3 Types of Impurity (najis) in Islam and How to Purify It

Do you know how unclean you are? The Big Dictionary explains that najis is dirty which is the cause of someone’s being prevented from worshiping Allah SWT like being licked by a dog.

Which in essence is unclean is something that must be cleaned so that our worship becomes valid and accepted by Allah swt.

It is explained that there are various kinds of najis consisting of mugholladhah or large Impurity, mukhoffafah or light najis, and mutawassithoh or moderate Impurity consisting of hukmiyah and ‘ainiyah uncleans.

We have summarized the various types of najis and how to purify them, let’s see:

1. Mugholladhah unclean (Heavy Impurities)

The various kinds of najis in Islam that must first be understood are mughilladhahnajis or severe najis. Mugholladhahnajis are unclean from dogs, pigs and all their offspring.

There is a special way to purify various kinds of najismugholladhah on the part of an object, moreover, this najis belongs to the category of heavy najis that must be purified in an extra way.

He explained, the way to clean various kinds of najismugholladhah is to wash the area affected by the unclean mugholladhah with water seven times and one of them is mixed with dust.

The Prophet SAW said:

“The way to wash the vessel of one of you when a dog licks it is to wash it seven times, one of which is mixed with dust.” (Narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurairah)

As for pigs as part of the various kinds of unclean mugholladhah equated with dogs because pigs are dirty animals.

The Word of Allah SWT:

… لَحْمَ …﴿الأنعام {6} : 145﴾

  “… or pork because indeed all of it is dirty…” (Surah al-An’ãm: 145)

2. Mukhoffafah unclean (mild unclean)

The second type of uncleanness in Islam that must be considered is mukhoffafah or light uncleanness. What are the various kinds of unclean mukhoffafah?

For example, the various kinds of najismukhoffafah are najis in the form of the urine of a boy who is not even two years old and has never consumed anything other than breast milk.

Then there is light najis in the form of madzi or water that comes out of the genitals due to stimulation. Understand that this madzi comes out not by squirting and is different from sperm. The discharge of light najis like madzi can also be experienced by women.

There is a special way to purify various kinds of mukhoffafah or light najis on the part of an object, because it is included in the light najis group, how to purify it or clean it is not so difficult.

It is explained how to purify various kinds of najismukhoffafah is by sprinkling water on the object even though it does not flow.

“From UmmiQais RA: In fact he once brought a son who had not eaten food. Then the child was in the lap of Rasulullah SAW and the child urinated on his lap. Then the Messenger of Allah asked for water and sprinkled it on the area where his urine was exposed and he did not wash it.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

3. Mutawassithoh unclean (moderate unclean)

The third type of uncleanness in Islam that needs to be understood is mutawassithoh unclean or moderate uncleanness. The existence of najismutawassithoh is divided into two groups, what are they?

Unclean hukmiyah

Various kinds of mutawassithohnajis such as shukmiyah are believed to exist but are not real in substance, smell, taste or color, such as urine that has been dry for a long time, so its properties have been lost.

Then how to purify these kinds of unclean mutawassithoh? It is explained how to purify various kinds of mutawassithohnajis, simply by running water over the object that is najis.

Unclean ‘Ainiyah

Various kinds of mutawassithohnajis such as ‘ainiyah are believed to still have a substance or one of its characteristics such as smell, color, and taste. Then how to purify these kinds of unclean mutawassithoh?

The way to purify these kinds of mutawassithoh unclean is by washing (removing) the substance, smell, color, and taste. If the odor and color are difficult to remove by scraping, rubbing or washing with soap, then the law is forgiven.

Shaykh As Sa’di explained that:

“NajisMutawassithoh when he can be lost in any way, with any tool, then that is enough to purify him. Without the requirement for the number of numbers and do not have to use water. This is shown by Zahir Nash the arguments. Because the Shari’a in this case only commands to remove najis. And the najis is sometimes removed by using water, sometimes by washing it, sometimes by istijmar (using stones, wood, and the like), and sometimes by other means. And the Shari’a does not command to remove the najis seven times, except for the najis of dogs. As well as this opinion is also common from the texts of syar’i arguments, because this opinion has a high conformity with the texts. Because the removal of najis is the removal of something that is human (can be sensed).”