Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
When an impurity disappears, the ruling on it ceases to apply, but if urine dries on a garment – in the shade – it does not disappear; rather it remains, and if you pour water on it, its traces will reappear.
Based on that, some scholars said that impurity on a garment does not become pure by drying up.
In fact, the majority of scholars say that impurity on the ground is not purified by sun and wind, in contrast to the view of the Hanafis.
The view of the Hanafis is the correct view, and it is based on the fact that the traces of impurity disappear with the effect of the sun or wind, and not merely when the ground dries up, because the ground dries quickly and the trace of impurity remains on it.
But if the garment dried in the sun and was left out for a long time, such that if water is poured on it after that, no trace of the impurity will appear, then the garment becomes pure as a result of that, according to a number of jurists. This is the view of the Shafa`is and Hanbalis, and is the view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him).
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to a garment that has become impure with urine and the like, if the trace of the impurity is removed from it by the sun, then the correct view is that it does not become pure, and this is also the view of the Iraqi scholars.
Imam al-Haramayn narrated from his companions that they applied both views concerning that, as in the case of the ground. He said: One of the scholars – meaning al-Furani – said: If we say that the garment is purified by the sun, will it also be purified if it dries out in the shade? There are two views concerning that.
This argument is weak. The Imam said: Undoubtedly drying out is not sufficient in this case, because the ground quickly dries out in the sun when the traces of impurity are still there.
What matters is that the traces of impurity disappear after a long time, and there is no difference of scholarly opinion regarding that. The same applies to garments.(Al-Majmu`, 2/596).
Based on the above, we may say that drying up on its own is not sufficient; rather it is essential that the traces of the impurity disappear.
Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ground on which there is impurity can become pure through the action of the sun and wind, provided that no trace of the impurity remains. This is the view of Abu Hanifah. But it is not permissible to use that ground for tayammum; rather it is permissible to pray on that ground after that, even if it was not washed.
Other things may also become pure through the action of the sun and wind. This is one view in the madhhab of Ahmad, and Ahmad stated that with regard to clotheslines (ropes from which wet clothes are hung to dry).
End quote from al-Ikhtiyarat al-Fiqhiyyah dumna al-Fatawa al-Kubra, 5/312.
See also: al-Furu`, 1/241; al-Isnaf, 1/317.
Secondly:
Dry impurity on a garment, for example, is not transmitted to one who touches it, if his hand is dry, but this does not mean that the garment is pure.
There is no contradiction between these three issues:
- That the ruling on impurity ceases to apply if the impurity disappears.
- That impurity on a garment does not become pure if it dries out, because it does not disappear thereby; rather it is essential that traces of the impurity disappear, in order to rule that the garment has become pure.
- That impurity is not transmitted between two dry things, but the fact that it is not transmitted from a garment, for example, to something else does not mean that the impurity has disappeared from the garment or that the garment has become pure.
It says in Hashiyat ad-Dasuqi, 1/81: Note: it does not mean that the impurity has disappeared when the urine dries up on something like a garment, and if it comes into contact with something wet, it makes it impure in that case. End quote.
The Hanafis are of the view that the ground becomes pure by the action of the sun, wind or fire; this applies exclusively to the ground and anything that is attached to it, in contrast to things other than the ground, such as garments, which do no become pure by that means.
It says in Al-Bahr ar-Ra’iq (1/237): Contaminated ground becomes pure when it dries up and no trace of the impurity remains, and it becomes permissible to pray on that ground, but not to do tayammum using it. In other words, the contaminated ground becomes pure by drying up, if all trace of the impurity disappears. At that point it becomes permissible to pray on that ground, but it does not become permissible to do tayammum using it…
This ruling applies to the ground only, which excludes garments, furniture, bodies and so on, which do not become pure by drying at all. Also included with the ground in the ruling is anything that is attached to it, such as walls, trees, grass, reeds and so on, so long as they are still attached to the ground. They become pure when they dry out, according to the correct view, as is stated in Al-Khulasah.
But if wood and reeds are cut and are contaminated with an impure substance, they cannot be purified by any means except by washing. End quote.
And Allah knows best.
Comment