Why is it haram for a person to be junub and why is a junub person considered dirty?

-  Is it haram for a junub person to eat and drink?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is not haram to be junub in a legitimate way; a junub person is never dirty.

A person who has to make ghusl can do the cleaning, wash the dishes and eat. It is makruh, but not haram, for him to eat without washing his mouth and hands. Being junub does not prevent him from doing such things.

However, our scholars have warned us that one must not delay ghusl so long as to miss the time for a fard prayer because not performing ghusl even though the time for a fard prayer has elapsed means missing that prayer unnecessarily. It is not permissible to miss a fard prayer without an excuse.

Therefore, one who has to make ghusl can do the necessary things before ghusl, clean himself, and even prepare food, but he should make ghusl at the earliest opportunity and must not delay ghusl so long as the time for a fard prayer elapses.

The religious duties that are haram for men and women who are junub, or for women in the state of menses and puerperium are as follows:

1. Performing prayers,
2. Circumambulating the Kaaba,
3. Touching and carrying the Quran. Therefore, it is not permissible to touch or carry a coin or a banknote on which a verse is inscribed without having wudu or ghusl. (Majma'ul-Anhur, 1/26)

Apart from them, a junub person can do his daily work, and a woman can clean her house and do other things. All of the things she does are regarded as clean.

There are some things that are permissible for the one who is junub, but it is better to make ghusl as soon as possible. It is fard to make ghusl as soon as possible, especially before the time for a fard prayer elapses. However, it is not haram to eat, drink or sleep when one is junub.

That is how the issue should be evaluated in terms of being haram and halal.

The sleeping of a junub person:

Ghudayf ibn al-Harith narrates:

I asked Aisha (r.a.):

“Did the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) wash at the beginning of the night or at the end when he was junub?” Aisha (r.a.) answered as follows:

“He washed sometimes at the beginning and sometimes at the end.” I said,

“Allahu akbar! Praise be to Allah, who has provided convenience in this issue.”(1)

Another narration of Aisha (r.a.) is as follows:

“The Messenger of Allah would sleep while he was junub and would not touch water.”(2)

Umar (ra) asked what to do if he was junub at night. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Make wudu, wash your organ, and then sleep.”(3)

According to those evidences, it is more appropriate for a person who is junub to make wudu before going to sleep. It is important to note the following:

This sleeping is conditional on not missing a fard prayer.

The eating and drinking of a junub person:

Let us learn from the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) how people should eat and drink when they are junub. When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) wanted to eat and drink when he was junub, he would wash his hands first and eat and drink after that.(4)

“When the Prophet (pbuh) wanted to eat or sleep when he was junub, he would make wudu.”(5)

It is sufficient for a person who is junub to wash his hands before eating and drinking but it is better to make wudu.

Sitting with a junub person:

A person who is junub can sit with other people. However, it is better to wash immediately in terms of our religion. According to what Abu Hurayra (r.a.) narrates, the Messenger of Allah (saw) met him in one of the streets of Madinah. Abu Hurayrah, who was junub at that time, slipped away and came back after washing. When the Messenger of Allah (saw) saw him coming, he asked:

“O Abu Hurayra! Where were you?” He answered as follows:

“I was junub and I did not want to sit with you when I was dirty.”

Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Subhanallah! A Muslim is not dirty.”(6)

Touching a person who is junub:

There is nothing wrong with touching a person who is junub. We can cite the following hadith as evidence for it: Hudhayfa bin al-Yaman met the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) one day. The Prophet (pbuh) extended his hand toward him to shake hands with him. Hudhayfa said that he was junub. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “A believer is not dirty.”(7)

It is not objectionable for junub people to do the things mentioned above within certain measures. In other words, it is permissible for a junub person to eat, drink, sleep and be in public. However, a believer should always be clean both materially and spiritually.

He should remove the burdens and weights from his body. Therefore, it is best to make ghusl at the earliest opportunity and without delay. If water is not available, it is possible to get rid of this burden by making tayammum. For information about tayammum, just refer to the books of the Ilm al-hal.

In conclusion, it is best for every Muslim, male or female, who has to make ghusl to do so without delay. It would also be useful for the education of children to provide them with sufficient books and reference works to inform them about this issue (making ghusl) and to inform them about the situations that necessitate ghusl.

Footnotes:

1. Bukhari, Ghusl 25, 27; Muslim, Hayd 21; Abu Dawud, Taharah 88, 90, Salah 343; Tirmidhi, Taharah 87; Nasai, Taharah 163, 164,165, Ghusl 4, 5; Muwatta, Taharah 77.
2. Abu Dawud, Taharah 88, 90.
3. Bukhari, Ghusl 25,27; Muslim, Hayd 25; Abu Dawud, Taharah 87; Nasai, Taharah 167; Tirmidhi, Taharah 88; Muwatta, Taharah 76.
4. Nasai, Taharah 163-166.
5. Nasai, Taharah 163.
6. Bukhari, Ghusl 23, 24; Muslim, Hayd 115; Abu Dawud, Taharah 97; Tirmidhi, Taharah 89; Nasai, Taharah 172.
7. Nasai, Taharah 172.

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