Tahhir

Tahhir, from the Arabic tahāra (طهارة), means purification or cleanliness and is a central concept in Islam. The term denotes both physical cleanliness and ritual purity, distinguishing a pure state from ritual impurity (najasa). In Islamic law, taharah encompasses practices that prepare a person for worship and daily life.

Ritual purification comprises the core forms of taharah. Wudu (ablution) is a partial cleansing performed before obligatory prayers and certain acts of worship, involving the washing of specific body parts in a prescribed sequence. Ghusl is a full-body purification required after major ritual impurity, such as sexual activity, ejaculation, or certain post-natal states. When water is unavailable or its use is impractical, tayammum (dry purification) may substitute. Purification also extends to cleaning one’s body, clothes, and the prayer space from impurities (najasa) so that ritual acts can be performed properly. In many traditions, purity is required to perform prayer and to touch or recite the Qur’an.

Najasa refers to impurities that affect ritual purity. Different Islamic legal schools (madhahib)—Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali—outline varying lists of impurities and procedures, but the overarching framework is shared: purification is necessary to attain a state fit for worship and certain religious activities.

Beyond ritual practice, taharah carries ethical and spiritual connotations, emphasizing cleanliness as an aspect of faith and daily life in Islam. The concept also appears in contemporary usage as a term for personal and communal purity norms.