OUR concern in this book, however, is with one category of the prescribed `ibadah; namely, prayers and the act of taharah which is required prior to the performance of prayer.

        The duty of prayer salah is the paramount type of worship. It is the daily communication with God. Its performance contributes in a large measure to the individual's spiritual elevation. The Qur'an reads:

"Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil" XXIX, 45.

 
"Prayer has indeed been enjoined on the believers at fixed times." IV, 103.

        There are two types of taharah namely, physical taharah and spiritual taharah. The physical taharah is achieved by the use of water or its substitute to remove a concrete or ceremonial pollution. The spiritual taharah is achieved, not by the use of water, but by cultivating such virtues as love, sympathy, kindness, desire to serve and to help others, and craving to attain the pleasure of God. It is also achieved by repentance and remorse for commission of mistakes, and by freeing the heart from such vices as hatred, jealousy and rancour.

        We should always strive to achieve spiritual purity and aspire to attain the highest degree of this type of purity. However, the treatment of this subject and the prescribed training for the attainment of such sublime desire can be found in the sufi works; namely, the literature of the Muslim mystics as well as the works on Muslim Ethics.

        We are concerned here with the type of taharah, (purity,) which removes a tangible or ceremonial pollution by the use of water or its substitute. The tangible pollution is called najasah. When a part of the skin of the worshipper, or his clothes or the place of prayer is affected by najasah, the najasah has to be washed away by clean water in the manner which will be described later.

        The ceremonial pollution on the other hand, is called HADATH. The body of the worshipper becomes involved in one type or another of hadath when the worshipper has been involved in certain defined acts or activities. The hadath should be removed by the application of clean water to certain parts of the body or the total body as will be explained in full.

        We can thus define the term taharah as "freedom from najasah and from hadath." The following discussion deals with the meaning of najasah, the meaning of hadath and the way of removing each of them.

        What is a NAJASAH? NAJASAH is dirt which may touch the body or the clothes of the worshipper or the place of prayers. If there is such dirt, it must be removed before performing prayers. Now we may ask: How do we remove the NAJASAH, and what is exactly the NAJASAH?

        NAJASAH is chiefly the wet matter excreted through the genitals of a person or an animal, like urine. 9 Blood is also NAJASAH. If such NAJASAH drops in a liquid like oil or a little water, 10 the liquid becomes NAJASAH. Wine is also NAJASAH. If it drops on our body or our clothes or the place of prayers, it must be removed. The same applies to all intoxicating drinks.

        There are, however, certain things which come out from the bodies of persons and animals, which are not NAJASAH, such as milk, sweat, saliva and the tears from a living animal. 11

        Now how can we remove NAJASAH if it occurs to our body our clothes or in a place?

        The way to remove it is to wash it away with water. The water which we use should be fresh and clean, like water from a tap or from a well or from the sea or from a river. Rainwater also will do.

        If the NAJASAH has no colour or taste or smell, it is enough to wash it once. But if it has, we must then wash it as many times as necessary until the taste, the smell and the colour go. If necessary, we may use something like soap.

        Now there is something important we have to remember. The NAJASAH from a dog or from a pig is different. If, for example, a dog or a pig licks a place or a hand, or drinks from a pot, it will not be enough to wash these things with water. We must add some dust to the water, and wash the place with this mixed water once. Afterwards, the place has to be washed with fresh water six more times. Altogether, the washing of the NAJASAH of a dog or a pig is seven times. Therefore, the NAJASAH of the dog and the pig is described as Serious NAJASAH." 12

        In short we can say that there are two types of NAJASAH. There is the moderate NAJASAH, like wine, blood and urine from a person or any animal excluding the dog and the pig. This type of NAJASAH is removed by washing it with fresh water once or more times until its colour, taste and smell go. There is also the Serious NAJASAH like the saliva or the urine of the dog or the pig. This type must be washed seven times; the first time with water mixed with dust, and six times just with water.

        Now you may ask: When a person has released himself of urine or some other type of excretion, how can he effectively remove the traces?

        The way to remove these traces is called istinja', and it can be achieved by the use of paper alone, water alone or both paper and water. The last method is recommended.

        If you are using paper alone, you have to repeat the cleansing with fresh paper until no traces remain. This applies to the front passage and the back passage. But the number of times to clean each passage should not be fewer than three times. Stones and similar materials can be used instead of paper if they are clean and can remove the traces of the najasah. If, during istinja' with paper or something similar, the hand touches the najasah, the najasah has to be washed away.

        If you are using water alone, it will be enough to pass pure water on the front passage, but the back passage has to be washed properly until the traces of najasah have gone.

        To use water alone in istinja' is better than using paper alone. The best method, however, is to use paper and water. In this case we should use paper first, and then wash the place with water.

        If during the process of istinja' some urine or some of the excreted matter goes beyond its normal passage or smear any part of our clothes, the affected parts have to be washed until the najasah goes away, in the manner described above in removing the najasah.

        In this context, the following manners should be observed as sunnah:

        I. Enter the place, like a lavatory, with the left foot first, and come out with the right foot first. 13

        2. On entering the place, say: BISMILLAH, A'UDHU BILLAHI MINA'L-KHUBTHI WA'L-KHABA'ITH. 14 On coming out, say:

GHUFRANAK! AL-HAMDU LILLAHIL-LADHI ADH- HABA `ANNI MAYU'DHINI, WA-AMSAKA `ALAYYA MA-YANFA'UNI.

        3. Use the left hand in istinja'. (The right hand is usually reserved for such acts as eating and shaking hands with people.)

        4. Pass the index finger lightly on the lower path of the urine passage before applying water to it, to help any remaining drops come out.

        5. Wash your hands wellafter istinja'.

The following acts are harmful and are therefore forbidden:

1. To release oneself in a pool or in similar water places.

2. To do so on the road or in open places.

3. To do so under a shady tree.

4. To release oneself in any manner that would offend the public.

        It is not enough for saying prayers to remove the NAJASAH only. It is also necessary to remove HADATH as well But what is HADATH?
 

        A Minor Hadath is some sort of ritual pollution which can be removed by the application of water to some part of the body in the manner to be described later.

        The Minor Hadath results from the occurrence of one or more of the following:15

1. Sleeping.

2. The coming out of anything from the lower orifices, like urine, wind, and so on.

3. Absence of consciousness because of fainting or being drunk.

4. Touching the skin of the opposite sex between marriageable persons. 16

5. Touching of the human genitals by the inside part of the palm. 17

        To remove the minor HADATH, we have to wash the face and the hands, rub the head with water, and wash the feet. The Qur'an reads:

        "O you who believe; when you intend to perform the prayer wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and rub your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles." Chapter V, v.6. This washing of the face, the hands and the feet and rubbing the head, is called WUDU.

        The purpose of WUDU is to remove the minor HADATH and prepare ourselves to approach God in prayers in a more congenial, and composed manner.

        To perform WUDU' properly, however, we have to do as follows:

        1. Wash the palms up to the wrists, cleaning under the nails and between the fingers, and saying:

A'UDHU BILLAHI MINA `SH-SHAITANI'R-RAJIM. BISMILLAHI FI AWWA LIHI WA Fl AKHIRIH.

        3. Then the nose is to be cleaned with water and the following prayer is to be read: ALLAHUMMA ARIIINI RA `IH,ATA'L JANNAH. 20

Fig. 4 Washing the Face -reaching the ears, and under the chin and up above the forehead (To be accompanied by the wudu' intention)

        4. We then wash the face from ear to ear, including the forehead and reaching under the chin, having the intention of performing the Wudu', and saying: NAWAYTU FARDA'L-WUDU' ALLAHUMMA BAYYID WAJHI YAWMA TABYADDU WUJUH WA TASWADDU WUJUH 21

        5. We then wash the two hands, up to, and including the elbow. The right hand is to be washed first, accompanied by the fellowing prayer:
ALLARUMMA A'TINT KITABT BI YAMNI WAHASIBNI HISABAN YASIRA. 22

        The left hand follows, accompanied by the following prayer ALLAHUMMA LA TU'TINT KITABI BI SHIMALI WALA MIN WARA'I ZAHRI. 23
 

Fig. 5 Washing the hands up to, and including the elbows. Begin with the right hand, and follow with the left.

Fig. 6 Passing the hand, wet with fresh water, over the Head.

        6. Then, with fresh water we rub the head partly, or preferably fully 24, saying:

ALLAHUMMA HARRIM SHA'RI WA BASHARI ALA'N-NAR, WA AZILLANI TAHTA ZILLI `ARSHIK YAWMA LAZILLA ILLA ZILLUK. 25

        7.We then clean the ears fully, including the seen part of the hole. We first apply fresh water to our fingers then insert the index finger into the hole of the ear, then pass it through the outer folds, then rub the back of the ears with the thumbs. The following prayer is to be said:

ALLAHUMMA'J `ALNI MINALLADHINA YASTAMI `UNA'L-QAWLA FA YATTABI'UNA AHSANAH. 26
 

Fig. 7 Clearing both Ears simultaneously, with fresh water.

        When a Muslim has performed Wudu' in the above manner, he is described as MUTAWADDI. He or she can perform the prescribed prayers, touch and carry the Qur'an, perform the TAWAF, "circumambulation," around the Ka'bah, and perform SA'Y, "the journey between SAFA and Marwah." Otherwise, the performance of these religious acts is forbidden until wudu' is performed.

        The parts of wudu described above, are not of equal importance. Some are mandatory, WAJIB or FARD; and the others are recommended, SUNNAH.

The wajib parts are:

        1. The niyyah, (the intention in the heart to perform the acts of wudu. This niyyah must accompany the washing of the face).

        As a relief, we are permitted to pass our fingers, wet with fresh water, over our shoes, under certain conditions, instead of washing our feet in ablution, "wudu' ". The term for shoe in this context is KHUFF.

        Suppose when you get up in the morning, you had the ablution and performed the morning prayers. This ablution will remain with you so long as no cause of a minor hadath occurs. Therefore, with the same ablution you can perform the mid-day prayers, the afternoon prayers, and so forth-although it is recommended to repeat the ablution, "wudu" for every prayer. This repeated ablution without a necessary cause, is called tajdid, renovation of wudu'.

        However, when you have another wudu during the day, either because of hadath or for tajdid, and you happened to have put on your shoes before the occurrence of hadath, you may take advantage of the alleviation mentioned above: When you reach the washing of the feet, keep your shoes on, just wet your fingers with fresh water and pass them over the upper parts of the shoes; provided the shoes cover the feet fully including the ankles. Otherwise, you take off the shoes and apply this to the socks if they are firm and are such as not to permit the water reach the feet.
 

Fig. 10 MASH AL-KHUFF, "Light Rubbing of Khuff" .Pass the front and right parts of the Khuff with the fingers of the right hand; and the back part and left side of the Khuff with those of the left hand: Do the same with the left Khuff.

        So the KHUFF applies to shoes or socks which are to be rubbed lightly by the wet fingers instead of washing the feet in ablution.

        The conditions on which the use of this easier method depends are the following:

        1. That the shoes or the socks cover the feet fully including the ankles. 29

    SIWAK is the term indicating a tooth-brushing stick taken from a kind of thorny tree of good odour called arak. The top part is crushed to make a harsh cleaning brush This was the kind of tooth brush used at the time of the Prophet, and is still in Arabia.

A. CAUSES:

        The major hadath involves the whole body; and can be redeemed by washing the whole body in full, including the skin below the hair.

The causes of the major hadath are:

        1. Emission of semen by a male, 32 either in sleep or in awakeness, deliberately or indeliberately.

        2. Attainment of orgasm by a female, leading to the coming out of wet matter. Dry orgasm does not cause a major hadath on the other hand, any matter coming out short of orgasm does not cause a major hadath but such matter is pollution the traces of which must be washed away with clean water. 33

        3. Intercourse involving the penetration of at least the head of the male organ, whether orgasm is attained or not, and whether such intercourse is lawful or otherwise. Any sexual activities not leading to emission of semen and not involving a penetration as described above does not cause a major hadath.

        The major hadath caused by any of the above factors is usually referred to as JANABAH.

        But we must also have the niyyah in our mind in the beginning of ghusl. We mean by the niyyah here the intention to perform the ghusl to remove the major hadath. It is enough to have this intention in our mind; but it is better that we also say at the same time; NAWAJTU `L-GHUSLA, MINA `LRADATHI `L-AKBAR. This means:

        "I now intend to start performing ghusl, from the major hadath."

We may now say that ghusl consists of two essential parts:

the niyyah and the full washing of the body. 36 The full perfect method of ghusl is as follows:

 

1. Wash the hands, reading: "BISMILLAHI'R-RAHMANI'R RAHIM. NAWAYTU'L-GHUSLA MINA `L-HADATHI `LAKBAR."

        The first duty to be done to the body of a deceased Muslim is to wash it completely. This is a gesture of respect on the part of the survivors toward the man or woman they have lost. In fact there are three other duties to be discussed later; namely shrouding, prayers and burial. However, Ghusl comes first, to be followed by the other three obligations in this given order.

        The person who washes a dead man should be a male or the wife of the deceased; and a dead woman should be washed by a woman or by her own husband. However, the parts of the body of the dead between the navel and the knees, front and back, should be always covered. Moreover, the genitals should not be touched. The person who washes, should wear something like gloves when he or she washes the genitals under the cloth cover. 37

        The minimum of washing the dead is to pour clean water on the body, making sure that it reaches all parts of it, hair and skin. The best method, however, is as follows:

        1. Place the body on something high like a bench, lying on the back. In fact, as soon as someone dies, his body should not be left lying on the ground. It should be on something raised like a bed, until it is taken to the place of washing which should be also high enough for convenience. It is also recommended to provide burning frankincense near or around the body from the time of death 38

        2. Wash the hands of the dead, and then pass your hand lightly over the stomach to let pass out matters through the genitals.

        3. Wash the genitals and wash away any dirt that may be on the body; then wash your own hands with the help of something like soap.

        4. Raising the head slightly toward the chest, clean the teeth and nose with the help of something like a towel.

        5. Intending to perform the ablution of wudu' on behlaf of the dead, wash his face and his hands and rub his head with your wet hand and wash his feet in the manner of ordinary wudu'.

        6. Wash the head three times. You may comb the hair lightly, taking care no hair drops. Otherwise, dropped hair should be kept in the shrouds.

        7. Wash then the body, beginning with the front right side, then the back right side, then the front left side, then the back left side, always from the neck down to the bottom of the feet. When you wash the back, you lay the dead on his or her sides; avoid laying the body on the stomach.

        8. What we did in paragraph was only one wash, with pure unmixed water. Then apply soap to the body and then wash it away, making sure that all dirt has been removed. This is a second washing.

        9. Wash once more, using water mixed with some perfume, preferably camphor.39

        10. Place perfumed cotton in the orifices, and apply some perfume to the forehead, the hands, the feet, and the hidden and deep places like the armpits, the navel and between the buttocks. In addition, the buttocks should be tied up as further precaution. The hair of a woman should be plaited and let to rest at the back.

        It is relevant to discuss now the next duty that has to be done with the body of the dead, namely "shrouding."

        The cost of the material used in shrouding should be met from the property left by the deceased himself; otherwise, it should be borne by the person who was responsible for the maintenance of the deceased. If there is no such person, father or son, it has to be met by the State, or from voluntary donations.

        The minimum of the shrouds should be any piece of cloth in which the whole body of the dead is to be completely wrapped up. The material should be of such a kind that is permissible to wear in lifetime. Therefore, a dead man cannot be shrouded in silk or other material decorated with gold.

However, it is recommended:

a. That the shrouds should be of white material.

     Ghusl which applies to remove a major hadath as well as the ghusl of the dead are mandatory obligations. Besides these two categories, frequent ghusl is generally recommended to maintain a high hygienic standard. In addition, Muslims are recommended to perform a ritual ghusl every Friday before proceeding to the noon congregation and on the two `Id Festival days, namely the Festival Day following the fasting month; and the Festival Day of Sacrifice marking the conclusion of the pilgrimage season.

        The time of the ghusl Fridays begins at dawn, so that a Muslim may have this ritual washing any time from then until the noon prayer time. The time of the `Id ghusl, on the other hand, begins at the middle of the night and continues until sunset of the day.

        The ritual ghusl is also recommended to the person who has conducted the ghusl of a dead person and also those who handled the body. It is also recommended to the pilgrim on assuming the status of IHRAM, on entering Mecca, just before TAWAF, on approaching `Arafah, and on entering al-Madinah of the Prophet, Sallallahu `alayhi Wa-sallam.

a. Minor Hadath: The acts prohibited when there is a minor hadath are:

1. Touching the mushaf ; namely, the copy of the Qur'an.

2. Carrying the mushaf, in total or in part.

3. Performing prayers.

4. Tawaf.

5. Sa'y.

1. Reading the Qur'an.

2. Touching the mushaf.

4. Performing prayers.

5. Tawaf.

6. Sa'y.

7. Entering a mosque.

        TAYAMMUM is the use of dust instead of water in ablution when water cannot be used. Water may not be available within reach, as may happen in a desert. On the other hand, water may be available but in a small quantity needed for cooking or drinking by a person or an animal. Or enough quantity of water is available, but the worshipper cannot use it for good medical reasons. In all such cases, the worshipper has to resort to the tayammum.

TAYAMMUM beating the floor to disturb some dust.

        3. With the inside of your palms, rub your face, saying the same prayer you say when you wash the face in wudu'.

        4. Beat the furniture once again, in the same manner.

        5. With the inside of the fingers of the left palm, rub the back of the right palm and the back of forearm to the elbow and then the inside parts of these, then rub with the inside of the fingers of the right palm, the back of the left palm and the back of the left forearm up to the elbow and then their inside parts, again repeating the prayers applicable at the time of washing the hands in wudu'.
 

        1. As a general rule, doubt is to be discarded, and the sure condition preceding the rise of doubt should prevail. An example: When you got up from sleep, you performed the ablution of wudu' and said your morning prayers. Then you got yourself ready and went to your office or school. When the noon prayer time came and you wanted to say zuhr prayer, some doubt arose in your mind: as to whether you have visited the toilet room ever since you had your ablution in the morning and thus you are involved in a minor hadath? In such a case, the doubt should be dropped, and the morning ablution should be regarded as continuing. 44

        If, on the other hand, you are sure that you have really visited the toilet place after the morning ablution, but are doubtful whether you performed a wudu' there after then you have to base on the sure condition preceding this doubt and should perform a fresh ablution.

        2. Suppose you happen to have a wound or some disease that should not be touched by water, in the parts which have to be washed in wudu', like the face or the forearms or the feet.

        Or if the disease happens to be somewhere else in the body in the case of ghusl. In this case, the affected part is exempted from washing but should be lightly passed by a wet hand or finger.

        This passing by hand or a finger is called, mash; ie., rubbing; or, rather, light, soft rubbing. Even if this kind of mash is harmful it should be left out. Supposing that the diseased part is covered by something like a plaster or a bandage and the cover is not to be removed for the ablution, then the mash or the light rubbing should apply to the cover.

        We have thus covered the subject of taharah, having treated the definitions of najasah and hadath, their divisions and the methods of their removel. Having become free from all types of najasah and from all types of hadath, the worshipper can approach the Almighty God through the topmost type of worship; namely SALAH, the obligatory duty of Prayers which we now proceed to discuss, seeking God's help and support !