Fatwa ID: 06200
Answered by: Alimah Zakiratul Hoque
Question:
In the UK washing clothes in a machine does it make impure clothes pure najis clothes pure. I witness putting clothes in a machine slash water go around the machine so impurities go everywhere.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
If the Najaasah on the clothes can be seen (e.g., blood), then it should be washed until the impurity is gone and the traces of it are also gone:
يجوز التطهير بالماء … و إزالتها إن كانت مرئية بإزالة عينها و أثرها إن كانت شيئا يزول أثره و لا يعتبر فيه العدد
“It is permissible to purify with water … and to remove it [impurity], if it is visible, is to remove [the impurity] itself and its trace, if it is something whose trace can remove, and the number [of washing] is not considered in it.” (Fatawa Hindiya, Vol 1, Pg 46)
If the Najaasah is something that cannot be seen, it should be washed 3 times and squeezed each time:
و إن كانت غير مرئية يغسلها ثلاث مرات…و يشترط العصر في كل مرة فيما ينعصر و يبالغ في المرة الثالثة حتي لو عصر بعده لا يسيل منه الماء
“And if it [Najaasah] cannot be seen, he should wash it 3 times with the condition that he squeezes it every time. He should exaggerate the 3rd time to the extent that if it is wrung again, no water would flow from it.” (Fatawa Hindiya, Vol 1, Pg 47)
It seems your concern is that once the water in the washing machine removes the impurity from the clothes, it appears to stay in the drum to touch the rest of the clothes, which has led you to assume that it could impurify the rest of the clothes. However, that is not the case.
After water enters the inner drum of the washing machine (where the clothes are), the drum rotates back and forth, sloshing the clothes through soapy water. The detergent you use pulls the dirt from the clothes and traps it in the water. The water is then drained, and clean water is added to rinse the clothes. This process continues until the soap is removed. Therefore, the clothes are washed multiple times with new water and, usually, all traces of impurity are removed from the clothes.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Alimah Zakiratul Hoque
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
