Question
Is all blood impure, or are some types pure as well? A detailed explanation of this issue is required.
Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
The Shariah ruling regarding blood depends on its different types. Below, all the types of blood are presented with their ruling and evidence, by Allah’s permission and His help.
✦ First type: Menstrual blood
Ruling: Impure (najis)
Evidence: In Sahih al-Bukhari
, under the chapter “Washing the blood of menstruation”:
Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that a woman asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what she should do if menstrual blood gets on a woman’s garment. He ﷺ said:
“She should scrape it, then wash it with water, then pray in it.”
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) also used to do the same:
“When one of us became clean from menstruation, she would scrape the blood, wash it, sprinkle water on the garment, and pray in it.”
Conclusion: Menstrual blood is impure, and if it falls on a garment, washing it is obligatory.
✦ Second type: Flowing blood (dam masfuh)
Ruling: Impure
Consensus: Imam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) in his Tafsir
and Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in Sharh al-Muhadhdhab
have stated that blood is impure, and there is scholarly consensus on this.
Ibn Rushd, in Bidayat al-Mujtahid
, states that the blood of land animals is impure.
✦ Third type: Flowing blood of a slaughtered halal animal
● First view: It is pure
Evidence:
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed in congregation while covered with the blood and dung of a slaughtered camel, and did not perform wudu.
The statement of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him):
“I do not care if I become covered in blood and dung while slaughtering a camel and then pray.”
Reasoning: The principle is the clearing of liability (baraa’at al-dhimmah) unless a text is present.
● Second view: It is impure
Evidence:
﴿قُل لا أَجِدُ فى ما أوحِىَ إِلَىَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلىٰ طاعِمٍ يَطعَمُهُ إِلّا أَن يَكونَ مَيتَةً أَو دَمًا مَسفوحًا أَو لَحمَ خِنزيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجسٌ﴾
Explanation of the argument:
The referent of “fa-innahu rijs” is not only “the flesh of swine,” but all three things (carrion, flowing blood, and the flesh of swine). According to this, all three are impure.
✦ Fourth type: Human blood (from a wound)
● First view: Impure
Evidence:
When the Prophet ﷺ was wounded on the day of Uhud, Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) washed the blood, and Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) kept pouring water
Response:
This washing was not because of impurity; it was for cleanliness or treatment.
Mere action does not establish obligation.
Analogy with menstrual blood is not valid.
● Second view: Pure
Evidence:
Hadith of Dhat al-Riqa’: It is narrated from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that a companion completed the prayer while wounded and informed afterwards
Statements of the Companions:
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) continued praying while wounded.
The statements of Ibn Umar, Ibn Abi Awfa, and Hasan (may Allah have mercy on them) that wudu is not broken by blood coming out.
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) drew blood from his nose, mixed it with dust, and prayed
Response:
There is no definitive principle distinguishing small and large amounts of blood.
The evidence for impurity should be clear.
It is better to wash off the blood, as the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Leave what causes you doubt and take what does not cause you doubt.”
✦ Fifth type: Fish blood
Ruling: Pure
Evidence: A dead fish is pure, so its blood is also pure. The saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
“Eat whatever sheds blood and over which the name of Allah has been mentioned.”
✦ Sixth type: Blood of flies, mosquitoes, honeybees, etc.
Ruling: Pure
Evidence:
If these fall into a drink, the Prophet ﷺ ordered that they be submerged.
If their blood were impure, the ruling would be different.
✦ Seventh type: Blood remaining in the body of a slaughtered animal
Ruling: Pure
Evidence:
The blood of the heart and spleen is included in this.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says:
“We used to eat the meat and the lines of blood would be visible in the cooking pot.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah:
“Washing the meat of a slaughtered animal is an innovation. The Companions would cook it without washing and would see the lines of blood. There is consensus that this blood is not impure.”
Summary:
Some types of blood (such as menstrual blood and flowing blood) have been declared impure in the Shariah, while other types (human wound blood, fish blood, the blood of flies and similar insects, and the blood remaining in the body of a slaughtered animal) are pure. This distinction has been reached with the help of sahih evidence and reports from the Companions.
ھذا ما عندی واللہ أعلم بالصواب
