Ghusala

Furu' al-Din

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Ghusāla (Arabic: غُسالَة) is water with which a najis (unclean) object is washed. Shia jurists have discussed ghusala and its rulings under the section of tahara (cleanliness). They disagree over whether ghusala is clean (najis) or unclean. Most of faqihs believe that ghusala is unclean.

Definition

Ghusala is water with which something is washed. In jurisprudential terminology, it is water with which an unclean object, such as clothes or the body, is washed. Shi'a jurists have discussed ghusala under the rulings of cleanliness.

Jurisprudential Ruling

According to all jurists, the ghusala of the kathir water is clean. What is controversial is the ghusala of qalil water. Here are some views in this regard:

• Uncleanliness: some jurists believe that ghusala is unclean. They hold that as long as the object is not clean, the water with which it is being washed is not clean. This is held by the majority of jurists.
• Cleanliness: al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki attributed this view to al-Sayyid al-Murtada, Ibn Idris, and al-Shaykh al-Tusi. He claimed that the view was held by the majority of early Shia jurists. Sahib al-Jawahir also believed that the view is plausible.
• Disjunctive view: some jurists have distinguished between water with which an unclean thing (najis al-'ayn) is washed and the one with which something affected by an unclean thing (mutanajjis) is washed. In the former case, ghusala is taken to be najis, and in the latter, one had better take the precaution and avoid the water. The view was held by al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Yazdi.

Related Rulings

• Ghusala of istinja', that is, water used to wash the parts of body from which urine and feces come out, is clean.
• If the color, smell, or taste of the water has changed, then the ghusala is unclean.
• Cleanliness or uncleanliness of the ghusala is based on the amount in which qalil water becomes unclean after touching an unclean object.
• Some Shia jurists hold that even if ghusala is clean, it is not permissible to perform wudu' or ghusl with it. There is also a disagreement over whether it is permissible to remove uncleanliness with it.