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HOW A PURE (ṬĀHIR) OBJECT BECOMES IMPURE (NAJIS) →
← 10. Sweat of an excrement-eating animal
WAYS OF ESTABLISHING IMPURITY (NAJĀSAH)
Ruling 115. There are three ways to establish the impurity of an object:
1. one is certain, or is confident by rational means, that the object is impure. If one only supposes (i.e. has a ẓann) that an object is impure, it is not necessary for him to avoid it and it is ruled to be pure. Therefore, there is no problem in eating in public places, restaurants, and guesthouses where the people who eat there are unconcerned about religious matters and who do not observe laws relating to what is pure and what is impure, as long as one is not confident that the food brought to him is impure;
2. someone who is in possession of an object says it is impure; for example, one’s spouse or domestic worker says that a utensil or something else that they have in their possession is impure;
3. two dutiful men say that an object is impure, on condition that they give the reason for its impurity; for example, they say that the object has come into contact with blood or urine. If one dutiful man, or another reliable person, says something is impure but one does not attain confidence in what he says, the obligatory precaution is that one must avoid that thing [i.e. it is ruled to be impure].
Ruling 116. If on account of not knowing the Islamic ruling one does not know whether an object is impure or pure – for example, he does not know whether the droppings of a mouse are pure or not – he must inquire about the ruling. However, if despite knowing the ruling one doubts whether an object is pure or not – for example, he doubts whether something is blood, or he does not know whether it is the blood of a mosquito or the blood of a human being – then in these cases, the object is pure and it is not necessary for him to investigate or ask about it.
Ruling 117. An impure object about which one doubts whether it has become pure or not is impure. And a pure object about which one doubts whether it has become impure or not is pure. Even if one is able to know whether the object is really impure or pure, it is not necessary for him to investigate.
Ruling 118. If someone knows that one of two utensils or one of two items of clothing that he uses has become impure but does not know which one, he must avoid both of them [i.e. they are ruled to be impure]. However, if, for example, one does not know whether it is his own clothing that has become impure or clothing that he does not have any right of disposal over and which is the property of someone else, it is not necessary for him to avoid it [i.e. it is ruled to be pure].
HOW A PURE (ṬĀHIR) OBJECT BECOMES IMPURE (NAJIS) →
← 10. Sweat of an excrement-eating animal
1. one is certain, or is confident by rational means, that the object is impure. If one only supposes (i.e. has a ẓann) that an object is impure, it is not necessary for him to avoid it and it is ruled to be pure. Therefore, there is no problem in eating in public places, restaurants, and guesthouses where the people who eat there are unconcerned about religious matters and who do not observe laws relating to what is pure and what is impure, as long as one is not confident that the food brought to him is impure;
2. someone who is in possession of an object says it is impure; for example, one’s spouse or domestic worker says that a utensil or something else that they have in their possession is impure;
3. two dutiful men say that an object is impure, on condition that they give the reason for its impurity; for example, they say that the object has come into contact with blood or urine. If one dutiful man, or another reliable person, says something is impure but one does not attain confidence in what he says, the obligatory precaution is that one must avoid that thing [i.e. it is ruled to be impure].
Ruling 116. If on account of not knowing the Islamic ruling one does not know whether an object is impure or pure – for example, he does not know whether the droppings of a mouse are pure or not – he must inquire about the ruling. However, if despite knowing the ruling one doubts whether an object is pure or not – for example, he doubts whether something is blood, or he does not know whether it is the blood of a mosquito or the blood of a human being – then in these cases, the object is pure and it is not necessary for him to investigate or ask about it.
Ruling 117. An impure object about which one doubts whether it has become pure or not is impure. And a pure object about which one doubts whether it has become impure or not is pure. Even if one is able to know whether the object is really impure or pure, it is not necessary for him to investigate.
Ruling 118. If someone knows that one of two utensils or one of two items of clothing that he uses has become impure but does not know which one, he must avoid both of them [i.e. they are ruled to be impure]. However, if, for example, one does not know whether it is his own clothing that has become impure or clothing that he does not have any right of disposal over and which is the property of someone else, it is not necessary for him to avoid it [i.e. it is ruled to be pure].