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Does ritual impurity (najāsa ḥukmīya) not transfer impurity even if a wet pure object touches it? And does impurity change from essential (ʿaynīya) to ritual (ḥukmīya) with dryness, such as dry urine that leaves no color or odor? And is the transfer of impurity to the sitting place of an impure child considered a ritual impurity (najāsa ḥukmīya) that does not defile what it meets? And what is the relied-upon opinion in interpreting ritual and essential impurity?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Jurists divide impurity into tangible ('ayniyyah) and intangible (hukmiyyah). Tangible impurity is that which can be perceived, while intangible impurity is that which has no visible trace, such as urine after it has dried. The Shafi'is and Malikis differ in their definitions of tangible and intangible impurity, as well as concerning the ruling on urine after it has dried. The Shafi'is consider the impurity of urine after it dries to be intangible, whereas the Malikis have two views, with the majority holding that it does not defile what it touches. The questioner, who suffers from obsessive doubts (waswasah), may adopt the view of those who say that intangible impurity (whose substance has vanished by means other than purification) does not transfer to that which it touches while wet.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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