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Question & Answer » Search (najis)

11 Question: Is it permissible to keep a dog as a pet in my house?
Answer: It is better not to, and its preferable to choose another animal as a pet, as a dog is ritually impure (Najis) according to Islamic law, and thus it would cause one to live with considerable difficulty. It's also been mentioned that prayers in a place with a dog around is abominable (Makrooh).
Animals
12 Question: What is the fatwa about Ahlul Kitab? Are they ritually pure (Tahir)?
Answer: The Ahlul Kitab (that is, the Christians, the Jews and the Zoroastrians) are ritually pure (Tahir) as long as you do not know that they have become ritually impure (najis) by coming into contact with an impure object.
Ahl-e Kitab
13 Question: What is the fatwa about Ahlul Kitab? Are they clean or unclean?
Answer: The Ahlul Kitab (that is, the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians) are ritually pure (tahir) as long as you do not know that they have become ritually impure (najis) by coming into contact with an impure object. You can follow this ruling when dealing with them.
People of the Book
14 Question: I am living in India and I have a lot of doubts about things I am using and I eating. What is my duty about such things?
Answer: A well known religious law says: "Everything is ritually pure for you unless you come to know that it is ritually impure." This law declares everything to be pure unless one becomes sure a particular item has become impure. And as long as you are not sure that it has become ritually impure (najis), it is to be considered pure and you can apply all the rules of purity to it without any hesitation or doubt.
Purity
15 Question: What is the hokm (ruling) about Ahlul Kitab (people of the Book)? Are they clean? How should we deal with them?
Answer: The Ahlul Kitab (that is, the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians) are ritually pure (tahir) as long as you do not know that they have become ritually impure (najis) by coming into contact with an impure object. You can follow this ruling when dealing with them.
Purity
16 Question: The people residing in Europe are of different faiths, nationalities and religions; and when we buy moist or wet food items, the shopkeeper may touch it with his hands. Since we do not know his religion, can we consider that food as pure?
Answer: As long as it is not known that the hands of the shopkeeper were Najis, the food is to be considered Tahir.
Eating & Drinking
17 Question: The floor of most houses in the West is covered with carpet which is glued to the floor in such a way that it is difficult to lift it off. How can such a carpet be rendered pure (tahir), if it becomes impure with urine or blood? The water used to purify in both the cases could be qalil or kathir. Please explain the ruling in both cases.
Answer: Firstly, remove the Najis from the area, and pour little water (Qalil) on that specific area, the wipe the water off the specific area of the carpet by using a piece of cloth or a vacuum cleaner, and it will be purified with Qalil water, provided that the water is possible to be wiped off the carpet, in the process.
Conversely, after removal of the Najis from the area, it will be purified by Kathir water [i.e., by using a hose pipe connected to the tap] instantly on contact.
Najasat
18 Question: Can we eat the food that has been cooked by a Hindu?
Answer: If it is not known that the food is Najis and if the food does not contain meat, there would be no problem in eating it. However, if the food has been touched with a wet hand or in the state of wetness, it is not permissible to eat it (obligatory precaution).
Eating & Drinking
19 Question: Is it permissible to the food that has been cooked by a non-Muslim?
Answer: It is permissible to eat the food that is not known to be najis. All kinds of food with the exception of meat, fat, and their extracts are permissible for a Muslim as long as he does not know that they are najis.
Eating & Drinking
20 Question: What is your opinion about the beer (Maa al-Sha'eir) which is sold on the market normally with a label that reads "alcohol free".
Answer: The drink that is made from barley and called "Fuqa' in Arabic is definitely forbidden and Najis (ritually impure) as an obligatory precaution. This drink is not intoxicant normally but it makes one feel tipsy; that is a state of slight drunkenness caused apparently by low percentage of alcohol in the liquid.
Therefore, if a drink is produced alcohol free in the first place and it is not called "Fuqa" (beer), there is no problem, or else, it is forbidden even if alcohol is separated from it.
Alcohol
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