Purification from Impurities

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If a dog drinks from the utensil of anyone of you it is essential to wash it seven times."

Once the Prophet, while passing through one of the graveyards of Medina or Mecca heard the voices of two persons who were being tortured in their graves. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "These two persons are being tortured not for a major sin (to avoid)." The Prophet (ﷺ) then added, "Yes! (they are being tortured for a major sin). Indeed, one of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine while the other used to go about with calumnies (to make enmity between friends). The Prophet (ﷺ) then asked for a green leaf of a date-palm tree, broke it into two pieces and put one on each grave. On being asked why he had done so, he replied, "I hope that their torture might be lessened, till these get dried."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said as above (219).

(the mother of faithful believers) A child was brought to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and it urinated on the garment of the Prophet. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked for water and poured it over the soiled place.

Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari used to lay great stress on the question of urination and he used to say, "If anyone from Bani Israel happened to soil his clothes with urine, he used to cut that portion away." Hearing that, Hudhaifa said to Abu Wail, "I wish he (Abu Musa) didn't (lay great stress on that matter)." Hudhaifa added, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went to the dumps of some people and urinated while standing."

He who draws the sword against us is not of us.

I have no concern with one with whom the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has no concern, Verily the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has no concern with that woman who wails loudly, shaves her hair and tears (her garment in grief).

Don't you know? -and narrated to her: Verily the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: I have no concern with one who shaved her hair, lamented loudly and tore (her clothes in grief).

Three are the (persons) with whom Allah would neither speak on the Day of Resurrection, nor would look at them nor would absolve the and there is a painful chastisement for them. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) repeated it three times. Abu Dharr remarked: They failed and they lost; who are these persons, Messenger of Allah? Upon this he (the Holy) Prophet) observed: They are: the dragger of lower garment, the recounter of obligation the seller of goods by false oath.

Three are the persons with whom Allah would not speak on the Day of Resurrection: the bestower of gift who does not give anything but by laying obligation on him, the seller of goods who sells them by taking false oath and one who hangs low his lower garment.

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about water and how some animals and carnivorous beasts might drink from it. He said: 'If the water is more than two Qullahs, it will not carry filth.'"[1] [1]It comes with some explanation in Sunan At Timidhi 'Abdah (one of the narrators) said: "Muhammad bin Ishaq said: 'A Qullah refers to Jirar (These are two nouns describing large casks that are used to hold water), and a Qullah is the thing that drinking water is held in."' At-Tirmidhi said: "This is the saying of Ash Shafa'i, Ahmad and Ishaq. They say that when the water is two Qullahs then nothing makes it impure, as long as it does not change its smell, and its taste. And they say, it is approximately fifty Qirbahs (waterskins)."

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'If a dog licks the vessel of any one of you, let him wash it seven times.'"

"I heard Umm Qais bint Mihsan say that she asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about menstrual blood that gets on one's clothes. He said: 'Scratch it with a stick and wash it with water and lotus leaves.'"

It was narrated from Umm Qais bin Mihsan that she brought a small son of hers who has not started eating food to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took him in his lap and he urinated on his garment, so he called for some water and sprinkled it on it, but he did not wash it.

The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: The purification of the utensil belonging to any one of you, after it has been licked by a dog, consists of washing it seven times, using sand in the first instance.

Abu Dawud said : A similar tradition has been narrated by Abu Ayyub and Habib b. al-Shahid on the authority of Muhammad.

Umm Qais daughter of Mihsan reported that she came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with her little son who had not attained the age of eating food. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) seated him in his lap, and he urinated on his clothe. He sent for water and sprayed it (over his clothe) and did not wash it.

A bedouin entered the mosque while the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sitting. He offered two rak'ahs of prayer, according to the version of Ibn 'Abdah. He then said: O Allah, have mercy on me and on Muhammad and do not have mercy on anyone along with us. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: You have narrowed down (a thing) that was broader. After a short while he passed a water in the corner of the mosque. The people rushed towards him. The Prophet (ﷺ) prevented them and said: You have been sent to facilitate and not create difficulties. Pour a bucket of water upon it.

I used to sleep in the mosque in the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when I was young and bachelor. The dogs would urinate frequently visit the mosque, and no one would sprinkle over it.

"I entered upon the Prophet with a son of mine who was not yet eating food. He urinated on him, so he called for water which he sprinkled over it."

the Prophet said: "Wash the vessel the dog has drunk from seven times: the first or the last of them with dirt. And when the cat drinks out of it, wash it once."

"Kabshah bint Ka'b bin Malik - she was (married) with Ibn Abi Qatadah - narrated "That Abu Qatadah visited her, [so she said:] 'So I poured water for him to use for Wudu.' She said: 'A cat came to drink, so he lowered he container until it drank.' Kabshah said: 'So he saw me looking at it and said, "O my niece! Are you surprised at that?" So I said yes. He said: "Indeed Allah's Messenger said 'It is not impure, it is only one of those roam around among you.'"

a woman asked the Prophet about a garment that was touched by some menstrual blood. So Allah's Messenger said: "Remove it, and scrub it, then rinse it and pray in it"

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'When anyone of you performs ablution and does it well, then he comes to the mosque for no other purpose than prayer, he does not take one step but Allah will raise him one degree (in status) thereby, and remove one sin from him thereby, until he enters the mosque.'"

"I saw the Messenger of Allah performing ablution, and he wiped his head once."

The Messenger of Allah performed ablution and he wiped his head and his ears, inside and out.

He saw Sa'd bin Malik wiping over his leather socks and said: "Is it you doing this?" They both went to 'Umar and Sa'd said to 'Umar: "Give my brother's son a verdict regarding wiping over leather socks." 'Umar said: "We used to wipe over our leather socks when we were with the Messenger of Allah and we do not see anything wrong with that." Ibn 'Umar said: "Even if that is after one has defecated?" He said: "Yes."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The reward for Salat performed by a person in congregation is more than 20 times greater than that of the Salat performed in one's house or shop. When one performs Wudu' perfectly and then proceeds to the mosque with the sole intention of performing Salat, then for every step he takes towards the mosque, he is upgraded one degree in reward and one of his sins is eliminated until he enters the mosque, and when he enters the mosque, he is considered as performing Salat as long as it is the Salat which prevents him (from leaving the mosque); and the angels keep on supplicating Allah for him as long as he remains in his place of prayer. They say: 'O Allah! have mercy on him; O Allah! forgive his sins; O Allah! accept his repentance'. This will carry on as long as he does not pass wind".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Turn you people in repentance to Allah and beg pardon of Him. I turn to Him in repentance a hundred times a day".

[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Allah, the Exalted, will continue to stretch out His Hand in the night so that the sinners of the day may repent, and continue to stretch His Hand in the daytime so that the sinners of the night may repent, until the sun rises from the west".

[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah accepts a slave's repentance as long as the latter is not on his death bed (that is, before the soul of the dying person reaches the throat)".

[At-Tirmidhi, who categorised it as Hadith Hasan].

I heard Ka'b bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) narrating the story of his remaining behind instead of joining Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he left for the battle of Tabuk. Ka'b said: "I accompanied Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in every expedition which he undertook excepting the battle of Tabuk and the battle of Badr. As for the battle of Badr, nobody was blamed for remaining behind as Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the Muslims, when they set out, had in mind only to intercept the caravan of the Quraish. Allah made them confront their enemies unexpectedly. I had the honour of being with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the night of 'Aqabah when we pledged our allegiance to Islam and it was dearer to me than participating in the battle of Badr, although Badr was more well-known among the people than that. And this is the account of my staying behind from the battle of Tabuk. I never had better means and more favourable circumstances than at the time of this expedition. And by Allah, I had never before possessed two riding-camels as I did during the time of this expedition. Whenever Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) decided to go on a campaign, he would not disclose his real destination till the last moment (of departure). But on this expedition, he set out in extremely hot weather; the journey was long and the terrain was waterless desert; and he had to face a strong army, so he informed the Muslims about the actual position so that they should make full preparation for the campaign. And the Muslims who accompanied Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at that time were in large number but no proper record of them was maintained." Ka'b (further) said: "Few were the persons who chose to remain absent believing that they could easily hide themselves (and thus remain undetected) unless Revelation from Allah, the Exalted, and Glorious (revealed relating to them). And Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) set out on this expedition when the fruit were ripe and their shade was sought. I had a weakness for them and it was during this season that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the Muslims made preparations. I also would set out in the morning to make preparations along with them but would come back having done nothing and said to myself: 'I have means enough (to make preparations) as soon as I like'. And I went on doing this (postponing my preparations) till the time of departure came and it was in the morning that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) set out along with the Muslims, but I had made no preparations. I would go early in the morning and come back, but with no decision. I went on doing so until they (the Muslims) hastened and covered a good deal of distance. Then I wished to march on and join them. Would that I had done that! But perhaps it was not destined for me. After the departure of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) whenever I went out, I was grieved to find no good example to follow but confirmed hypocrites or weak people whom Allah had exempted (from marching forth for Jihad). Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made no mention of me until he reached Tabuk. While he was sitting with the people in Tabuk, he said, 'What happened to Ka'b bin Malik?' A person from Banu Salimah said: "O Messenger of Allah, the (beauty) of his cloak and an appreciation of his finery have detained him.' Upon this Mu'adh bin Jabal (MatAllah be pleased with him) admonished him and said to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "By Allah, we know nothing about him but good.' Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), however, kept quiet. At that time he (the Prophet (ﷺ)) saw a person dressed in white and said, 'Be Abu Khaithamah.' And was Abu Khaithamah Al- Ansari was the person who had contributed a Sa' of dates and was ridiculed by the hypocrites." Ka'b bin Malik further said: "When the news reached me that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was on his way back from Tabuk, I was greatly distressed. I thought of fabricating an excuse and asked myself how I would save myself from his anger the next day. In this connection, I sought the counsels of every prudent member of my family. When I was told that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was about to arrive, all the wicked ideas vanished (from my mind) and I came to the conclusion that nothing but the truth could save me. So I decided to tell him the truth. It was in the morning that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) arrived in Al-Madinah. It was his habit that whenever he came back from a journey, he would first go to the mosque and perform two Rak'ah (of optional prayer) and would then sit with the people. When he sat, those who had remained behind him began to put forward their excuses and take an oath before him. They were more than eighty in number. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) accepted their excuses on the very face of them and accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and left their insights to Allah, until I appeared before him. I greeted him and he smiled and there was a tinge of anger in that. He then said to me, 'Come forward'. I went forward and I sat in front of him. He said to me, 'What kept you back? Could you not afford to go in for a ride?' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, if I were to sit before anybody else, a man of the world, I would have definitely saved myself from his anger on one pretext or the other and I have a gifted skill in argumentation, but, by Allah, I am fully aware that if I were to put forward before you a lame excuse to please you, Allah would definitely provoke your wrath upon me. In case, I speak the truth, you may be angry with me, but I hope that Allah would be pleased with me (and accept my repentance). By Allah, there is no valid excuse for me. By Allah, I never possessed so good means, and I never had such favourable conditions for me as I had when I stayed behind.' Thereupon, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'This man spoke the truth, so get up (and wait) until Allah gives a decision about you.' I left and some people of Banu Salimah followed me. They said to me, 'By Allah, we do not know that you committed a sin before. You, however, showed inability to put forward an excuse before Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) like those who stayed behind him. It would have been enough for the forgiveness of your sin that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would have sought forgiveness for you.' By Allah, they kept on reproaching me until I thought of going back to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and retract my confession. Then I said to them, 'Has anyone else met the same fate?' They said, 'Yes, two persons have met the same fate. They made the same statement as you did and the same verdict was delivered in their case.' I asked, 'Who are they?' They said, 'Murarah bin Ar-Rabi' Al-'Amri and Hilal bin Umaiyyah Al- Waqifi.' They mentioned these two pious men who had taken part in the battle of Badr and there was an example for me in them. I was confirmed in my original resolve. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited the Muslims to talk to the three of us from amongst those who had stayed behind. The people began to avoid us and their attitude towards us changed and it seemed as if the whole atmosphere had turned against us, and it was in fact the same atmosphere of which I was fully aware and in which I had lived (for a fairly long time). We spent fifty nights in this very state and my two friends confined themselves within their houses and spent (most of their) time weeping. As I was the youngest and the strongest, I would leave my house, attend the congregational Salat, move about in the bazaars, but none would speak to me. I would come to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as he sat amongst (people) after the Salat, greet him and would ask myself whether or not his lips moved in response to my greetings. Then I would perform Salat near him and look at him stealthily. When I finish my Salat, he would look at me and when I would cast a glance at him he would turn away his eyes from me. When the harsh treatment of the Muslims to me continued for a (considerable) length of time, I walked and I climbed upon the wall of the garden of Abu Qatadah, who was my cousin, and I had a great love for him. I greeted him but, by Allah, he did not answer to my greeting. I said to him, 'O Abu Qatadah, I adjure you in the Name of Allah, are you not aware that I love Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ)?' I asked him the same question again but he remained silent. I again adjured him, whereupon he said, 'Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) know better.' My eyes were filled with tears, and I came back climbing down the wall.





As I was walking in the bazaars of Al-Madinah, a man from the Syrian peasants, who had come to sell food grains in Al-Madinah, asked people to direct him to Ka'b bin Malik. People pointed towards me. He came to me and delivered a letter from the King of Ghassan, and as I was a scribe, I read that letter whose purport was: 'It has been conveyed to us that your friend (the Prophet (ﷺ)) was treating you harshly. Allah has not created you for a place where you are to be degraded and where you cannot find your right place; so come to us and we shall receive you graciously.' As I read that letter I said: 'This is too a trial,' so I put it to fire in an oven. When forty days had elapsed and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) received no Revelation, there came to me a messenger of the Messenger of Allah and said, 'Verily, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has commanded you to keep away from your wife.' I said, 'Should I divorce her or what else should I do?' He said, 'No, but only keep away from her and don't have sexual contact with her.' The same message was sent to my companions. So, I said to my wife: 'You better go to your parents and stay there with them until Allah gives the decision in my case.' The wife of Hilal bin Umaiyyah came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, Hilal bin Umaiyyah is a senile person and has no servant. Do you disapprove if I serve him?' He said, 'No, but don't let him have any sexual contact with you.' She said, 'By Allah, he has no such desire left in him. By Allah, he has been in tears since (this calamity) struck him.' Members of my family said to me, 'You should have sought permission from Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in regard to your wife. He has allowed the wife of Hilal bin Umaiyyah to serve him.' I said, 'I would not seek permission from Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for I do not know what Messenger of Allah might say in response to that, as I am a young man'. It was in this state that I spent ten more nights and thus fifty days had passed since people boycotted us and gave up talking to us. After I had offered my Fajr prayer on the early morning of the fiftieth day of this boycott on the roof of one of our houses, and had sat in the very state which Allah described as: 'The earth seemed constrained for me despite its vastness', I heard the voice of a proclaimer from the peak of the hill Sal' shouting at the top of his voice: 'O Ka'b bin Malik, rejoice.' I fell down in prostration and came to know that there was (a message of) relief for me. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had informed the people about the acceptance of our repentance by Allah after he had offered the Fajr prayer. So the people went on to give us glad tidings and some of them went to my companions in order to give them the glad tidings. A man spurred his horse towards me (to give the good news), and another one from the tribe of Aslam came running for the same purpose and, as he approached the mount, I received the good news which reached me before the rider did. When the one whose voice I had heard came to me to congratulate me, I took off my garments and gave them to him for the good news he brought to me. By Allah, I possessed nothing else (in the form of clothes) except these garments, at that time. Then I borrowed two garments, dressed myself and came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) On my way, I met groups of people who greeted me for (the acceptance of) repentance and they said: 'Congratulations for acceptance of your repentance.' I reached the mosque where Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sitting amidst people. Talhah bin 'Ubaidullah got up and rushed towards me, shook hands with me and greeted me. By Allah, no person stood up (to greet me) from amongst the Muhajirun besides him." Ka'b said that he never forgot (this good gesture of) Talhah. Ka'b further said: "I greeted Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with 'As-salamu 'alaikum' and his face was beaming with pleasure. He (ﷺ) said, 'Rejoice with the best day you have ever seen since your mother gave you birth. 'I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Is this (good news) from you or from Allah?' He said, 'No, it is from Allah.' And it was common with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that when ever he was happy, his face would glow as if it were a part of the moon and it was from this that we recognized it (his delight). As I sat before him, I said, I have placed a condition upon myself that if Allah accepts my Taubah, I would give up all of my property in charity for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ)!' Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'Keep some property with you, as it is better for you.' I said, 'I shall keep with me that portion which is in Khaibar'. I added: 'O Messenger of Allah! Verily, Allah has granted me salvation because of my truthfulness, and therefore, repentance obliges me to speak nothing but the truth as long as I am alive." Ka'b added: "By Allah, I do not know anyone among the Muslims who has been granted truthfulness better than me since I said this to the Prophet (ﷺ). By Allah! Since the time I made a pledge of this to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I have never intended to tell a lie, and I hope that Allah would protect me (against telling lies) for the rest of my life. Allah, the Exalted, the Glorious, revealed these Verses:





'Allah has forgiven the Prophet (ﷺ), the Muhajirun (Muslim Emigrants who left their homes and came to Al-Madinah) and the Ansar (Muslims of Al- Madinah) who followed him (Muhammad (ﷺ)) in the time of distress (Tabuk expedition), after the hearts of a party of them had nearly deviated (from the Right Path), but He accepted their repentance. Certainly, He is unto them full of kindness, Most Merciful. And (He did forgive also) the three who did not join

[the Tabuk expedition and whose case was deferred (by the Prophet (ﷺ)) for Allah's Decision] till for them the earth, vast as it is, was straitened and their ownselves were straitened to them, and they perceived that there is no fleeing from Allah, and no refuge but with Him. Then, He forgave them (accepted their repentance), that they might beg for His Pardon

[repent (unto Him)]. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful. O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in word and deeds)." (9:117,118).





Ka'b said: "By Allah, since Allah guided me to Islam, there has been no blessing more significant for me than this truth of mine which I spoke to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and if I were to tell a lie I would have been ruined as were ruined those who had told lies, for Allah described those who told lies with the worst description He ever attributed to anybody else, as He sent down the Revelation:





They will swear by Allah to you (Muslims) when you return to them, that you may turn away from them. So turn away from them. Surely, they are Rijsun

[i.e., Najasun (impure) because of their evil deeds], and Hell is their dwelling place - a recompense for that which they used to earn. They (the hypocrites) swear to you (Muslims) that you may be pleased with them, but if you are pleased with them, certainly Allah is not pleased with the people who are Al- Fa'siqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)". (9:95,96)





Ka'b further added: "The matter of the three of us remained pending for decision apart from the case of those who had made excuses on oath before Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he accepted those, took fresh oaths of allegiance from them and supplicated for their forgiveness. The Prophet (ﷺ) kept our matter pending till Allah decided it. The three whose matter was deferred have been shown mercy. The reference here is not to our staying back from the expedition but to his delaying our matter and keeping it pending beyond the matter of those who made their excuses on oath which he accepted".







[Al- Bukhari and Muslim]





Another version adds: "Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) set out for Tabuk on Thursday. He used to prefer to set out on journey on Thursday." Another version says: "Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to come back from a journey in the early forenoon and went straight to the mosque where he would perform two Rak'ah prayer. Afterwards he would seat himself there".