Can I Wash Impure and Pure Clothes in Detergent Water?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question 

If I mix an impure cloth with a pure cloth in detergent water and then wash them in a bucket with a small amount of water, are the clothes considered pure?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Filth is divided into two types: 1) perceptible filth and 2) imperceptible filth [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

Note that filth is perceptible if its essence (not just a quality, like the color) can be seen after drying. [Ibid.]

Perceptible Filth

For perceptible filth to be considered pure, one must remove its essence. This can be done even with one wash and even in a bucket; as long as after the wash, the perceptible filth is no longer there. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Imperceptible Filth

Imperceptible filth, however, is considered pure when sufficiently washed such that one is reasonably sure that the filth is gone. [Ibid.]

The relied upon position is that there is no condition of a specific number of times of washing. If one is reasonably sure the filth is gone after one wash, this is sufficient; some, however, did still make washing thrice a condition. [Ibid.]

Washing in a Bucket

Impure clothing washed in a bucket is considered pure if (a) washed in three different buckets, each with pure water in them, or (b) washed three times in one bucket. [Ibid.]

Note that if you rinsed them out with running water after washing the clothing, the running water is sufficient enough to remove the impurity. After that, merely rinse the bucket out once. [Ibid.]

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

 

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.