What najasa is

Najasa means something unclean, like urine or blood. Something that has najasa on it is called najis. The opposite is tahir, clean.

Do not mix up najasa with hadath:

For salah to count, your body, clothes and the place you pray must be free of najasa. Allah says: and your clothes, purify them¹.

Being careful matters. Nabi ﷺ passed two graves and said both people were being punished. One of them did not keep himself clean from urine².

But the starting point is easy: everything is clean until you know it is not. The ground, clothes, people, and things you buy are all clean by default.

What is najis by agreement

All four schools agree these are najis:

• Human urine and stool.
• Blood that flows, like from a cut or a nosebleed³. The blood left in meat after a halal slaughter is not counted.
• Menstrual blood and blood after childbirth⁴.
• Madhi, a clear fluid that can come out when a person feels desire. Nabi ﷺ said: wash the private part and make wudu⁵⁶. Wadi, a thick white fluid that can come out after urinating, is the same.
• Pigs⁷.
• Dead animals that died without a halal slaughter⁸.
• Urine and stool of animals we do not eat, like cats, dogs and mice.
• Vomit, in the view of most scholars.

Exceptions among dead animals

• Fish and locusts. Nabi ﷺ said: two kinds of dead animal are allowed for us: fish and locusts⁹. He also said about the sea: what dies in it is halal¹⁰.
• Small creatures with no flowing blood, like flies, ants and mosquitoes. Most scholars say they do not make things najis. Nabi ﷺ said that if a fly falls into your drink, dip it and take it out¹¹. He would not say that if it made the drink najis.
• A person. A Muslim does not become najis¹².
• Tanned skins. Nabi ﷺ said: when a skin is tanned, it becomes clean¹³. He saw a dead sheep and said: why do you not use its skin? Only eating it is forbidden¹⁴. Most scholars do not include pig skin in this.

Where the schools differ

Dogs

Nabi ﷺ said: if a dog licks your dish, throw away what was in it and wash the dish seven times¹⁵, the first time with earth¹⁶. Most scholars take this to mean dog saliva is najis. Malikis say the dog is clean, and the seven washes are simply an order we follow. Hanafis say three washes are enough, like any other najasa. A dry dog brushing against your dry clothes does not make them najis in any school.

Semen

Aisha said she used to wash semen from Nabi's ﷺ clothes, and he went to pray with the water marks still on them¹⁷. She also said she would scrape it off when it was dry, and he prayed in it¹⁸.

• Shafi'i and Hanbali scholars say: scraping alone would not clean something najis, so semen is clean. Washing it off is still better.
• Hanafi and Maliki scholars say it is najis. Hanafis say scrape it if it is dry and wash it if it is wet. Malikis say wash it.

Either way: wash it off, and you are fine in every school.

Alcohol

Allah calls wine rijs, something filthy¹⁹. The four schools say wine itself is najis. Some other scholars say it is forbidden to drink, but not physically najis, like a poison.

What about perfume, hand gel and medicine with alcohol in them? Many scholars today allow them, because the alcohol in them is not made as a drink and dries away quickly. Others are more careful. Follow your local masjid or a scholar you trust.

Animal urine and dung

Nabi ﷺ allowed praying in sheep pens²⁰, and once told some sick people to drink camel milk and urine as medicine²¹. So Malikis and Hanbalis say the urine and dung of animals we eat is clean. Hanafis and Shafi'is say it is najis.

What is clean

• A person. Abu Hurairah once slipped away from Nabi ﷺ because he needed ghusl. Nabi ﷺ said: Subhanallah! A believer never becomes najis²²²³.
• Sweat, saliva, tears and mucus of people. Also the sweat of a person who needs ghusl, or a woman on her period.
• Non-Muslims. Their bodies are clean. When the Quran calls idol worshippers "najas"²⁴, most scholars say it means their belief, not their bodies. You can shake hands, share food, and sit together.
• Cats. Nabi ﷺ said: the cat is not unclean. It is one of those who go around among you²⁵.
• Animals we eat, when slaughtered the halal way, and their milk.
• Mud and puddle water on the street. Clean, unless you can see najasa in it.

How to clean najasa

The main rule is simple: wash it with water until it is gone. That means its body, color and smell are gone, as far as you can.

• Clothes and body: wash the spot. You do not need to wash the whole thing. For blood on clothes, Nabi ﷺ said: rub it, rub it in water, then pour water over it, and pray in it²⁶.
• A stain that will not come out: a woman asked Nabi ﷺ about a period stain that stayed after washing. He said: washing the blood is enough. The mark does not harm you²⁷.
• Najasa you cannot see (like dried urine): wash the place where it was. Hanafis say wash and wring it out three times.
• Carpets and floors: pour water over it²⁸. For a carpet, soak up the najasa, pour water, and soak it up again until it is gone.
• A baby boy's urine, before he eats food: Umm Qais brought her baby son to Nabi ﷺ and he urinated on Nabi's ﷺ clothes. Nabi ﷺ sprinkled water over it and did not wash it²⁹. He said: a girl's urine is washed, a boy's is sprinkled³⁰. Shafi'is and Hanbalis follow this. Hanafis and Malikis say wash both.
• Madhi on clothes: Nabi ﷺ said a handful of water sprinkled over the spot is enough³¹. Hanbalis follow this. Most others say wash it.
• A dish a dog licked: seven washes, the first with earth³². See the views above.

Shoes

Nabi ﷺ once took off his sandals in the middle of salah. Afterwards he explained: Jibril told me there was dirt on them. When you come to the masjid, look. If you see dirt on your sandals, wipe it off and pray in them³³. He also said: if you step in something dirty with your shoes, the earth cleans them³⁴.

So many scholars say rubbing shoes on the ground is enough when the najasa is gone. Shafi'is are stricter and say wash them with water. Today we take our shoes off for prayer anyway, so just keep them away from your prayer place.

The story of the man in the masjid shows how gently Nabi ﷺ dealt with najasa, and with people.

Small amounts that are forgiven

Allah has not made the religion hard for you⁴². So every school forgives some najasa that is small or hard to avoid. They draw the line in different places:

• Hanafi: heavy najasa (like urine, stool or blood) is forgiven up to the size of a dirham, a coin about the size of the hollow of your palm. Lighter najasa (like the urine of animals we eat) is forgiven up to a quarter of the clothing. It is still better to wash it.
• Maliki: blood, pus and similar things less than a dirham are forgiven. So is najasa that is very hard to avoid, like from a wound that keeps bleeding.
• Shafi'i: a small amount of blood is forgiven, as people normally see it, and najasa so tiny the eye cannot see it.
• Hanbali: a small amount of blood and pus is forgiven, as people normally see it.

All schools also forgive things like street mud splashes that you cannot avoid, and blood from a wound that will not stop.

Found najasa after you prayed?

Say you finish praying, then see a spot of blood on your sleeve that you did not know about.

Remember Nabi ﷺ and the sandals: he found out there was dirt on them in the middle of salah. He took them off and carried on. He did not start again⁴³.

• Maliki: your prayer counts. It is recommended to pray it again if the prayer time has not ended.
• Many other scholars, using the sandals hadith, also say the prayer counts.
• The official Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali view is that you should pray it again, if the najasa was more than the forgiven amount.

If you notice najasa during salah and can remove it quickly (like taking off a jacket), do that and carry on.

Washing machines and dry cleaning

• Washing machines: a normal wash fills, drains and rinses with plenty of clean water. Scholars today say clothes that come out clean, with no trace of najasa left, are pure. This is true even when clean and najis clothes are washed together.
• Dry cleaning uses chemicals, not water. Most scholars say only water removes najasa, so rinse a najis spot with water first. Hanafis say any clean liquid that fully removes najasa is enough.
• Baby clothes and diapers: rinse off solid najasa first, then machine wash as normal.

Doubts and waswasa

Waswasa means whispering: nagging doubts from Shaytan. With najasa it can look like: "Maybe a drop splashed on me." "Maybe I did not wash it well." "Maybe I should change my clothes again."

Nabi ﷺ was asked about someone who is not sure if he broke his wudu during salah. He said: do not leave until you hear a sound or notice a smell⁴⁴⁴⁵. In other words, act on what you know, not on what you imagine.

• If you are not sure something touched najasa, it is clean.
• If you washed it and cannot see or smell anything, it is clean.
• Wash once well. Do not wash again and again.
• Some scholars advise: after istinja, sprinkle a little water on your underwear. Then if you feel wetness, you can tell yourself it is that water.
• If doubts are taking over your day, that is a known problem, and you are not alone. Speak to a scholar you trust. Ignoring the doubts is the cure.

For cleaning yourself after the toilet, see Istinja.

Common questions

My baby leaked on my shirt at work. Can I still pray?

Wash the spot in the sink. If it is a baby boy who only drinks milk, Shafi'is and Hanbalis say sprinkling water is enough⁴⁶. Hanafis say wash it. If you cannot wash it and it is small, Hanafis forgive up to the size of a coin. Otherwise, change your shirt if you can.

I cut my finger while cooking. Is my clothing najis?

A small spot of blood is forgiven in every school. Wash it if you easily can. Whether bleeding breaks your wudu is covered in the Wudu chapter.

A dog sniffed my hand at a friend's house.

If both were dry, nothing happens. If its wet nose or saliva touched you, Shafi'is and Hanbalis say wash seven times, once with earth. Hanafis say wash the spot. Malikis say it is clean. Do not let this stop you being kind to your friend.

Can I wear perfume or use hand gel with alcohol?

Many scholars today say yes, since it is not a drink and it dries away. Others prefer to avoid it before salah. Follow a scholar you trust.

A bird dropped on my car seat, and my child sat on it.

Scholars differ on bird droppings. Some say the droppings of birds we eat, like pigeons, are clean. The simple way: wash the spot on the clothes with water, then move on.

A period stain will not come out of my clothes.

Wash it well. If a mark stays, you can pray in it. Nabi ﷺ said: the mark does not harm you⁴⁷.

I am a new Muslim and live with my family who eat pork.

Your family members are clean, and so is your home by default. Wash a dish before you use it if it held pork. Keep a clean prayer mat. Do not let this come between you and your family.

The floor of the public toilet was wet, and my trousers touched it.

If you do not know it was urine, it is clean. If you know it was, wash that spot before you pray.