Can a Filthy Stone Become Purifying Again?

No, you won’t be able to give back to a filthy stone, its purifying aspect, by washing it. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

This is because a stone (or the ground), before being affected by filth, was deemed by the sacred law (shari’a) to be pure and purifying. After the filth, both its purity and purifying quality have been removed. After washing away the filth, we know for sure that the stone is pure again. As for it being purifying (and thus usable for Tayamum), we don’t know because no information has been given to us by Allah, the Most High, or His Messenger (Blessings and Peace be upon him).

Thus, we have no choice but to consider this washed stone pure but not purifying. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

This is based on the following legal principle:

“Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa’l Nadha’ir; Majallat al-Ahkam al-‘Adiliyya]

Who, in turn, is based on the following verse of the Quran:

“Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36]

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching for ways to learn Islam reliably and was disappointed at the answers he found locally.

Then, he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.

He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.