Lesson Ten - Meaning & Virtues of Whudu. and Obligatory acts of Whudu.

Meaning of Whudu

The literal meaning of Whudu is to shine, beauty, excellence, cleanliness. The reason this process is named 'Whudu' is because the person who does complete whudu with sincerity, the body parts will shine in this world and hereafter. A Hadith to backup this evidence is that a person came to the prophet and asked him how will you recognize your Ummah/followers the Prophet said "from the effects of their whudu". (it will be shining).

The technical/Islamic meaning of Whudu is to use of water on particular parts of the body in a specified manner.

Meaning of Whudu - Ablution and Wadhu with a Fatah means leftover water from whudu.

Is whudu specific for this Ummah?

Whudu is not specific for this ummah as it was also prescribed for previous Ummats (the incident of Sarah) however, compared to other ummahs this Ummah has a special connection to it. Furthermore, the shining parts on the day of qiyamah is a specific for this ummah. It will be a sign of distinction from the other Ummahs. hence, it is a blessing.

Virtues for doing whudu:

Hadith: Narrated by Abu Huraira that I heard the Prophet say “Verily my ummah will be called on the day of judgement with their foreheads and limbs shining, due to the effects of whudu. Whoever has the ability from you to lenghten the whiteness (Nur) should do so through ablution ( Bukhari 136 & Musklim, 35)

Prophet visited a graveyard. The companions asked how will you recognize us on the day of judgement, the Prophet replied tell me if a person was to own a horse with white marking on the forehead and leg. If this horse was to stand among horses of a black colour ,will the horse with the white mark be recognized. they replied yes. The Prophet said, the same why my ummah will be recognized. (Explained in more detail in a hadith mentioned by Muslim, 39)

Abu Huraira narrates I heard my best friend the Prophet say on the day of judgement the light of a believer shall extend to as far as his ablution reaches. (Muslim,40 Ahmed 2/371)

Narrated by Uthman ibn Affan that the Prophet said, Whoever does whudu propely sins will fall from the body until sins will fall from the fingertips. (Muslim, 33) Another hadith mentions each body part individually, ending of the hadith is until he is clean from sins.

In conclusion, the following virtues of whudu can be derived from the Ahadith:

1) Body parts shining

2) Sins will be forgiven. what type of sins. minor sins as scholars say major sins are only forgiven through taubah. to have your sins forgiven there are conditions:

1) With sincerity

2) Complete whudu
3)Have a light

Wisdom behind Whudu:

A person would not go to the queen is a impure state so we are more obliged to stand in front of Allah is a pure state.

Meaning of obligation:

A command proven by an established text whose meaning is decisive and not open to interpretation. Person doing it will be rewarded and not doing will be punished. If this act is left out from a entire action then the entire action will be invalid. The person has to believing in it and not believing in it can result to disbelief and completely leaving it will be sinful.

How many faraidh in whudu

According to the Hanafi Madhab there are four Faraidh of Whudu, Sha'fee and Hanbali are of the view there are six and finally the Maliki Madhab are of the view there are seven Faraidh of Whudu.

*All agree on the four Faraidh that are mentioned in the Quran Ayah. A person should try and do a complete whudu in order to have his Whudu accepted by all Madhabs.

Meaning of Washing (Ghusal) :

Jamhoor (majority of the schoalrs ) say to completly get wet, which means that some water has to fall on the floor. Imam Yusuf say to get it damped and Imam Malik is of the opinion to wash and rub.

Masah on the Head

How much Masah on the head should be performed?

Hanafis say 1/4 equivalent to the palm after he places it on the head. it could be done any side of the head. Maliki & Hanbali are of the opinion the entire head and Lastly, Sha'fee say any part of head be it small or large.

Taking water from another part of the body will not be sufficient. Also, wiping over a turban, topi, head gear is not permissible except for extenuating circumstances. Similarly, women cannot wipe over scarf except if it is thin that the water can go through. If a women has henna or dye and does masah if the henna stays normal then the masah is valid however if it takes the color of the dye then it wont be valid.

Lesson Nine - Taharah Purfication - Page 1

The Mukhtasr of Al-Quduri

Page 1

This book is split in to two:

1. Ibaadaat - This is from page 1 – 155.
2. Mua'mlaat - This from Page 156 to 720.

The author first brings the action which concern Ibadaat. Ibadat are those actions which are directly link to Allah. For instance, Salah, Zakah, Hajj etc. These actions are important for the salvation of the hereafter.

Mua'mlaat are those chapter which concern an individual to another individual.For instance, Transactions, Nikah etc. So, for this reason the author brought the chapter of purification as this worship is directly done for Allah and from all the Ibadaat acts it is a per-requites for other worships.

Now, within the the Book of Ibaadat, there are many chapters. For instance, chapter of Salah, Jum'uah, Prayer of two Ids, funeral prayer etc. From all these chapters the author brings the chapter which is most important, is Purification.

Book/Chapter of Taharah

What is the main purpose of a chapter?

• There are 62 chapters in this book.
• A chapter usually gives the reader an idea of what is forthcoming.
• The entire chapter will be regarding 'Purification', this will be the focal point.
• Chapters helps to find rulings easily.
• Organizes the books in orderly fashion.
• Who was the first author to organize the books in chapters?
• This was one of the reason many student would follow the Madhab of those the books were organized in good fashion.
• Recognising the reason why the author brings the chapter at a certain place is a interesting field.
• Predecessors would spend days analysing and thinking why the author has brought the chapter in a certain place. (E.G. Mufti Shabbir's Lecture)

Taharah means:

• Purity, Purification, to purify, to cleanse.
• Technical meaning of Tahrah is 1) remove dirt f& filth 2) cleaning specific parts of the body

• The root word is Ta – Ha – Ra is: to become pure, to be free from dirt, to become clear.

Different meanings of Taharah (Mentioned 24 times in the Quran)

Mentioned in the Qur'an: (2:25) “ In (heaven) will be clean/purified wives” (2:125) “Ibrahim & Ismaeel cleaned the Ka'ba (from idols)

Also check (2:222) (3:15) (3:42) (5:41) (7:82) (8:11) (9:103) (9:108) (11:78) (22:26) (33:33) (33:53) (56:79)(58:12) (74:4) (80:14) (98:2).

All are mentioned in different context. Pick two or three and next week bring translation and explain which context the word 'Tahara' is used.

Is the word Taharah mentioned in the Hadith?

 “Whenever the Prophet would go and visit someone who was ill, he would say, “Be of a good cheer, the illness will serve as a purifier”. (Muslim)

In another hadith, the Prophet said, “Cleasiness is half of faith”.(Muslim)

Why is Tahrah considered half of faith?

Now that Taharah is explain, the question arises what does a person has to be clean from? 

From an Islamic point of view there is two impurities a person is to be clean from, 1) Outer impurity 2) Inner impurity. Which is explained in detail below.

Outer Impurity

1. Being clean from outer impurity is taharah such as stool, blood and urine and its Opposite is Najasah which means unclean, impure, dirty. (Mentioned only once in the Quran)

As Allah says in the Qur'an, “O you who bieleve, truly the pagans are unclean” (Najas)

Inner Impurity

2. Being clean from the inner impurity such as jealousy, backbiting and arrogance is Taqwa and its opposite is ithm (Sin).

As Islam considers both the inner and outer aspect, Taharah holds an important place in Islam for this reason it is considered half of faith.

Different types of Taharah:

Najasah Galeeza/Kabath

One is to remove actual impurity which is called Najas Galeeza/Kabath. This is to clean solid impurity or that impurity which you can see. Such as blood, stool, urine, wine etc. The technical meaning is Najas/Kabath is referred to those “psychical  substances which are deemed unclean in Islamic terms”.

Najasa Muhasa/Hadath

One is to remove ritual impurity which is called Hadath/Najas Muhassha. It refers to that impurity which cannot be seen or to abstract matters. For instance, after the sexual intercourse, the person is in the state of Hadath although no impurity can be visually seen but the person is impure and not allowed to perform the ritual prayer. In simpler terms, Hadath is that state in which a person is in need of a minor or major ablution. (For entire discussion check Fiqh Ala Madahib Arab'a)

More details will come on Page 23 Insha'Allah.

What will we learn in the chapter Taharah?

• Whudu
• Ghusl
• Water
• Tayamum
• Masah over socks
• Hayd – Menses
• Impurities and their cleaning

Think how these chapters are linked to the chapter of Taharah.

Why did the author bring this chapter first?

The Prophet said “ The key to Salah is Purification (Tirmidhi)

Without purification, no Islamic action can be deemed valid.

What other authors have brought this chapter?

In terms of Hadith books, the chapter of Purification is not always mentioned first. However, Imam Tirmidhi brings the chapter of Purification first. Why?

In terms of Fiqh books, the chapter of Purfication is majority of the time brought first.

Key Words of today's lesson: Tahrah + Najasa, Taqwa + Ithm +  Najasah Galeeza + Kabath, Najasah Muhasa + Hadath

Lesson Eight - Introduction to the Mukhtasr of Al Quduri

Introduction to Mukhtasr Al Quduri

Name of Book: Mukhtasr of Al- Quduri

Author Name: Abu Hasan Al Muhammed bin Ahmed Bin Muhmmed bin Ja’far Al Quduri Al Baghdadi commonly known by his Nisbah (Surname) of Al- Quduri.

Birth Year: 362AH/973CE

Death: 428AH/1037CE

Chains to the Prophet: 14 Chains from Him to the Prophet. 8 chains from him to Imam Abu Hanifa

Teachers: Muhammed bin Yahya bin Mahdi al Jurjaani (398 A.H) who was the student of Imam Jasas.

Meaning of Mukhtasr: Concise Handbook of a treatise characterized by neatness and clarity. Originated from the Abbassid Period. Created as a facility to the quick training of lawyers without the use of lengthy volumes, but it is a fundamental of Islamic Law for a layman.

Meaning of Quduri: Qidr means Pot in which the Plural is Quduri, either derived because of a family profession of  selling pots or towards his home town called Qudurah.

The Mukhtasar of Al- Quduri is a foundational text in Hanafi Fiqh scholarship.  It was designed as a textbook for the incipient legal curricula in Iraq and Syria. Many later Hanafi texts are in forms of commentary of the Mukhtsar. Some scholars would write commentary on the entire text or phrases from Quduri. As today Qudoori holds a important place in Hanafi Fiqh scholarship. It is used as a primary textbook in many Islamic institution. For students in  Egypt, Pakistan, Yemen, India, England and Morocco.

Qudoori contains  the opinions of three main authorities from the Hanafi school (Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammed) from the 7th/8th century. Upon occasion, Quduri mentions the three or four authorities and their respected opinions on the ruling.

Hidaya by Marginani(593/1197) is a commentary on the Mukhtasar and explains Al Quduri's entire word for word. However, Marginani have change the content of the his book,  for instance he brings the chapter of marriage law and personal law before commercial law which is different to Al Quduri.  By relaying of the text of Marginani he makes the Quduri into a sort of canonical text.

Another different stance Marginani chose was to bring primary evidence (Quran & Ahaadith) and other authoritative views to prove  rulings, something Al Quduri did not do. As proven in the chapter of purification, Al Quduri mentions only two primary evidence to prove a ruling. Moreover, Marginani would not only bring the source and opinions however, he shows the different way the text was interpreted by the authorities.

How the commentaries format has changed over years 
The beginning of sixth century mainly focused on explaining the reason for the choices represented by the earlier opinions. Seventh century on wards, several generations of commentaries on Muktasar Al Quduri and Hidaya can be found. However, there are many unpublished commentaries on the Muktasar of Al -Quduri, as Wheeler (2003) mentions 10 commentaries written in the early generation which have not yet been published but can be found in libraries in Cairo, Tunis and Khairouan.

Brief points about the Book:

• Abridged
• Daily routine rules,
• Without citing evidence,
• Includes everything which scholars deem important
• 2,500 issues,
• 63 chapters
• 20 books,
• Taught for centuries across the worlds more than 1000 years,
• Considered a classic in Hanafi Fiqh,
• Main aim of book: is to provide a basic manual and do's and don’t to enable people to grasp the din and remember as easy as possible,
• Complicated because of conflicting phrases and value ambiguity in the text. Hence, a guide is needed.

Translation are available, however, they contain minor additions, omission, structure change, borrowed text from other editions of quduri and the translator may bring his own subheading and footnotes.

Book structure

Not written in fluent style but in hukm and conditions

Command to ‘do’

Command to refrain

Command ‘do’