What Makes Something Najis in Islam?

This next chapter that we are going to start this morning in sha Allah is very important chapter that very strongly connects to the previous chapter and very strongly bridges the chapters to come. We're talking about the types of najasa, the various types of filth. And we've established a definition for a najis, right? And we mentioned that that is something that is not necessarily just unclean, but that's something that is specifically been pointed out by Allah and his messenger as being something that must be worked on to remove prior to making salat. That this is something that is najis. It has to do with person's prayer. And the chapter that we are going into today now is the chapter regarding kayfiyat taharat najasat. How each of these types of filth is to be purified, is to be cleaned. There are two very important points here that need to be understood as kind of a as kind of an introduction to this chapter, to understanding this chapter properly. The first is that purifying and purity is relative. What does that mean it's relative? Meaning the floor Does it need to be Do we expect the same level of cleanliness for the floor that we do for the counter? Do we have the same level of cleanliness that we do for the counter and our plates that we put our food on directly onto? There's a different level of cleanliness, right? So if I say the floor is clean that is clean with respect to it being a floor. In that context the floor is clean. If that were the counter, it may be very unclean for a counter, but it's clean for a floor. And if I were to say the counter is clean, that is in the context of it being a counter. It may not have the same standards as cleanliness for a plate or a dish. Correct? So, what does this mean? This means that it is contextual. This means that it is relative. It is relative to what it is. This is an important point. Because we do not have the same level of stringent cleanliness for every single thing. We don't. If we did, this would be you know, very strenuous to live like this. And remember the original principle that Allah founded all of his laws in this legislation of Islam upon, and that is.

[Arabic recitation]

That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has not placed upon us in our religion any type of unreasonable hardship or unreasonable abnormal difficulty. Okay? Now, this issue of things being relative, I do not have the same level of stringent conditions for the cleanliness of a floor that I do for my clothing, for instance. That I do from this type of najasa or that type of of Correct? That I do for my shoes, that I do for I don't even have the same level of stringent regulations for the cleanliness of my clothing, the bottom of the clothing or the tail in the back of the clothing, and the clothing up towards the upper part of my body. Even that is contextual. We understand that? So, this is a very important point. So, for instance, how does this come into play? So, for instance, one of the things that we'll learn is that the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to the companions that when they come to the masjid, before they walk in, the person is to look at the bottom bottoms of his soles, soles of his shoes. Right? He said, "And if you see any kind of qadar there, any kind of, you know, feces or something that may have been walked into on your way to the masjid, then he is to rub it into the sand and then make salat. Now, notice, is there any water involved in this process? No water involved. Right? So, a person, how does this work? The The companions, all of the Muslimin, prayed in their shoes. Not praying in their shoes, this is something that came way later, hundreds of years after the companions radiyallahu anhu. Everyone prayed in their shoes. There was no standardization of carpet in masajid. This is something that happened before the companions. After the three major generations, the the companions, tabi'in, and tabi' tabi'in. Otherwise, it was the norm that a person pray in his shoes in the masjid. So, they would come to the masjid, they would look at the bottom of their soles. If they see anything there, what kind of waste is going to stick to the bottom of a person's shoes? Is it dry or is it wet? It's wet, right? Okay. So, he says, "And if you see something there, then you are to rub it in the dirt." He didn't even say to take your shoes off. Okay? Just rub it in the dirt, right? And then, now, we're not even He didn't even command the companions to examine it closely. You're examining it from down here, from up here, right? So, how much is going to be removed from that? Is it going to be removed from at the molecular level? Huh? If we took it to a laboratory and we tested it, we had a chemist test it, with his tubes, and is he going to find it absent of najasa? Of course, not, right? Now, remember, that's that's on a person's shoes. Now, remember, the the prophet peace be upon him in another narration, he said to the women, he said to the Muslim mean, he said the believers clothing should reach to the middle of his shin. And in another narration, one handspan above the ankles. The women said, "If we do this, our feet will show." And so he said, "Then one handspan below the ankles for women." Now, one handspan below the ankles, what's going to happen with the clothing? It's going to It's going to drag on the ground, right? And so the women, they asked the prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, all these narrations are going to come. They They asked the prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, "When we're walking through the streets of Medina, the tails of our dresses go through pick different types of things up that are in the streets, right? If there's waste on the ground, it's going to get caught up in the clothing." He said, he said, "What follows of the ground will purify what stuck to it as you were walking." So he did not command the women to what? To wash their bottoms of their dresses every salah. He said, "She's just to keep walking normally, just walk. And And just as it was scraping on something that is some kind of waste may have picked up what comes after of the ground will purify it. How pure is it going to be? It is relative. Right? It's relative. It is relative. That is an acceptable level of purity for the tail of the dress. That is an acceptable level of purity for the bottoms of the shoes. Right? It's relative. We saw in another narration that the a woman asked the prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam about the menstrual blood that comes into contact with the clothing. What did he say to do? He said to scrub it and to wring it out and then to rinse it. Correct? Now, that is a heightened level of purity for one part of the dress that is more pure than another part of the dress. So, we have the tail of the dress is less strict level of purity whereas the upper portion of the dress is a what? Is a higher level of purity. Is that clear? So, it is relative. And this is very important. When we see that a man came to the masjid and he urinated in the masjid. The prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam told the companions to get a bucket of water and to pour it on the urine. Did that remove the urine entirely, completely, totally? No. What did it do? It diluted it. Is that enough for a person's clothing, if there's urine on it, to just pour water on it? Or did we just learn that if there's najasa on the clothing, it should be scrubbed and then ringed out and then rinsed? That is for clothing. But for the ground, that is clean for the ground. But that's not clean for the clothing. And so, the cleanliness and the level of clean, what is considered to be clean and acceptable is relative to what it is. The ground has a different level of cleanliness. The shoes have a different level of cleanliness. The bottom, the tail of the dress has a different level of cleanliness. The rest of the dress has a different level of cleanliness. The skin and the body has a different level of cleanliness. Understood? So, each thing that is purified is relative to what it is and what type of najasa it is. That's the first thing. The second thing and what we will end with today, and that is that the correct opinion from amongst the scholars is that.

[Silence]

The scholars tell us that removing filth, purifying your clothing or body or place of salah from filth, it does not need an individualized intention an act of worship does. If I were to go and make wudu, let's say someone came and said, "Teach me how to make wudu." And I don't have wudu. I say, "Come with me." And then we turn the water on and I make wudu, but I don't have the intention of making salah. My intention is just to teach him how to make wudu. And then as we finish, the adhan is called and it's time for salah. Do I need to make wudu again or is that wudu enough? Think Think about the answer. I have to make wudu again. Why? I didn't have an intention to make wudu. I had an intention to show him. Right? So, I need a specific intention. Understood? But let's say there's something on my clothing that needs to be removed. I say, "Okay, inshallah, when I get to the masjid, I'll remove it." So, on my way to the masjid, it starts raining outside. And as it's raining, this thing is cleaned from my clothing. Did I have an intention for that to come out of my clothing in the rain? Huh? I didn't, right? I was just walking to the masjid. By happenstance, it came out of the clothing. When I get to the masjid, I know that there was a najasa there, but now it's gone. Because I was walking in the rain. Do I have to still wash that? Think about the answer. Do I still have to wash the place? There's no najasa there anymore. Okay? It's gone. It went away in the rain. Do I still have to wash that place? Yes? No. I do not. Why? Because what I just started with, and that is that izalatul najasa Okay? Making sure that the clothing is free of najasa, it is not a type of worship in itself to where it needs a individualized intention for it to be valid. As long as the najasa is not there, there is no obligation upon me. It's not an independent type of worship. It's conceivable that a person go through his entire life never having to clean any najasa. And they will not have missed out on an act of worship. Do we understand? So, this issue of it does not need an intention in order for it to be valid means that if the najasa is removed by any means, it is valid. Whether it's removed by chemicals, whether it's removed by water, whether it's removed by putting it out in the sun, whether it's removed by accident, whether it's removed on purpose, as long as the najasa is gone, that is enough. Okay? So, understanding that those two things, number one, cleanliness is is considered contextual. Okay? Number two, removing and najasa is not an individualized act of worship that needs an independent intention. Therefore, removing the najasa can happen in any way that it happens. Whether it's intentional, unintentional, whether it's by any means, it is considered to be acceptable. We understand those two things? Once we understand these two things, we'll be able to understand the coming chapter.