What is meant by impurity?

Question:

How could one remove or purify impurity from furniture such as the sofa? And how could I perform ghusl (ritual bath) when one is impure?

Answer:

Najasah (impurity) in Islam means filthy or impure substances that a Muslim must avoid and wash them off in case they contaminate with one’s clothes, body and so on. The Almighty Allah says:

“And your clothing purify.” (Al-Muddaththir 74:4)

Abu Malik Al-Ash`ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Purity is half of Iman (faith).” (Muslim)

Most scholars have divided impurity into two types, visible and invisible. Invisible impurity is the impurity which cannot be seen like being without ablution or a bath. Visible impurity is filth which sticks to the body or cloth like urine, feces etc.

Removing Impurity: How?

Answering this question Dr. Muhammad Salah narrates the incident of the man who urinated on the Prophet’s mosque; Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a Bedouin urinated in the mosque and some people rushed to beat him up. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Leave him alone and pour a bucket of water over it. You have been sent to make things easy and not to make them difficult.” (Al-Bukhari)

Therefore, removing impurity from a carpet or rug is by pouring clean water over the place of impurity or by drying it under the sun. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars in such cases.

Regarding the sofa or a couch, Dr. Salah states that one can use a wet sponge to clean the upper part and then with a vacuum cleaner or a sponge by keep absorbing impurity many times. Then Dr. Salah explains the reason and wisdom of removing impurities. He explains the following hadith to prove that a Muslim is always pure even if he was in a state of janabah or in a state of haid (menstruation period) for women. Hudhaifah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) happened to meet him and he was (sexually) defiled, and he slipped away and took a bath and then came and said: I was (sexually) defiled. Upon this he (the Prophet) remarked: A Muslim is never defiled.” (Muslim)

Watch thin interesting talk with Dr. Muhammad Salah to learn many important cases regarding impurity and how to remove it. He also explains the etiquettes of ghusl (ritual bath) in Islam.

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Source: Iqra Youtube Channel.