Najis
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- This is a sub-article to Hygiene in Islam.
In Islamic law, najis (Arabic: نجس) are things or persons regarded as ritually unclean.[1] There are two kinds of najis. The essential najis which can not be cleamed and unessential najis which becomes najis contact with another najis and one of them are wet.[2]
Contact with najis things brings a Muslim into a state of ritual impurity (najasat), which requires undergoing purification before performing religious duties, such as regular prayers.
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[edit] Islamic law
According to the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, as systematised by al-Nawawi in his book Minhadj, the following things are najis: wine and other spirituous drinks, dogs, swine, dead animals that were not ritually slaughtered, blood, excrements, and milk of animals whose meat Muslims are not allowed to eat. Spirituous drinks are not impure according to the Hanafi school, while living swine are not impure according to the Malikis.[1]
To the list of impure things enumerated by al-Nawawi, Shi’a jurists traditionally add dead bodies and kafirs.[1][2] According to Ruhollah Khomeini, the entire list of things that are considered najis in Shi’ism includes: “urine, excrement, sperm, blood, a dog, a pig, bones [of a dead body], a non-Muslim man and woman, wine, beer, [and] perspiration of the camel that eats filth.”[3] Khomeini further specifies that “[t]he whole body of a non-Muslim is unclean, even his hair, his nails, and all the secretions of his body.… A child below the age of puberty is unclean if his parents and grandparents are not Muslims; but if he has a Muslim for a forebear, then he is clean.… The body, saliva, nasal secretions, and perspirations of a non-Muslim man or woman who converts to Islam automatically become pure. As for their garments, if they were in contact with the sweat of the body before their conversion, they will remain unclean.”[3]
There are discrepancies among Shi’a jurists that who is recognized as Kafir. Some of them recognize all of the non-Muslims as Kafir, but the others separate People of the Book(Christians and Jews).
Ruhollah Khomeini subscribed to the traditional view that all non-Muslims are unclean.[2] Ali al-Sistani states that Jews and the Christians who do not accept the prophethood of Muhammad "are commonly considered najis, but it is not improbable that they are Pak [that is, clean]. However, it is better to avoid them."[4] Fazel Lankarani holds that Jews and Christians are clean.[5] According to Ali Khamene'i
" The essential najasah of the Ahl al-Kitab is not established; rather, we consider them essentially clean." "... "'Ahl al-Kitab' are meant all those who profess a divine religion and consider themselves the ummah of a prophet from among the prophets of God, the Glorious and the Exalted, may peace be upon our Prophet and his progeny and upon them, and also possess a heavenly scripture from those revealed to the prophets (a), such as the Jews, the Christians, and the Zoroastrians, and similarly the Sabaeans, who, on the basis of our research, are among the Ahl al- Kitab. Therefore, the rule of Ahl al-Kitab applies to the followers of these religions, and social intercourse with them, with observance of Islamic laws and morals, is not objectionable."of Kafir, Cleanness of Ahl al-Kitab, And the Rule Concerning Other Types of Kafirs
Additionally, Shi'ites, any meat of animal which is killed in a manner other than that prescribed by Islam is najis.[6]
Najis things cannot be purified, in contradistinction to things which are defiled only (mutanajis), with the exception of wine, which becomes pure when made into vinegar, and of hides, which are purified by tanning.[1]
[edit] Sources of law
The notions of ritual impurity come mainly from the Qur'an and hadith, although academic historians believe that at least some of these beliefs are rooted in Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Dogs are not declared impure in the Qur'an; on the contrary, in the description of the sleepers in Sura 18 the dog is included (18:18, 18:22). In hadith, however, the general attitude against dogs is very strong, which may be due to conscious contrast to the estimation of dogs in Zoroastrianism. Swine and blood are declared forbidden food in the Qur'an (16:115, 6:145, 5:3, 2:173). As for excrements, and several kinds of secretions of the body, the theories and practices of Jews and Christians sufficiently explain the attitude of Islam in this respect.[1]
The human corpse was one of the chief sources of impurity according to Judaism, and the Shi'a view may be a residual of a current in early Islam tending to follow the Jewish customs in ceremonial law. The impurity of non-Muslims is based upon Qur'an 9:28, where the polytheists are declared to be filth. The Sunni schools do not follow the Shi'a interpretation of this verse.[1] Designation of non-Muslims as unclean, mostly limited to Iranian Shi'ism, may be the product of Zoroastrian influences.[2]
[edit] Application
In Persia, where Shi'a Islam was declared a state religion in the 16th century, the belief that non-Muslims are ritually unclean brought about restrictions aimed at limiting physical contact between Muslims and non-Muslims. Non-Muslims were not allowed to attend public baths with Muslims; they were also not allowed to go outside in rain or snow, ostensibly because some impurity could be washed from them upon a Muslim.[7][8][9] In 1656, Jews were expelled from Isfahan on the grounds of their religious impurity and forced to convert to Islam, although later they were allowed to revert to Judaism.[10][9]
A European traveler in the mid-19th century described miscellaneous restriction placed upon the Persian Jews because they were considered unclean: "...[Jews] are obliged to live in a separate part of town...; for they are considered as unclean creatures... Under the pretext of their being unclean, they are treated with the greatest severity and should they enter a street, inhabited by Mussulmans, they are pelted by the boys and mobs with stones and dirt... For the same reason, they are prohibited to go out when it rains; for it is said the rain would wash dirt off them, which would sully the feet of the Mussulmans... If a Jew enters a shop to buy anything, he is forbidden to inspect the goods, but must stand at a respectful distance and ask the price. Should his hand incautiously touch the goods, he must take them at any price the seller chooses to ask for them."[11] As late as 1907, Muhammad Mahdi, leader of the religious party in Kermanshah, supported by Muslim merchants and artisans, issued a set of rules, a clause in which required Jews not go out when it rained.[12]
In Lebanon, Shi'ites abstained from drinks or food, such as bread and meat, that a Christian had touched. Any contact with Christians, even via intervening objects was prohibited.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Weinsinck, A.J.. "Nadjis". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Ed. P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.
- ^ a b c Lewis (1984), p.34
- ^ a b Ruhollah Khomeini, Risalah-I Tawzih al-Masail, English translation in Bat Ye'or (1985). The Dhimmi: Jews & Christians Under Islam. Madison/Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, pp. 396–397. ISBN 0-8386-3262-9.; see also Lewis (1984), p. 34
- ^ Official website of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani URL accessed on April 27, 2006
- ^ Official website of Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani URL accessed on April 27, 2006
- ^ [1]
- ^
- ^ a b
- ^ a b
- ^ Lewis (1984), p. 152
- ^ Lewis (1984), p. 183
- ^ Lewis (1984), p. 198
