Mini course in fiqh according to the school of Imam Malik - Part 2

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العلمين

وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم

This and the following parts of the series are the notes from durus given to our group of tijani sufis in Copenhagen on ritual purification and prayer. The purpose of these lessons is not to teach people how to do ablution and how to pray. In the durus I will, in sha Allah, break down the basic elements our daily rituals into what is obligatory, what is sunnah and what is fadail.

The intention behind this series of talks is to facilitate and make things easier for practicing Muslims. If you ask me why? I say: What do you do if you wake up 5 minutes before sunrise? You answer that. If you can't answer, you should really read the simple teachings that follows this introduction.

I pray Allah subhanau wa ta'ala to forgive me mistakes in this effort. I ask Him to grant us beneficial knowledge and the ability to act according to our knowledge. Amin.

After this small introduction, we turn our attention to the issues for today: Categories of Shariah rulings and Types of water.

Types of rulings in the Shari'ah

All human actions and all objects in the world fit into one of the five rulings of Sacred Law:

Fard/wajib – فرض/ واجب

Necessary/Obligatory

You are rewarded for doing it and punished for neglecting it.

Example: The 5 canonical prayers, paying zakah etc.

Mustahab – مستحب

Recommended.

You are rewarded for doing it, but its nonperformance is not punished,

Example: Making dhikr or recite Quran during wudu – obviously not done in the bathroom. Men covering their head during prayer, wearing a robe covering the behind (mustahab for men and wajib for women).

Mubah – مباح

Neural.

An action for which neither reward nor punishment is perscribed. Most things are neutral – it is just allowed – except otherwise is specified.

Example: Eating and drinking – except the prohibited. However, if you eat and drink with the intention of strengthening yourself to worship it becomes Mustahab. Taking a shower. Go for a walk in the park.

Makruh – مكرو

Detested.

It's performance are not punished, but you are rewarded for avoiding it intentionally.

Example: For men it is makruh to pray without a head covering (kufi, turban etc). Using dispensable paper cups (this is because of the waste and wasting can lead to arrogance).

Haram – حرام

Prohibited.

You my be punished for doing it, or rewarded if you avoid with intention (niyyah)

Example: Drinking wine, fornication, unjustly killing, smoking, etc.

Note;

Learn these categories of rulings well. Their importance become clear and important when we go into the practical matter, such as purification an prayer.

Types of water

We can divide water into 3 categories;

1. Pure and purifying – طهور (tahoor)
   Water of this type is characterized by no change in taste, smell or colour. If any if these properties has changed by a clean substance, the water are still pure and can be used for drinking, cooking, regular washing, and other “very day use ('adat)”, but CANNOT be used for tahara (religious purification), i.e. wudu or ghusl.
   
   
   One exemption is substances that are characterized as a part of water. Redish colour from rust is inseparable for the water, i.e. the rusty iron originating from the ground is or a brownish colour of river water is considered a part of water. The same ruling pertains to clorinated water; first, the clorine is inseparable from tap water, second it's added for health purposes.
   
   
2. Water which is changed by a clean substance, by a classified as طهير (tahir) but not طهور (tahoor). In other words, it is pure but not purifying and can only be used 'adat.
   
   
3. Water that is mixed with an impurity (a dead animal, blood, urine, faeces, just to mention a few examples) cannot be used for any human purposes and has to be discarded.