FIQH-UL-'IBAADAT [THE FIQH OF WORSHIP] [Lecture by sister Eman on 13/03/2012] Introduction: It's important to learn Fiqh because any acts related to any aspects of practical life of a Muslim is included in Fiqh. Learning Fiqh-ul- 'ibaadat will help us to perfect our acts of worship and it will help us to earn the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Chapter 1- TAHAARAH اطرة ( PURIFICATION) Conditions of Tahaarah/Purification: Tahaarah is important in order to perform prayers (Salaah) or to do any acts of worship. Purification is done to remove hadath and najaasah that prevents us from performing prayers or other acts of worship. HADATH- It is the state of a ritual impurity. Hadath is our acts or actions within ourselves which prevents us from performing the prayers (As-Salaat) or other acts of worship. For example: If we go to toilet to respond to the call of nature, we need to make wudhu in order to pray. We are making wudhu not because of the dirt on our clothes but because of our actions within ourselves. We consider these actions as hadath- a state of ritual impurity. Tahaarah/Purification is needed to remove or erase hadath and in order to perform the prayers or other acts of worship. There are two types of Tahaarah/purification:
RAF'AL-HADATH /Ritual Purity (IZAALATHUN-NAJAASAH ) / Removal of إزا ا dirt/elimination of filth) 1) RAF'AL-HADATH : Raf'al-hadath is to have Ritual Purity by removing or erasing the hadath through purification (Tahaarah) in order to perform the prayers (As-Salaat) or other acts of worship. For example: Raf'al-hadath/A Ritual Purity is attained through tahaarah (purifications) by means of making Wudhu/Ghusl which removes or erases hadath such as passing urine اول) - al-boul), راز) defecation -buraaz), passing wind/gas ار) - ar-reeh), sexual intercourse(jimaa'), Menstruation (Al-Haydh) and Post-Natal bleeding (An-Nifaas), which prevents us from praying or doing other acts of worship. Unless you attain Ritual Purity through purifications, you can't perform prayers. Any hadath should be removed or erased in order to pray or do other acts of worship. There are two types of hadath: 1. HADATH-UL-ASGHAR (Minor Hadath) 2. HADATH-UL-AKBAR (Major Hadath) Purification (Tahaarah) is needed to remove or erase both types of hadath, minor and major. HADATH-UL-ASGHAR (Minor Hadath): This is a state of ritual impurity/hadath like answering to the call of nature such as passing urine, defecation and passing wind/gas. This hadath prevents you from praying.
Raf'al hadath or Purification which removes hadath-ul-asghar in order to perform the prayers (Salaat) is done by making WUDHU. HADATH-UL-AKBAR (Major Hadath): This is a state of ritual impurity/hadath such as sexual intercourse, Menstruation and Post-Natal bleeding. This hadath prevents you from praying, fasting or doing other acts of worship. Raf'al-hadath or Purification which removes hadath-ul-akbar in order to perform the prayers (Salaat) or to fast or do other acts of worship is done by making GHUSL. Remember: To have RAF'AL-HADATH (Ritual Purity) through purification in order to perform the acts of worship is done by: -Making WUDHU to remove or erase HADATH-UL-ASGHAR & -Making GHUSL to remove or erase HADATH-UL-AKBAR. This is all about Raf'al-Hadath. 2) IZAALATUN-NAJAASAH (Removal of Dirt): 'Izaalah' means to remove/eliminate and 'najaasah' means dirt or filth, so Izaalatun-najaasah means 'removal of dirt'. We need to do Tahaarah (Purification) to remove the dirt and to be purified in order to perform the prayers. Najaasah or the dirt/filth which should be removed are human/animal excretions such as blood, urine, feces, vomit, sexual discharge or any kinds of najaasah like discharge/filth from dogs etc. Izaalatun-Najaasah or the removal of the dirt/filth (mentioned above) should be from 3 things:
From the body (Al-Badan) From the clothes (Al-Libaas) From the place (Al-Makaan) So for the removal of dirt/'izaalatun-najaasah from the body, clothes and place we need to do purification (tahaarah) in order to perform prayers. Therefore Raf'al-hadath and Izaalathun-Najaasah are the two types of Tahaarah which purifies us from hadath and najaasah in order to perform As-Salaat and other acts of worship. This is all about Tahaarah for today. Next week inshaallah we will talk about the different types of water.