How to Purify a Sofa?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
You don’t need to purify a sofa ritually because you are not supposed to pray on a sofa. Praying on a sofa is invalid…
You only need to purify your place of prayer, clothes, and body in order to pray a valid prayer. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
As for the rest of your house, you simply need to keep it clean. And what your mother has already done regarding the blood stain is more than enough.
Allah, Most High, says: “Allah loves those who turn to him, and loves those who keep themselves clean” [Quran; 2.222]
The Messenger of Allah(Blessings and Peace be upon him) has said: “Keeping clean is half of faith” [Muslim].
Purifying the Sofa
Nonetheless, if you are resolved to purify your sofa ritually, you can follow the method below (taken from a previous answer by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, may Allah preserve him, regarding the purification of a carpet):
What some books mean by “dried,” as other texts (such as Ibn ‘Abidin’s Hashiya) explain, is “no longer dripping.”
Removing filth (najasa) from a carpet is not very difficult, in sha’ Allah:
- It is best to minimize the filth (najasa) by wiping away its traces, using a moist cloth, for example;
- Determine the affected area. Then, pour water over that area. Soak up the water with a cloth until the carpet is no longer dripping wet. Do this three times in total. After this, the carpet has been rendered pure (tahir) as long as no trace of the filth remains. [This is mentioned in Maraqi al-Falah, Radd al-Muhtar, and elsewhere]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. 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.
