Chapter: The Obligation of Purification

23 - Issue: He said: "The obligation of purification is pure water and the removal of the hadath (impurity)."

By "pure" (tahir), he intended "purifying" (tahur). We have already mentioned previously that purification is not valid except with purifying water. By "the removal of the hadath," he meant istinja' (cleaning the private parts) with water or stones. It is appropriate that this be restricted to the state of the existence of the hadath, just as the requirement of purification is restricted to the state of its existence. He labeled these two as obligations because they are among the conditions of wudu', and the conditions of a thing are obligatory for it; and the obligatory is the same as the fard (obligatory), according to one of the two narrations.

The apparent meaning of Al-Khiraqi’s words is the requirement of istinja' for the validity of wudu'. Thus, if one performs wudu' before istinja', it is not valid, like tayammum. The second narration is that wudu' before istinja' is valid, and one then removes the impurity with stones afterwards, or washes his private part with a barrier between it and his hands, without touching the private part. This narration is more correct, and it is the madhhab (school of thought) of Al-Shafi'i, because it is the removal of a filth (najasah), so it is not a condition for the validity of purification, just as if it were on a part other than the private part.

As for tayammum before istijmar (cleaning with stones), the Qadi said: It is not valid under any circumstances, because tayammum does not remove the hadath, but rather [it makes prayer permissible], and for one who has filth that he is able to remove, prayer is not permissible for him; therefore, the intention of making [prayer] permissible is not valid, like tayammum before the time [for prayer]. The Qadi said: There is another view, which is that it is valid, because tayammum is a purification, so it resembles the purification of wudu', and being prevented from permissibility due to another impediment does not undermine the validity of the tayammum, just as if one performed tayammum in a place where one is forbidden from praying, or if one performed tayammum while there was filth on one's garment or body, other than the private part. [Ibn 'Aqil said: If the filth were on a place other than the private part of his body, it is as if it were on the private part]; for...