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THINGS THAT PURIFY AN IMPURE OBJECT (MUṬAHHIRĀT) →
← HOW A PURE (ṬĀHIR) OBJECT BECOMES IMPURE (NAJIS)
LAWS OF IMPURITIES (NAJĀSĀT)
Ruling 129. It is unlawful to make the script of the Qur’an and its pages impure in the event that this amounts to disrespect; and if they become impure, one must wash them immediately. In fact, based on obligatory precaution, it is unlawful to make them impure even if it does not amount to disrespect, and washing them would be obligatory.
Ruling 130. If the cover of the Qur’an becomes impure, in the event that this is disrespectful to the Qur’an, one must wash it.
Ruling 131. Placing the Qur’an on an intrinsic impurity such as blood or a corpse – even if the intrinsic impurity is dry – is unlawful in the event that it is disrespectful to the Qur’an.
Ruling 132. Writing the Qur’an with impure ink, even one letter of it, has the ruling of making it impure; and if it is written in this way, one must wash it off with water or something else to the extent that the impure ink substance is removed.
Ruling 133.* Based on obligatory precaution, selling the Qur’an to a disbeliever is not a valid transaction. Giving the Qur’an to a disbeliever is unlawful if it amounts to disrespect or insult to the Qur’an or places it at risk of being disrespected. However, there is no problem if giving [or selling] the Qur’an to a disbeliever is for guiding him, for example, and it would not amount to disrespect or insult to the Qur’an.
Ruling 134.* If a page of the Qur’an or an object that is necessary to respect – such as paper on which is written the name of Allah the Exalted, Prophet Muḥammad (Ṣ), or one of the Infallibles (ʿA), or an epithet (laqab) or kunyah[1] of these great personalities – falls into a lavatory, it is obligatory to take it out and wash it even if it costs money to do so. If it is not possible to take it out, the lavatory must not be used by those who know about the fallen paper until they are certain the page has decomposed. Telling others about this is not obligatory. Furthermore, if a turbah[2]of Imam al-Ḥusayn (ʿA) falls into a lavatory and it is not possible to take it out, the lavatory must not be used until one is certain the turbah has completely dissolved.
Ruling 135. It is unlawful to eat or drink something that has become impure, and the same applies to feeding that thing to someone. However, it is permitted to feed that thing to a child or an insane person. Furthermore, if a child or an insane person eats impure food himself or makes food impure with his impure hand and eats it, it is not necessary to prevent him from doing so.
Ruling 136. There is no problem in selling or lending an impure thing that can be made pure. However, it is necessary to tell the other party about the thing being impure on two conditions:
1. the other party is at risk of opposing a legal responsibility; for example, he will use the impure thing in his food or drink, or it will invalidate the wuḍūʾ or ghusl with which he will perform an obligatory prayer. However, if this is not the case, it is not necessary to inform him; for example, it is not necessary to inform him about impure clothing with which he performs prayers because wearing pure clothing is not an absolute condition (al‑sharṭ al‑wāqiʿī)[3] for the prayer to be valid;
2. one deems it probable that the other party will heed what he says. Therefore, if one knows that what he says will have no effect, it is not necessary to tell him.
Ruling 137. If a person sees someone eating or drinking something impure or performing prayers with impure clothing, it is not necessary to tell him.
Ruling 138. If a place in someone’s house, or if someone’s carpet, is impure and one sees that the wet body, dress, or another object of people who are entering his house touches the impure object, in the event that it was he who was responsible for this state of affairs, he must tell them provided that the two conditions mentioned in Ruling 136 are fulfilled.
Ruling 139. If the owner of a house finds out during a meal that the food is impure, he must tell the guests about it provided that the second condition mentioned in Ruling 136 is fulfilled. However, if one of the guests finds out, it is not necessary for him to tell the others about it. Furthermore, in the event that his dealings with the other guests are such that if they became impure he would also become impure and this would result in him doing something that was contrary to an obligatory religious ruling, he must tell them.
Ruling 140. If a borrowed object becomes impure, the person who borrowed the object must inform the owner about this provided that the two conditions mentioned in Ruling 136 are fulfilled.
Ruling 141. If a child says an object is impure or he has washed something with water, his word is not to be accepted. However, if a child who is mumayyiz and understands well what purity and impurity are, says he has washed something with water, then in the event that the object is at his disposal or one attains confidence in what he says, his word is to be accepted. The same applies if he says an object is impure.
Ruling 130. If the cover of the Qur’an becomes impure, in the event that this is disrespectful to the Qur’an, one must wash it.
Ruling 131. Placing the Qur’an on an intrinsic impurity such as blood or a corpse – even if the intrinsic impurity is dry – is unlawful in the event that it is disrespectful to the Qur’an.
Ruling 132. Writing the Qur’an with impure ink, even one letter of it, has the ruling of making it impure; and if it is written in this way, one must wash it off with water or something else to the extent that the impure ink substance is removed.
Ruling 133.* Based on obligatory precaution, selling the Qur’an to a disbeliever is not a valid transaction. Giving the Qur’an to a disbeliever is unlawful if it amounts to disrespect or insult to the Qur’an or places it at risk of being disrespected. However, there is no problem if giving [or selling] the Qur’an to a disbeliever is for guiding him, for example, and it would not amount to disrespect or insult to the Qur’an.
Ruling 134.* If a page of the Qur’an or an object that is necessary to respect – such as paper on which is written the name of Allah the Exalted, Prophet Muḥammad (Ṣ), or one of the Infallibles (ʿA), or an epithet (laqab) or kunyah[1] of these great personalities – falls into a lavatory, it is obligatory to take it out and wash it even if it costs money to do so. If it is not possible to take it out, the lavatory must not be used by those who know about the fallen paper until they are certain the page has decomposed. Telling others about this is not obligatory. Furthermore, if a turbah[2]of Imam al-Ḥusayn (ʿA) falls into a lavatory and it is not possible to take it out, the lavatory must not be used until one is certain the turbah has completely dissolved.
Ruling 135. It is unlawful to eat or drink something that has become impure, and the same applies to feeding that thing to someone. However, it is permitted to feed that thing to a child or an insane person. Furthermore, if a child or an insane person eats impure food himself or makes food impure with his impure hand and eats it, it is not necessary to prevent him from doing so.
Ruling 136. There is no problem in selling or lending an impure thing that can be made pure. However, it is necessary to tell the other party about the thing being impure on two conditions:
1. the other party is at risk of opposing a legal responsibility; for example, he will use the impure thing in his food or drink, or it will invalidate the wuḍūʾ or ghusl with which he will perform an obligatory prayer. However, if this is not the case, it is not necessary to inform him; for example, it is not necessary to inform him about impure clothing with which he performs prayers because wearing pure clothing is not an absolute condition (al‑sharṭ al‑wāqiʿī)[3] for the prayer to be valid;
2. one deems it probable that the other party will heed what he says. Therefore, if one knows that what he says will have no effect, it is not necessary to tell him.
Ruling 137. If a person sees someone eating or drinking something impure or performing prayers with impure clothing, it is not necessary to tell him.
Ruling 138. If a place in someone’s house, or if someone’s carpet, is impure and one sees that the wet body, dress, or another object of people who are entering his house touches the impure object, in the event that it was he who was responsible for this state of affairs, he must tell them provided that the two conditions mentioned in Ruling 136 are fulfilled.
Ruling 139. If the owner of a house finds out during a meal that the food is impure, he must tell the guests about it provided that the second condition mentioned in Ruling 136 is fulfilled. However, if one of the guests finds out, it is not necessary for him to tell the others about it. Furthermore, in the event that his dealings with the other guests are such that if they became impure he would also become impure and this would result in him doing something that was contrary to an obligatory religious ruling, he must tell them.
Ruling 140. If a borrowed object becomes impure, the person who borrowed the object must inform the owner about this provided that the two conditions mentioned in Ruling 136 are fulfilled.
Ruling 141. If a child says an object is impure or he has washed something with water, his word is not to be accepted. However, if a child who is mumayyiz and understands well what purity and impurity are, says he has washed something with water, then in the event that the object is at his disposal or one attains confidence in what he says, his word is to be accepted. The same applies if he says an object is impure.
[1] This is an appellation given to someone as the father or mother of someone.
[2] A turbah is a piece of earth or clay on which one places his forehead when prostrating.
[3] An absolute condition is one that must be fulfilled for an action to be valid irrespective of the performer’s state of knowledge with regard to that condition. For example, performing rukūʿ in prayers is an absolute condition for the prayer to be valid because even if a person omits it unknowingly and realises this afterwards, his prayer is void and he must repeat it. However, wearing pure clothing in prayers is not an absolute condition because if one performs prayers with impure clothing and realises this afterwards, his prayer is deemed to be valid.