Purity in Islamic Jurisprudence (11)

Conclusion of the Chapter on Purifying Agents (al-Mutahhirat): Miscellaneous, Contemporary, and Practical Issues

With the examination of the twelve official purifying agents concluded in previous issues, the chapter on Mutahhirat closes with this section. In conclusion to this topic, a collection of miscellaneous, emerging (contemporary), and highly practical issues in modern life – including rulings on organ transplantation, medical equipment, sewage blockages, cleaning technologies, and chemical transformation (istihalah) in foodstuffs – is presented, based on the common consensus and divergences of Grand Maraj’e Shaheed Khamenei, Sistani, and Makarem Shirazi.

Jurisprudential Criteria and Legal Rulings

A) Organ Transplants and Medical Equipment

• Transplantation of animal or human organs into the body: If an organ from a deceased human or an animal (even an intrinsically impure animal such as a pig) is transplanted into a patient’s body, fuses with it, and acquires human life (being considered part of the body), it is ritually pure (tahir), and performing prayers with it is valid.
• Contaminated medical equipment and instruments: Sterilising surgical or dental instruments with alcohol, gas, radiation, or autoclaves (pressurised hot steam), although completely destroying microbes, does not constitute ritual purification (tathir). For ritual purity, the physical impurity (‘ayn al-najasah), such as blood, must first be removed, and the item must subsequently be washed with water (kurr or qalil).

 B) Blocked Pipes and Sewage Backflow

• Cesspools and toilet drainage: If water from a toilet pit or sewage line backs up and contaminates the floor of a bathroom or kitchen, it is impure (najis).
• Method of purification: To purify the area, the physical impurity and sewage water must first be collected and cleared. Subsequently, by opening a mains tap (kurr water) and allowing the water to reach all contaminated spots, the location becomes completely pure, without requiring excavation or complex washing procedures.

 C) Modern Technologies and Cleaning Agents

• Steam cleaners: Hot steam alone is not a ritual purifier. If a sofa, carpet, or surface becomes impure, applying steam does not render it ritually pure, unless the steam condenses into liquid water, flows, and meets the criteria for purification with small-quantity (qalil) or kurr water.
• Alcohol, sprays, and chemical detergents: No chemical substances, alcohols, disinfectant liquids, or detergents can substitute for water in ritual purification.

Practical Notes and Differences in Edicts (Fatawa)

1) Gelatine Extracted from Pigs or Unslaughtered Animals

• Overview: Gelatine is a substance derived from animal bones or skin, used in confectionery, jelly sweets, and medicinal capsules.
• Divergence:
  • Ayatollah Shaheed Khamenei and Sistani: If it is established that gelatine was derived from a pig or an animal not ritually slaughtered, standard chemical processing does not constitute transformation (istihalah); consuming it is prohibited (haram) and impure (najis), unless its origin is unknown or its complete chemical transformation is proven.
  • Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: If gelatine undergoes a fundamental change of nature through complex chemical processes, it is deemed transformed (istihalah) and is pure and permissible (halal). Furthermore, if its origin is doubtful, it is ruled as pure and permissible.

2) Recycled Municipal Wastewater

• Ayatollah Shaheed Khamenei and Sistani: Impure wastewater that becomes clear and odourless in treatment plants via chemical agents and filters remains impure (najis) if it is not connected to kurr or flowing water during the treatment process (as mere filtration does not constitute istihalah).
• Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: If the treatment process is so intensive and chemical that conventionally (‘urfan) the essence of the wastewater is considered transformed and a new water is generated, it becomes pure; otherwise, it must be connected to kurr water.

3) Industrial and Medical Alcohols

• Consensus of all three authorities: All industrial and medical alcohols, disinfectant sprays, and perfumes are pure, and using them on the body or clothing presents no barrier to prayer (unless one is certain that the alcohol was derived directly from impure wine).

Pedagogical, Ethical, and Rational Messages

• Distinction between “medical hygiene” and “ritual purity”: While fully respecting medical hygiene and sterilisation, Islamic jurisprudence preserves the boundaries of ritual purity based on human connection with natural elements (such as water).
• Human dignity and saving life: Ruling transplanted organs as pure (even from a pig) once they acquire human life demonstrates the priority of preserving human life and facilitating the treatment of severe illnesses.
• Eliminating urban obsessive doubt (waswas): Aligning purification rulings with modern plumbing and building drainage systems prevents hardship (haraj) and unnecessary anxiety in modern apartment living.

Frequently Asked Questions

A) If a dentist uses a needle or instrument that has become blood-stained and then places it in an autoclave, is it ritually pure for the next patient?

Hygenically and medically, it is completely sterile, but if it was not washed with water before or after autoclaving, it lacks ritual purity (tathir). However, unless the next patient is certain of the instrument’s impurity, their obligation is simply to presume it is pure.

 B) If impure clothing is sent to a dry cleaner, is it returned ritually pure?

If the dry cleaner cleans the garment using chemical solvents without washing it in kurr water, the clothing does not become ritually pure. However, if you consider it probable that it was washed with kurr water at some stage, the garment is deemed pure, and questioning or investigating is unnecessary.

 C) If someone in the household suffers from severe obsessive doubt (waswas) regarding purity, what is the duty of those around them?

The obsessive person must disregard their doubts and compulsions. Furthermore, for family members and others, the obsessive individual’s behaviour is not the benchmark; all items and clothing considered impure by the obsessive person (which are pure or doubtful according to standard legal criteria) are ritually pure, and re-washing them is not required.