Najis things

Introduction

- The following ten things are essentially najis: Urine, Faeces, Semen, Dead body, Blood, Dog, Pig, Kafir, Alcoholic liquors, the sweat of an animal that persistently eats najasat.

Urine and faeces

- Urine and faeces of the following living beings are najis: 

Human beings, Animals whose meat is haraam to eat, and whose blood gushes out forcefully when its large vein (jugular) is slit. 

The excretion of those animals who are haraam to eat, but its blood does not gush forth forcefully when killed, like haraam fish, is Pure. Similarly, droppings of mosquito and flies are Pure. Of course, the urine of an animal whose meat is haraam, should be avoided as per obligatory precaution, even if its blood does not gush forth when killed. 

- The urine and droppings of those birds which are haraam to eat, is Pure, but it is better to avoid them. 

- The urine and excretion of an animal who subsists on najasat, and of a goat who was nursed by a pig, and of a quadruped who has been defiled by a human being, are najis. 

Semen

- The semen of human beings, and of every animal whose blood gushes when its large vein (jugular) is cut, is najis.

Dead body

- The dead body of a human being is najis. Similarly the dead body of any animal whose blood gushes forth with force is najis, irrespective of whether it dies a natural death, or is killed in a manner other than that prescribed by Islam. As the blood of a fish does not gush forth, its dead body is Pure, even if it dies in water. 

- Those parts of a dead body which do not contain life like, wool, hair, teeth, nails, bones and horns are Pure. 

- If flesh, or any other part which contains life, is cut off from the body of a living human being, or a living animal whose blood gushes forth, it will be najis. 

- Small pieces of skin which peel off from the lips, or other parts of the body, are Pure. 

- An egg from the body of a dead hen, is Pure, but its exterior must be washed. 

- If a lamb or a kid dies before it is able to graze, the rennet (cheese) found in its stomach is Pure, but its exterior should be washed with water. 

- The liquid medicines, perfumes, ghee, soap and wax polish which are imported, are Pure, if one is not sure of their being najis. 

- Fat, meat or hide of an animal, about which there is a probability that it may have been slaughtered according to the Islamic law, are Pure. However, if these things are obtained from a non-Muslim, or from a Muslim who himself obtained them from a non -Muslim, without investigating whether the animal was slaughtered according to Islamic law, it is haraam to eat that meat and fat, but namaz in that hide will be permissible. 
But, if these things are obtained from Muslim Market, or a Muslim, and it is not known that he got them from a non-Muslim, or if it is known that he got from a non-Muslim but there is a great probability that he has investigated about it being slaughtered according to Shariah, then eating such meat and fat is permissible. 

Blood

- The blood of a human being, and of every animal whose blood gushes forth when its large vein is cut, is najis. The blood of an animal like a fish, or an insect like mosquito, is Pure because it does not gush forth. 

- If an animal whose meat is halal to eat, is slaughtered in accordance with the method prescribed by Shariah, and enough blood flows out, the blood of which is still left in its body is Pure. However, the blood which goes back into the body of the animal due to breath, or because of its head having been at a higher level at the time of its slaughtering, is najis. 

- As a recommended precaution, one should refrain from eating an egg which has even the smallest amount of blood in it. However, if the blood is in the yolk (yellow potion) the albumen (white portion) will be Pure, as long as the skin over the yolk is not torn. 

- The blood which is sometimes seen while milking an animal, is najis, and makes the milk najis. 

- If the blood which comes from inside the teeth, vanishes as it gets mixed with the saliva, the saliva is Pure. 

- If the blood which dries under the nail or skin, on account of being hurt, can no longer be called blood, it is Pure. But if it is blood and is seen as such, then it is najis. And if a hole appears in the nail or the skin, and if it is difficult to remove the blood and to make it Pure for the purpose of Wudhu or Ghusl, then one should perform tayammum. 

- If a person cannot discern whether it is dried blood under the skin, or that the flesh has turned that way because of being hit, it is Pure. 

- Even a small particle of blood falling in the food, while it is being boiled, will make the entire food together with its container najis, as per obligatory precaution, and boiling, heat, or fire does not make it Pure. 

- When a wound is healing, and pus forms around it, that substance is Pure if it is not known to have been mixed with blood. 

Dogs and pigs

- The dogs and pigs which live on land are najis, and even their hair, bones, paws and nails, and every liquid substance of their body, is najis. However, Sea dogs and pigs are Pure.

Kafir

- An infidel i.e. a person who does not believe in Allah and His Oneness, is najis. Similarly, Ghulat who believe in any of the holy twelve Imams as God, or that they are incarnations of God, and Khawarij and Nawasib who express enmity towards the holy Imams, are also najis. And similar is the case of those who deny Prophet-hood, or any of the necessary laws of Islam, like, Prayer and fasting, which are believed by the Muslims as a part of Islam, and which they also known as such. 
As regards the people of the Book (i.e. the Jews and the Christians) who do not accept the Prophet-hood of Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah (Peace be upon him and his progeny), they are commonly considered najis, but it is not improbable that they are Pure. However, it is better to avoid them. 

- The entire body of a Kafir, including his hair and nails, and all liquid substances of his body, are najis. 

- If the parents, paternal grandmother and paternal grandfather of a minor child are all kafir, that child is najis, except when he is intelligent enough, and professes Islam. When, even one person from his parents or grandparents is a Muslim, the child is Pure (The details will be explain later). 

- A person about whom it is not known whether he is a Muslim or not, and if no signs exist to establish him as a Muslim, he will be considered Pure. But he will not have the privileges of a Muslim, like, he cannot marry a Muslim woman, nor can he be buried in a Muslim cemetery. 

- Any person who abuses any of the twelve holy Imams on account of enmity, is najis. 

Alcoholic liquor

- All Alcoholic liquors and beverages which intoxicate a person, are najis and on the basis of recommended precaution, everything which is originally liquid and intoxicates a person, is najis. Hence narcotics, like, opium and hemp, which are not li quid originally, are Pure, even when a liquid is added to them. 

- All kinds of industrial alcohol used for painting doors, windows, tables, chairs etc. are Pure. 

- If grapes or grape juice ferments by itself, or on being cooked, they are Pure, but it is haraam to eat or drink them. 

- If dates, currants and raisins, and their juice ferment, they are Pure and it is halal to eat them. 

Beer (Fuqa')

- Beer, which is prepared from barley, and is called 'Ab-i-Jaw', is haraam, but there is Ishkal in it being najis. But barley water which is medically prepared, and is called 'Maush- Shaeer', is Pure. 

Sweat of an animal who persistently eats Najasat

- The perspiration of a camel which eats najasat, and the perspiration of every animal which is habituated to eat najasat, is najis. 

- The perspiration of a person who enters the state of Janabat by haraam act is Pure, but on the basis of recommended precaution, Prayer should not be offered with that sweat. Similarly sexual intercourse with the wife in her menses, knowingly, will be considered as Janabat by haraam act. 

- If a person has sexual intercourse with his wife at a time when it is forbidden, like, in the month of Ramadhan during fasting, his perspiration will not be classified with the perspiration of those who become Mujnib by haraam act. 

- If a person in Janabat by haraam act does tayammum instead of Ghusl, and perspires after performing tayammum, his perspiration will be governed by the same rules which applied to his perspiration before the tayammum. 

- If a person becomes Mujnib by haraam act, and then engages in lawful sexual intercourse with his wife, the recommended precaution for him is that he should not offer prayers with his perspiration. But if he has lawful sexual intercourse in the first instance, and then commits the haraam act, his perspiration will not be treated as the perspiration of a person who has become Mujnib by haraam act. 

Ways of proving Najasat

- There are three ways of proving the najasat of anything: 

* One should be certain, or satisfied that something is najis. If one suspects that something may be najis, it is not necessary to avoid it. Accordingly, eating or drinking at stalls and guest houses where public goes to eat, and where people without scruples about najasat frequent, is allowed unless one knows that the food supplied is najis.

* If a reliable person who possesses, controls or manages a thing, says that it is najis. For example, if the wife, or a servant, or a maid says that a particular utensil or any other object which she handles, is najis, it will be accepted as najis. 

* If two just persons testify that a certain thing is najis, provided that their testimony deals with the reason for najasat. 

- If a person does not know whether a thing is Pure or najis because of ignorance, for example, if he does not know whether the droppings of a rat is Pure or not, he should enquire from those who know. But, if he knows the rule, and doubts the nature of particular thing, like when he doubts whether a thing is blood or not, or if he does not know whether it is the blood of a mosquito or a human being, the thing is Pure, and it is not necessary to make investigation or enquiry about it. 

- A thing which was originally najis, and one doubts whether it has become Pure, will be considered as najis. Conversely, if a thing was originally pure, and if one doubts whether it has become najis, it will be considered Pure. And it is not necessary to ascertain, even if it is possible for him to do so. 

- If a person knows that out of the two vessels, or two dresses used by him, one has become najis, but cannot identify it, he should refrain from using both of them. But if he does not know whether it is his own dress, or the dress which is no longer possessed by him, or is the property of some other person, which has become najis, then it is not necessary for him to refrain from using his own dress. 

How a Pure thing becomes Najis

- If a Pure thing touches a najis thing and if either or both of them are so wet that the wetness of one reaches the other, the pure thing will become najis. Similarly, if the wetness of the thing which has become najis, touches a third thing, that third thing will also become najis. It is commonly held by the scholars, that a thing which has become najis transmits its najasat, but indefinite number of transmissions is improbable. In fact, after certain stage it is Pure.

For example, if the right hand of a person becomes najis with urine, and then, while still wet, it touches his left hand, the left hand will also become najis. Now, if the left hand after having dried up, touches a wet cloth, that cloth will also become najis, but, if that cloth touches another wet thing, it cannot be said to be najis. In any case, if the wetness is so little, that it does not affect the other thing, then the pure thing will not become najis, even if it had contacted the Najisul Ayn. 

- If a Pure thing touches a najis thing and one doubts whether either or both of them were wet or not, the pure thing does not become najis. 

- If there are two things and one does not know which of them Pure is, and which is najis, and later a damp Pure thing touches one of them, that thing does not become najis. 

- If the ground, cloth, or similar things are wet, then only that part will become najis where najasat reaches, and the remaining part will remain Pure. Same is the case with melon, cucumber etc. 

- When a syrup or ghee is in a fluid state, in a manner that if some quantity of it is removed, it does not leave an empty trace, the entire quantity will become najis immediately when even their slightest part becomes najis. But if it has solidified, and when some part of it is removed, a trace of emptiness is seen, then only that part will be najis which has come in contact with najasat, even if the empty trace gets filled up later. So, if the droppings of a rat fall on it, only that part will become najis on which the droppings have fallen, and the rest will remain Pure. 

- If a fly or an insect sits on wet, najis thing, and later sits on wet, Pure thing, the Pure thing will become najis, if one is sure that the insect was carrying najasat with it, and if one is not sure, then it remains Pure. 

- If a part of one's body which is perspiring becomes najis, all those parts to which the sweat reaches, will become najis. Where it does not reach will remain Pure. 

- If there is blood in the phlegm, or substance which comes out of the nose or throat, the part with blood will be najis, and the remaining part will be Pure. Hence, if these substances come out of the mouth, or the nose, the part about which one is sure that najasat has reached, will be najis, and the part about which one is doubtful whether najasat has reached it or not, will be considered Pure. 

- If an ewer or a vessel with a hole in its bottom, is placed on najis ground, and its water ceases to flow, allowing water to collect under it, till it is seen as one with the water inside the vessel, the water in the vessel will be najis. However, if the water inside the vessel continues to flow forcefully, it will not become najis. 

- If a thing enters the body reaching najasat, but has no trace of it when brought out of the body, it is Pure. Hence, if the apparatus of enema, or its water, enters one's rectum, or a needle or knife, or any other similar thing, is driven into the body and has no trace of najasat when it is taken out later, it is not najis. Same is the case with sputum and mucus of the nose, if it contacts blood within the body, but does not have any trace of blood when it comes out of the body. 

Rules regarding Najasaat

- To make the script and pages of holy Qur'an najis, and violate its sanctity, is undoubtedly haraam, and if it becomes najis, it should be made Pure immediately with water. In fact, as an obligatory precaution, it is haraam to make it najis even if no violation of sanctity is intended, and it is obligatory that it should be made Pure by washing it with water. 

- If the cover of the holy Qur'an becomes najis, causing its desecration, the cover should be made Pure by washing it with water. 

- Placing the holy Qur'an on a Najisul Ayn, like, blood, or a dead body, even if it be dry, is haraam, if the intention is to profane it. 

- Writing the holy Qur'an with najis ink, even one letter of it, amounts to making it najis. And if written, it should be erased or washed off. 

- If giving the holy Qur'an to a non-believer involves its desecration, it is haraam to give it to him, and it is obligatory to take it back from him. 

- If a page from the holy Qur'an, or any sacred object like a paper on which the names of Almighty Allah or the Holy Prophet or the holy Imams are written, falls in a lavatory, it is obligatory to take it out and make it Pure with water, no matter what expenses it may entails. And, if it is not possible to take it out, the use of that lavatory should be discontinued till such time when one is certain that the page has dissolved and petered out.

Similarly, if Turbatul Husayn (the sacred earth of Karbala, usually formed into a tablets to place one's forehead on, while offering prayers) falls into lavatory, and it is not possible to take it out, the lavatory should not be used until one becomes sure that it (Turbatul Husayn) has ceased to exist, and no trace of it is present there. 

- It is haraam to eat or drink or make others eat or drink something which has become najis. However, one may give such a thing to a child, or an insane person. And if a child or an insane person eats or drinks najis thing on his own accord, or makes food najis with his najis hands before consuming it, it is not necessary to stop him from doing so. 

- To sell or lend a najis thing which can be made Pure, has no objection, but the buyer or the borrower must be told about it, particularly in the following two situations: 

* That if he is not informed, he might contravene the law of Shariah, like, if he wants to eat or drink it. Otherwise, it is not necessary to inform. 

* That the buyer or the borrower will pay heed to the advice. If one knows that it will have no effect, it will not be necessary to tell him. 

- If a person sees someone eating or drinking something najis, or pray with a najis dress, it is not necessary to admonish him. 

- If a place or carpet of a one's house is najis, and if he sees that the wet body or dress of his visitor will touch the najis thing, since it is he who is responsible, therefore he should inform the visitor, provided the two situations mentioned in the above rule is obtain. 

- If the host comes to know during the meals, that the food is najis, he should inform the guests about it. But if one of the guests becomes aware of it, it is not necessary for him to inform others about it. However, if his dealings with the other guests are such, that he himself may become najis, or be involved in Najasat if they became najis, he should inform them. 

- If a borrowed object becomes najis, the borrower must inform the owner, provided the situations mentioned in the above rule is observed. 

- If a child says that a thing is najis, or that he has washed and made it Pure, his word should not be accepted. But, if he is about to attain the age of puberty, and assures that he has washed and made it Pure, his word should be accepted if the thing is normally in his charge, and if he is reliable.