The sacred Islamic law places great emphasis on cleanliness and purification, which extends beyond merely defining impurities; it also does not content itself with explaining the methods of cleansing from them—referred to in Islamic jurisprudence as "purification from khabath (filth)." It encompasses the spiritual purification of a person as well. This is because humans can experience states of spiritual darkness (najāsat) where they are not fully prepared to turn their attention towards their Lord. This state in Islamic jurisprudence is called "hadath" and it is divided into two types: minor (ḥadath aṣghar) and major (ḥadath akbar). Each type has its causes and means of purification.
Islamic law has designated ablution (wuḍū) as the means to remove the effects of minor impurity (ḥadath aṣghar) and the ritual bath (ghusl) as the means to remove the effects of major impurity (ḥadath akbar). In certain special circumstances where these two are not feasible, dry ablution (tayammum) is prescribed as a substitute.
Given the importance of spiritual aspects, Islamic law encourages the mukallaf (legally responsible individual) to perform ghusl in certain states and times, even if no impurity has occurred. These ritual baths are considered mustaḥabb (recommended), such as the Friday bath (Ghusl al-Jumuʿah) and the baths on the nights of Qadr in the holy month of Ramaḍān.
With these principles clarified, we will now present the laws of purification in the following two chapters.