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Rules concerning the impurity of clothes made by hindu

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Question 074: I had bought clothing that was most likely made by Hindus in India. Do I have to wash it, before I can wear it? What is the Rules concerning the impurity of clothes made by hindu ?

Answer 074: 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.[1] Read More

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Ruling on foods and drinks containing alcohol / Vanilla Extract

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Question 578: Salaam, I would like to ask regarding the alcohol contain in vanilla essence or medicine. I read once that the pharmacy alcohol is Pak. So it is safe to use vanilla essence or medicine with pharmaceutical alcohol, right? Please confirm. Jazakallah khair

Answer 578: A similar question has sent to the office of grand jurists and the answers that have been received are as follows:

Ayatollah Khamenei:

Generally speaking, the alcohol which is not determined whether or not it is originally intoxicating or not, is ritually clean and is treated as such. There is no problem in using the liquids which contain alcohol and if one doubts whether the alcohol is intoxicating or not, it is treated as clean. So, if the alcohol is not intoxicating and it is not in a liquid form either, it is halal.[1]

Ayatollah Sistani:

All kinds of alcohol whether derived from wood or other sources are pure (tãhir). Therefore, the food in whose preparation alcohol was used is tãhir except for when it causes drunkenness, in which case, the ruling which will apply to it would be different; it would be haram to use it. God knows best.

Considering that vanilla extract contains 35% alcohol, it is not permissible to use its extract![2] But, if the alcohol used in it is so minute that it dissolves in it, there would be no problem to use it.[3]

Q: Alcohol is used in the production of many drugs and medications: Is it permissible to take them? Are they considered pure (tãhir)?

A: They are pure; and since the alcohol used in them is so minute that it dissolves in them, it is therefore permissible to take them also.[4]

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi:

Considering the high quantity of alcohol in it, it is necessary to avoid it.

Alcohols are divided into two groups: Alcohol that is produced through chemical processes and the one produced through distillation and fermentation. Since ethanol is an industrial alcohol, we will take a look at some facts about industrial alcohol:

The truth of the matter is that industrial alcohol shares the same formula fermented alcohol has (C2H5OH). The difference between the two though, is that industrial alcohol isn’t considered khamr, while distilled alcohol, since it comes from the distillation of khamr, might be considered khamr itself.

The common viewpoint among the ulema is that any intoxicating substance that is originally liquid is najis. The question is, does industrial alcohol fall under this category or not?

According to the common viewpoint here, it seems that industrial alcohol can’t be considered an intoxicant although it is used in intoxicating drinks. The reason that it isn’t considered an intoxicant isn’t that they add poisonous and foul-smelling substances such as methanol to it, but because it is so dense and concentrated that if no additives are added to it, drinking even a little is poisonous, this is why this substance (industrial alcohol) isn’t considered as an intoxicant by the people (urf).[5]

Other Translation:

نمایه: حکم ترکیبات الکل یا ژلاتین در مواد غذایی، سوال شماره 32.

[1] . Tawdzīh al-Masā’il of Marāja‘, Vol.1, Pg.145; Istiftā’āt by Ayatollah Khamenei, q.  302,304,305,306,307(Published by Jameh Mudarrasin).

[2] . For further information in this regards, please refer to IslamQuest Website.

[3] .  The official website of the office of Sayyid Sistani (ha), Question & Answer » Eating & Drinking.

[4] . Ibid.

[5] The Hawza website, the page of the E-library on Alcohol and its products.

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Istibra: liquid which comes out of body after Istibra is treated as pure

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Question142: Sometimes while traveling a liquid comes out of my body, in which I am not able to recognize. What should I treat the liquid as?

Answer 142: If you performed Istibra after each urination, the liquid which comes out of your body afterward, is treated as pure.
Istibra is a recommended act for men after urinating. Its objective is to ensure that no urine is left in the urethra. There are certain ways of performing Istibra. The best way is after the passing of urine, if the anus also becomes najis, it is made clean first. Thereafter, the part between the anus and the root of penis should be pressed thrice, with the middle finger of the left hand. Then the thumb is placed on the penis, and the forefinger below it, pressing three times up to the point of circumcision, then the front part of the penis should be jerked three times

It is also considered as pure if you are doubtful whether or not it is urine, semen or other najas things.

Otherwise, if you didn’t perform Istibra or you are sure it is a kind of najas thing (such as semen or urine and etc.) it is regarded as impure.[1]

[1] . The official website of the office of Sayyid Sistani (ha).

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Permissibility of using Henna even if it was mixed by a Hindu

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Question 563: Salam. Can henna be applied if it was mixed by a Hindu?

Answer 563: Generally, if a thing like henna comes into contact with moisture from or on body of a Kafir (like Hindus and Buddhists who are polytheists[1] and considered to be idolaters in a way) it would make the thing najas as well. Meaning that we are supposed to wash it according to what mentioned in Tawzih al-Masael.

Although, there would be no problem to use such henna even if it was mixed by a Hindu, because, it is not something related to drinking and eating that we are forbidden to use, but if we want to offer our prayers we have to wash it first (i.e. the henna itself not its ink and color as it doesn’t  prevent water from reaching the skin) then offer our prayers as taharat is one of the conditions must be fulfilled for offering prayers.[2]

Note: the important issue we are recommended to take it into consideration is that we are not allowed to eat the food prepared by a non-Muslim who is not from Ahle Kitãb [for example, a Hindu or a Buddhist], provided that we certainly know that the non-Muslim touched the food with wetness; and provided that the food consists of what is forbidden to us like intoxicating drinks. As for meat, fat and their extracts, the food cooked by non-Muslims should not contain any of these. If the food contains meat and animal fat, we should be sure that they are halal.[3]

[1] – Serat al-Nejat by Ayatollah al-Shaikh al-Tabrizi, vol.6, pg. 373.

[2] . Tawzih al-Masael of maraja (annotated by Imam Khomeini), Vol. 1, Pg. 95-873.

[3] . Adopted from answer 537 (Index: Eating food has been cooked by a Hindu or Buddhist).