter call) for it at least; so if mowalat is no longer valid or if he has entered the prayer, its athan or iqameh, he should disregard his doubt.
b- The doubt takes place during ablution, such as if he doubts washing his face while he is washing his right arm, or if he has not even started washing it; in this case he must go back and wash the doubted organ, then wash the organ that follows, observing the obligatory order, even if he had started washing it before the doubt.
Second: He is certain of washing the organ, but he doubts the correctness of the washing or the wiping of it immediately after leaving it, or after starting washing or wiping the part that follows; in this case he should disregard his doubt, regarding his past act as valid and should continue with his ablution.
(F) Splint and bandage (jebireh) ablution
This covers the rulings of ablution in the presence of a splint, bandage or the like on one of the organs of ablution. A splint is used as part of a treatment of a fracture, and bandages are used as dressings for wounds or abscesses; this also includes plasters (over a wound); however, in cases involving simply pain, swelling or skin rash, it is an obligatory precaution to wipe over the bandage then to perform teyemmom as a precaution. Splint and bandage rulings differ according to whether the affected area is wrapped with a bandage etc or if it is left uncovered:
First: Bandaged organs
123. If the organ affected by a fracture, wound or abscess is wrapped with a bandage to treat it and it is possible to take the dressing off and wash the area that it covers, the person in question must take it off and carry out his ablutions as normal. However, if taking it off is not possible, either because this would harm the affected area, or because healing requires that it is not taken off, or because a specialist/doctor, who is not available, is needed to do that, ablution must be done in the normal way until reaching the area in question; then the splint or bandage must be wiped, for the pouring of water just on an area that forms part of the affected organ is not enough in this case.
124. There is no difference, with a splint or bandage that cannot be taken off, between the case where the splint or bandage covers the whole of one or more of the washing or wiping organs or not, so if all the ablution organs are bandaged, it is sufficient to only wipe them.
125. If the splint or bandage covers more than the area affected, then if it is possible to take off the additional portion and put the water on that additional portion, it becomes obligatory; otherwise (if it is not possible to take it off) ablution is done over the additional portion (as part of the rest of the splint or bandage).
126. If the splint is impure, and if it is the same size as the wound itself, it is sufficient to place a pure piece of cloth over it and wipe it, even if it could be taken off and replaced to purify it. However, if it covers more than the wound, even if more than the normal size, then if it could be taken off to wash the additional portion, this must be done; otherwise, a piece of cloth must be placed over it and wiped.
127. If the edges of the wound are harmed by wiping over the splint or bandage, washing should be avoided and wiping is fine; however, if the affected/wounded area is larger than normal, it is an obligatory precaution to perform both ablution with the splint and teyemmom (a form of purification that applies in exceptional cases in which the person is incapable of ablution or washing; see below).
Second: Uncovered organs
128. If the affected organ is uncovered, is pure and would not be harmed by water, then ablution must be carried out as normal. But if it is not possible to wash it – even if because of the medication placed on it – it is sufficient to wash the areas around it and leave the affected area unwashed, even if it is possible to place a piece of cloth over it to wipe it.
129. The plaster that cannot be taken off does not call for teyemmom; ablution by wiping over it is sufficient.
130. The patient who is on drip treatment must remove the needle and perform ablution if it is possible; otherwise if it is possible to wash the area around the puncture, ablution by washing is also obligatory in this case; if both are not possible, teyemmom becomes obligatory, even if the needle is injected in one of the teyemmom organs.
131. If it is not possible to perform ablution when there is a tube inserted into the mouth or nose, teyemmom becomes obligatory.
132. If it is known that the difficulties in performing ablution as normal will disappear after a while, leaving sufficient time for the acts or worship due, prayer(s) must be delayed to that time, then ablution should be performed in the normal way. However, if it is not known, the person can perform ablution on the understanding that the situation (with the splint or bandage) is going to stay like that; then if this later proved to be the case, his ablution and prayer are valid, but if the situation changes with sufficient time for offering it again, ablution and prayers must be repeated.
133. The ablution of splints and bandages removes the Al-Hadath .
134. In all cases where the person becomes doubtful regarding the ruling whether ablution or teyemmom applies, it is an obligatory precaution to perform both ablution and teyemmom.
135. If the person has applied a splint or bandage out of conviction of harm and he performs his obligations accordingly then finds that there was no harm, the ablution becomes void and he must repeat the prayers that were offered with that ablution.
(G) The ablution of da’im al-Hadath
The term given to al-Meslūs or al-Mebtun is da’im al-Hadath. Al- Meslus is someone who cannot control his/her urination, while al- Mebtun is someone who cannot control his/her bowel movements or wind. The rulings in these cases are as follows:
136. For al- Meslus or al- Mebtun, there are two cases:
First case: There is no period of stoppage of Al-Hadath (soiling by urine, bowel movements, wind) during the time of prayer, or that there is a stoppage time but not long enough for performing the purification and some of the prayer; in this case it is obligatory to perform ablution and prayer, whether for one or more prayers, and it is not obligatory to do the ablution again during the day unless another Al-Hadath of a type other than this condition, such as sleeping, takes place. Ablution becomes void also if the Al-Hadath stops for a long period, such as a day or more.
Second case: There is a stoppage period; here there are two cases:
a- The stoppage period is long enough for purification and complete prayer inside the time (of prayer); in this case one must wait until this period arrives then carry out ablution and prayer as normal.
b- The stoppage period is long enough for purification and part of the prayer inside the time (of prayer); in this case one must wait until this period arrives, then carry out ablution and prayer, and it is not obligatory to repeat the ablution during the prayer if the Al-Hadath takes place during it.
137. Al- Meslus or al- Mebtun must take care (for the sake of the prayers) not to let the impurities of the urine or stool soil the body or clothes; it is obligatory that the areas affected by impurities be purified for every prayer.
138. The ablution of Al- Meslus or al- Mebtun makes allowable every act that calls for purity, so it allow them to pray, and it allows them to perform the circum-ambulation around the Ka’bah, touch the words of the Qur’an and the like.
Al-Janabah and its rules of washing
(A) Al-Janabah
The rulings are as follows:
First: The causes of janabah
139. Al-Janabah takes place in two situations:
1- Intercourse, which takes place with the penetration of the length of the penis head (or more) in the woman’s vagina, even if without ejaculation; if intercourse takes place in this way, washing becomes obligatory on both the man and woman, whether they are young or old, sane or insane, free or coerced. And just as janabah takes place from normal intercourse, it also takes place when penetration the woman’s anus occurs, and in cases of abnormal sexual acts, such as penetrating a male’s anus, an animal or intercourse with the dead. This is in addition to the fact that the obligation of washing in some of these is based on obligatory precaution.
2- Semen coming out of man due to any cause, if it comes out from the natural outlet, whether using a implement such as a needle or without. However, if it comes from any place other than the natural outlet, the ruling of a janabah is not quite certain, and it is better to wash.
140. There is no difference if a janabah takes place through intercourse between the act performed with a bare penis or with a penis covered by a condom.
141. When it is doubted that the fluid seen outside is semen or not, the person should look for three signs: the onrush/forceful flow, desire, and the body’s lassitude; if all are present, the fluid outside is semen, and washing is obligatory; this applies to a normal, healthy person. For a sick man, however, it is sufficient to feel desire and the body’s lassitude for a ruling of janabah.
142. What comes out from the woman in desire is not semen – according to specialist opinion – and so it is pure; also, there is no washing to be done by her if this was accompanied by desire and the body’s lassitude, although washing is better in this (latter) case.
143. Every secretion from the male organ, apart from semen, urine and blood, is pure and there neither a wash nor ablution is necessary to remove it. These secretions have common names: methy, secretion that comes out during sexual arousal, wethy, which comes before urinating, and wedy, secretion that comes out after urinating; all are different from semen in nature and colour.
144. If a man’s desire is stirred and something similar to an internal ejaculation takes place but no semen appears outside, washing is not obligatory.
145. A man’s semen left inside a woman’s vagina after intercourse does not make the woman’s washing void if it comes out after washing, and she only has to purify what it touches.
146. If a boy who has not reached bolugh (the Islamic legal age) experiences a janabah similar to intercourse, if he washes it is acceptable; otherwise after reaching bolugh he would have to wash.
147. If the person who has had janabah doubts whether he has washed or not, if this takes place during praying, the prayer becomes void and he has to wash and repeat the prayer; but if this takes place after finishing the prayer, the prayer is valid, but he has to wash for the following prayers.
Second: The acts affected by janabah washing
148. Many things are affected by janabah washing:
1- All types of prayers, including their forgotten parts, but it (washing) is not obligatory for the sehw sajdah, although it is better; likewise the prayer of the dead and the reciting of sajdah.
2- Circum-ambulation around the Ka’beh that is part of pilgrimage or ‘omreh, both the obligatory and the recommended, but not the circum-ambulation around the Ka’bah that takes place out of ignorance or forgetfulness of the janabah, or intentional if the person has committed a sin by entering the Holy Mosque (al-Mesjid al-Haram).
3- Obligatory and recommended fasting – it is an obligatory precaution to wash before dawn if the person’s janabah took place at night during the fasting of Ramadan, or when making another obligatory fast; the fasting becomes void by intentional janabah during the day in both obligatory and recommended fasting.
Third: Things that are forbidden for a person with janabah
149. Certain things are forbidden for a person under janabah:
1- Touching the words and letters of the holy Qur'an, as well as what is written with them such as the diacritical marks/short vowels, medd (short horizontal lines above some vowels to elongate their pronunciation when reciting) etc; it is better not to touch the word ‘Allah’ and His special names, as was explained in ablution ruling no. 103 and after.
2- Staying in the mosque even for a short period, especially the Holy Mosque of Mecca (al-Mesjid al-Haram) and the Prophet Mosque, Medina. However, merely entering to pass through without staying for even a short period, and with the intention of just passing through. is allowed in mosques other than the Holy Mosque and the Prophet Mosque. It is also not allowed to enter to put something inside, unless this is done when passing through; it is also allowed to throw such things from the outside.
150. It is better to regard the Holy tombs of the infallibles (as) as mosques, if it is not known that they are regarded as mosques at the outset; otherwise the rulings of mosques apply.
151. It is better – when under janabah – not to read the verses of sajdah in the ‘aza’im chapters: as-Sajdah (starting with alif lam mīm), Fossilat (starting with Ha’ mim), an-Najm and al-‘Alaq.
(B) How to wash away janabah
First: Conditions/requirements of the wash
152. The conditions/requirements that must be present do not differ from those for ablution, except for one, mowalat (succession), since in the washing mowalat is not obligatory; so it is allowable to wash the head and neck and after an hour or more to wash the rest. Yes, mowalat must be observed in the istihadah wash when the Al-Hadath continues, and by al- Meslus and al- Mebtun when they wash to remove al-Hadath al-Akbar (big occurrence, such as from death, janabah), not as a condition in itself to render the wash valid, but because they need to go straight away to prayers – generally.
Second: How the wash is performed
All the exposed parts of the body must be washed, coupled with the intention (niyyeh of qorbeh); it has two forms:
The first: Gradual or in an order/sequential (tedriji or tertibi)
153. In the gradual type of washing, the head and neck must be washed first, then it is better to wash the right side of the body, followed by the left, although the person washing can, after washing the head and neck, wash the whole of the body in one go without the right-then-left order. As for the private parts, they can be washed from whichever side when the sides are washed separately.
154. To achieve a gradual wash, there is no difference between bringing the water to the organ by pouring it on it or by immersing the body in water, in which case the person can immerse his head and neck first then his body, or immerse some of his body then pour the water on the rest, on the condition that the organ to be immersed must be wholly outside the water before immersing it.
155. The skin must be washed and all the hair over it, whether thick or sparse, except the hair that stretches out of the head and in this case it is sufficient to wash only the hair next to the skin; also, the person must make the water reach the skin under the hair (using the fingers etc).
The second: In one go (irtimasī)
156. The person may wash away janabah in one go, and this takes two forms:
a- The amount of poured water must be abundant such as in a waterfall or the like, and in this case it is not essential to separate between the head and body, provided that they start with the head so as not to end up washing the body before the head.
b- Immersing in water in a way that the water covers the whole of the body (even) in one moment so that nothing stays outside the water, and with no part staying in the mud so that washing cannot be said to have been achieved. It is essential that the body – partially or wholly – is outside the water before intending to wash; therefore washing has not been achieved if the person initiates (in his mind) his intention when the body is already completely under water.
157. If there is something that prevents water from reaching his body (Hajib) and he discovers it after the wash, there are two possibilities:
1- He has carried out an immersion-type wash; in this case the wash becomes void and the person must repeat it, whether in the same manner or with the gradual type.
2- If his wash was the gradual type, then:
a- If the Hajib was on the body, the person needs only to remove the Hajib and wash the place under it, and his wash is valid.
b- If the Hajib was on the head or neck, the person needs to remove it and wash under it, then repeat the wash of the body so as to achieve the gradual completion of the wash.
158. It is not obligatory to make the gradual wash from top to bottom; it can be done in any way according to how the water is brought to the body; also, in the immersion type, it is not obligatory that the washer enters the water with his head. As was mentioned earlier, the immersion-type wash is not achieved unless the water covers the whole of the body.
159. It is not a condition for the water to be a korr amount (or more) for an immersion-type wash, so the wash is valid with a smaller amount, provided that the body is pure before the wash.
Third: Rulings of the wash
160. It is better that the person under janabah urinates after ejaculating semen, before washing, so as to clear the urethra of the semen, preventing what could be semen from coming out after washing, for if he becomes doubtful whether what comes out before urinating is indeed semen, he must regard it as semen, and so he has to repeat the wash if he has washed before. Yes, the nine wipes and squeezes (istibra’, see no. 101 earlier) are sufficient if he cannot urinate.
161. If Al-Hadath that calls for ablution (passing wind etc) takes places during washing, the person can continue his wash and perform ablution after this in order to do anything that calls for ablution before it; however, it is better to repeat the wash and do ablutions after it.
162. If Al-Hadath takes place during the wash and washing becomes obligatory, here are two possibilities:
a- The new Al-Hadath is similar to the one the person is washing to remove; in this case it is an obligatory precaution to complete the wash and repeat it again.
b- The new Al-Hadath is different to the one the person is washing to remove; here the person has the choice of either completing the wash then repeating it with the intention that it is needed, or to stop and start a new wash with the intention of removing the Al-Hadath in general.This is if the person did that with a gradual-type wash; otherwise the person may initiate the intention of washing to remove one or both of them, if the continuation was done with an immersion wash.
163. It is sufficient to carry out one wash for many occurrences (Al-Hadaths), initiating the intention of washing for them as a whole or for each one of them, or for a certain one of them and this would be sufficient for the rest.
164. Washing for Al-Hadath al-Akbar (janabah etc) cancels the need for ablution; the same applies to the recommended washes for which its recommended state (istihbab) is confirmed, such as the Friday wash, for ihram (starting pilgrimage or ‘omreh) and others. In addition, it cancels the need for ablution if the person performs teyemmom instead of washing; this is if he was able to perform ablution, otherwise it would cancel the need for another teyemmom instead of ablution.
165. The splint and bandage ablution rulings explained earlier apply for washing as well, and the matter is the same except for two cases:
1- If the splint or bandage is for a wound or abscess and is exposed, the person has the choice of washing with the splint or bandage on or do teyemmom – if the first is chosen it is sufficient to wash the edges of the wound, although it is better to cover it with a piece of cloth and wipe over it.
2- If it is a fracture and is wrapped with a splint, the person must wash and wipe over the splint, but if the person cannot wipe over it, or it is exposed and it is not possible to wash it, teyemmom becomes obligatory.
166. If the person knows that al-Hadath al-Akbar has taken place, but doubts whether he has washed or not, he should regard himself still under Al-Hadath and must wash to remove it.
167. If the person becomes doubtful regarding washing a part of the organs, then if the doubt relates to the washing of the head or neck or any part of him and he was already washing the body, he should continue the wash without repeating it. But if he has not started to wash any part of the body, then he must wash the parts he doubted (then wash the body). And if the doubt relates to washing the body or part of it, he must wash the doubted parts, even if the doubt occurred after finishing the wash.
168. If the person doubts the validity of the wash after finishing it, he should regard it as valid and there is no need to repeat it. And if he doubts the validity of washing a certain organ while washing it, he must ensure the correctness of the wash; but if the doubt occurred after finishing washing it, there is no need to repeat the wash.
169. It was explained earlier that the wash consists of two parts and that order must take place when performing them if the wash is done with the gradual-type method. But if the order is violated, intentionally or otherwise, the wash does not become void, but the person has to repeat whatever would correct and achieve the order; so if the body was washed before the head, only the body is to be washed again. Excluded from this is any situation where the intention includes disobedience and rebellion against God the Most High or an attempt to initiate a new ruling of one's own; the wash would be void in this case and must be repeated.
Fourth: The recommended washes
170. The recommended (mostahabb) washes are: the Friday wash, the Eid wash (both Fitr and Adha Eids), for the ihram of pilgrimage or ‘omreh, to enter Mecca and Medina, the day of terwiyeh (8th of Thol-Hijjeh, the 12th Hijri/Lunar month), the day of Arefeh, to enter the Ka‘bah, the first, the seventeenth, the nineteenth, the twenty-first and the twenty-third nights of Remadan, to do istikhareh (to make a decision through certain recitals of the Qur'an or certain prayers), for the istisqa’ prayer (a special prayer in times of drought and scarce rainfall), to visit Imam Hussein (as) at his tomb and to wash for repentance (tawbeh). All of these washes cancel the need for ablution.
171. The Friday wash can take place at three times:
1- Between the true dawn and the zewal of the sun (noon, or when the sun lies at the top of a perpendicular line); this is the time when people are free to carry out the wash whenever they like.
2- Between the zewal of the sun and sunset, on Friday; this is for those people who cannot carry it out in the time above.
3- Throughout Saturday, which is the qada’ time (offering worship after its time has elapsed), i.e. the person’s intention when washing is qada’.
So, if the person performs the Friday wash in any of these three times, he/she does not have to perform ablution.
172. The recommended washes mentioned above are of two types:
a- Washes that are recommended at certain times, such as Friday and the Eid, do not become void by Al-Hadath , whether during the wash or later; only ablution needs to be performed for the acts in which purity is required.
b- Washes that are recommended for certain acts, such to enter the Ka’bah or for ihram, do become void by Al-Hadath , whether during it or later, before starting the act; so if the person wishes to keep to the recommended state (istihbab), he/she has to repeat the wash.
At-Teyemmom and its rulings
Teyemmom is purification in a certain way and is resorted to in exceptional cases in which the person is incapable of ablution or washing; such cases justify teyemmom. The rulings are as follows:
(A) Conditions that justify teyemmom
173. It is justified for a person to abandon ablution or washing (and resort to teyemmom) in the following cases:
First: When water is lacking in the area in which the person is staying and the area is of approx. 220m radius in rough terrain, or approx. 440m radius in plain/flat terrain. The person has to search (for water) – by himself or with the help of others – until he becomes absolutely certain or satisfied that water is not available. However, if he comes to know that water is available beyond that distance by a distance that is not difficult to cover, it is obligatory to go there.
If the person does not search, although he is capable of doing so and there is time to do this, and he performs teyemmom and prays believing that his act is allowed, it seems that his teyemmom and prayer are valid if it is later ascertained that the water is indeed lacking. His prayer is also valid if he searched for the water and could not find then finds it after the prayer.
Second: When it is not possible to use the water, and this includes the following cases:
a- The obstacle is religious, such as if the water is impure orhas been usurped.
b- It is not possible to get to it either because of old age or disability, or because of fear from an enemy or thief, or if it involves doing a forbidden act, such as entering other people’s land without their permission (trespassing).
c- If the person needs the water for something that is more important than ablution, such is in cases of intense thirst, or if it would harm others if the water has to be shared and using it would leave the others without water; and if the water is needed to purify the mosque, his body or dress from impurities, he should use the water for this purpose instead.
d- A psychological obstacle, such as fear of humiliation when requesting the water from its owner.
e- A financial obstacle, such as if obtaining the water requires spending a lot of money that would harm the person; but if this would not cause any harm, spending it becomes obligatory, even if the price is high.
f- The obstacle relates to the time of prayer so that ablution or washing would push the prayer, wholly or partially, outside the time; this needs only to be reasonably probable.
174. If a person should have performed teyemmom but performed ablution or washing, the ablution and wash becomes void except in the following cases – some of which are sinful, however:
a- It was intensely difficult to obtain or use water.
b- He resorted to forbidden acts to reach the water.
c- The person was short of time as well as ignorant of the obligation of teyemmom, or he had the knowledge but preferred (out of choice) to resort to ablution or washing.
d- There was an element of humiliation involved, or money-spending that would harm him or do the harm to some of their money or cattle.
(B) Things used for teyemmom
175. Teyemmom must be carried out using things that may be called earth, which includes:
a- Natural earth, such as soil, rock, sand, dry mud etc.
b- Baked earth, such as cement and limestone, mosaics and tiles, provided that their exposed surfaces are not plated with a non-earthy material that is regarded as a cover (Hajib).
Apart from these, other materials - such as metals or precious stones formed inside the earth - like iron, gold, turquoise or diamonds, substances made from oil such as nylon; also salt, kohl and the like - all these are not allowed to be used for teyemmom. Also, it is not allowed to perform teyemmom with things that can no longer be called earth, even though that was their origin, such as glass, wood, its ash, plants and the like.
176. It is not a condition for things that may be used for teyemmom to be part of the original earth, so teyemmom may be performed using things that were taken from earth then placed in the home for another purpose, such as washing basins.
177. If something suitable for teyemmom is mixed with another thing that is not (for instance, if soil is mixed with ash), here if the amount of the latter was so small that would not negate the name of earth from the mixture, teyemmom may (still) be done using it, otherwise not.
178. If a person cannot find anything suitable for teyemmom, but he can find mud, he may dry it out and use it; and if he cannot find that but can find thick dust and is able to collect enough of it until it becomes like soil, he has to collect it and use it; and if he cannot find that but can find mud wet with water but cannot dry it out, he should use it if possible; and if he cannot find any of that, he should pray without teyemmom, and does not need to repeat (as qada’) later.
(C) The requirements/conditions of teyemmom
179. The requirements/conditions – in addition to the intention of qorbeh – of teyemmom are:
1- The soil is free (to use, not owned) and pure.
2- The place in which the person performs teyemmom is free (not owned), if teyemmom is considered (by the owner) to be a kind of usurping/misappropriation of the place.
3- There should be no Hajib (covering) over the skin in both the wiping and the wiped organs.
4- Mowalat (succession) should be observed in the teyemmom parts.
5- Order in performing teyemmom should be observed.
6- Teyemmom should be performed by the person himself, unless he has a disability, as is explained in ablution (see no. 38 earlier).
180. It is not required that the organs of teyemmom are pure from impurity if that is dry and not transferable, although this (being a requirement) is better; also the start of the time (of prayer) is not a condition.
(D) How to perform teyemmom
181. Performing teyemmom is as follows:
First: Strike the ground (i.e. earth) with the two palms together; placing them without striking is not sufficient, nor striking one before the other.
Second: Wipe with the two palms the whole of the forehead and its sides, between the edges of the hair to the top of the nose; it is better to include the eyebrows.
Third: Wipe the outer side of the right hand with the palm of the left hand, then the outside of the left hand with with the palm of the right hand.
When wiping the forehead and the hands, it is not necessary to do this from top to bottom; it is allowed to do the reverse in teyemmom, whether on the face or the hands. Also, it is no obligatory to wipe with the whole of the palm; wiping with part of it is acceptable. It is also sufficient to wipe the outer side of the hand and not the areas between the fingers as well.
182. Just one strike for both the face and the hands is sufficient in teyemmom; it is better, however, to do it with two strikes, one for the face and the other for the hands.
183. If the person cannot strike, just placing the hands is acceptable, and those cannot wipe with the palms may wipe with the outer side.
184. The presence of a splint or bandage on one of the teyemmom organs does not prevent one from striking with it or wiping over it. Yes, if the splint or bandage is covering the whole of the palm and the outer side is normal, it is an obligatory precaution to perform wiping both with the palm and with the outer side after striking the ground with the outer side.
(E) The rulings of teyemmom
185. The consequences of teyemmom are the same as those of ablution or washing. Just as it is allowable for a person who has performed ablution or washed to touch the words of the Qur'an, so it is the same if he has performed teyemmom. However, the following situation is excluded: If the person performs teyemmom because he is short of time, in this case he must keep to only the act for which he performed teyemmom.
As for the person who can only perform teyemmom because of illness or lack of water, he could offer his prayers both ada’ or qada’, as in the case of being sick for a long time and he wishes to offer prayers during his illness.
186. It is allowed to resort to teyemmom even if there is still time, if the person does not know whether at the end of the time period the situation will change; therefore, it is not a condition to be certain that the justification (for resorting to teyemmom) will still be present and is only probable as well, although if it is only probable it is better to wait to see if the situation changes.
187. The teyemmom performed instead of washing for al-Hadath al-Akbar makes ablution unnecessary, unless al-Hadath al-Asghar took place after it; this is except in the case of medium istihadah, the ruling for which is teyemmom instead of washing, then ablution or teyemmom instead of it for every obligatory act.
188. If more than one reason for al-Hadath al-Akbar takes place, such as when the menses start for a woman under janabah, just one teyemmom is sufficient, just as only one wash is sufficient for both if she can perform it.
189. Teyemmom becomes void in two cases:
a- If it was performed instead of ablution, in this case it becomes void with anything that renders ablution void, and (also) when the justification that prevented it (ablution) disappears and there is still time enough for ablution and the act (prayer etc).
b- If it was performed instead of washing, in this case it becomes void for whatever makes washing obligatory, and (also) when the justification disappears and there still time enough for washing and the act; it does not become void if al-Hadath al-Asghar takes place after it, but the person must perform teyemmom instead of ablution, if he was excused as well, otherwise he performs ablution, not teyemmom, if it is possible.
190. If the person becomes doubtful regarding carrying out the previous part of teyemmom, he must take notice of his doubt, even if he has already started with the next; however if the doubt is related to the correctness of the wiping after completion, he should disregard this doubt, even if he has not yet started with the next.
191. If the person becomes doubtful as to whether he did perform teyemmom or not, or whether the teyemmom has become void, or in the ruling regarding the prayers which he has just finished when he becomes doubtful regarding whether he did perform teyemmom, or regarding the presence of a Hajib, the ruling is as explained in ablution (see no. 108 and no. 122.)