Fatwa ID: 07617
Answered by: Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat
Question:
If a soap or shampoo contains impure ingredients and is all rinsed out, will the impurity still exist on body and hair as it leaves a scent?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
In Hanafi Fiqh, the concept of najasah (impurity) and its impact on items such as soap or shampoo is addressed with careful consideration of how impurities are treated and removed.
In Hanafi jurisprudence, an impurity is a physical matter that contaminates something else. The presence of this physical matter is what renders an object impure. However, if the impure substance is entirely removed from the object, the object becomes pure again.1 This means that if the physical substance of the impurity is no longer present, the item or surface is considered pure (tahir) in Hanafi Fiqh.
If a soap or shampoo contains impure ingredients, the ruling depends on whether the impurity remains after the substance has been rinsed off. The principle in Hanafi Fiqh is that if the impure substance itself is removed, the area is purified, even if some effects, such as scent or colour, remain.2 This ruling applies to scenarios where, after thorough rinsing, only the scent of the shampoo or soap remains on the hair or body, indicating that the impurity itself is no longer present.
In the case where a soap or shampoo that contained impure ingredients is fully rinsed off, leaving only a scent, the impurity is not considered to remain. The scent does not carry the physical substance of the impurity. According to Hanafi Fiqh, the body or hair would be considered pure (tahir) after the impure substance is rinsed off.3
In conclusion, according to Hanafi Fiqh, if a soap or shampoo containing impure ingredients is thoroughly rinsed off, leaving only a scent on the body or hair, the area is considered pure. The impurity does not remain because the physical substance has been removed, and the lingering scent does not affect the purity.
I hope that this answers the question.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 Al-Hidayah (الهداية) by Al-Marghinani: “إذا زال عين النجاسة طهرت المحل”
(Vol. 1, pg. 46)
2 (رد المحتار على الدر المختار) by Ibn Abid
“إذا زال عين النجاسة ولم يبقَ إلا أثرها من لون أو ريح أو طعم فهو طاهر” (Vol. 1, pg. 313)
3 Al-Bahr al-Ra’iq (البحر الرائق) “زوال العين هو المعتبر في الحكم، وما يبقى بعد ذلك من الرائحة أو اللون فهو طاهر” page 225
