Rulings on the 7 Types of Blood According to Authentic EvidenceSource: Fatawa al-Din al-Khalis, Vol. 1, Pg. 337
Question:
Is every type of blood considered impure (najis), or are there certain kinds which are pure? A detailed explanation is required on this issue.
Answer:
Alḥamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa as-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
The ruling of Shari’ah regarding blood depends on its different types. Below is a categorized breakdown of the types of blood along with their rulings and supporting evidence, by the permission and guidance of Allah.
✦ Type ①: Menstrual Blood (Ḥayḍ)
Ruling: Impure (Najis)
Evidence:
As narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/44) under the chapter "Bath due to Menstrual Blood":
Asmaʾ bint Abī Bakr (رضي الله عنها) reported that a woman asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what she should do if menstrual blood stains her clothes. He ﷺ said:
"Scrape it off, wash it with water, and then pray in it."
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) used to do the same:
"When one of us became pure after menstruation, she would scrape off the blood, wash it, sprinkle water over the garment, and then pray in it."
Conclusion: Menstrual blood is impure and must be washed off the clothing.
✦ Type ②: Flowing Blood (Dam Masfūḥ)
Ruling: Impure (Najis)
Consensus:
Imām al-Qurṭubī in his Tafsīr (2/221) and Imām al-Nawawī in Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab (2/557) mention that blood is impure, and there is a scholarly consensus on this.
Ibn Rushd in Bidayat al-Mujtahid (1/57) states that the blood of land animals is impure.
✦ Type ③: Flowing Blood of a Slaughtered Halāl Animal
Opinion ①: Pure
Evidence:
ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه) performed prayer in congregation covered in the blood and dung of a slaughtered camel, without performing ablution again. (Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq 1/125, Ibn Abī Shaybah 1/392, Ṭabarānī al-Kabīr 9/284 – Authentic Chain)
Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (رضي الله عنه) said:
"I do not mind being smeared with blood and dung during the slaughtering of a camel and then offering prayer." (Weak chain)
Reasoning: Legal responsibility remains discharged unless there is explicit evidence (Barā’at al-Dhimmah is the default).
Opinion ②: Impure
Evidence:
﴿قُلْ لَا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَىٰ طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌ﴾
[Al-Anʿām: 145]
Clarification:
The phrase "فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌ" (for it is filth) applies not only to pork but to all three mentioned items (carrion, flowing blood, and pork). Therefore, all three are impure.
✦ Type ④: Human Blood (From Wounds)
Opinion ①: Impure
Evidence:
On the day of Uḥud, the Prophet ﷺ was injured. Fāṭimah (رضي الله عنها) washed the blood while ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه) poured water. (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2/107, Bukhārī 2/584)
Response:
This cleaning was for hygiene or treatment purposes, not due to impurity.
A mere action does not establish obligation.
It is incorrect to analogize this with menstrual blood.
Opinion ②: Pure
Evidence:
Ḥadīth of Dhāt al-Riqāʿ: Jābir (رضي الله عنه) narrated that a Companion completed his prayer while injured and informed afterward. (Bukhārī 1/29, Abū Dāwūd, Aḥmad)
Reports from Companions:
ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) continued praying while bleeding.
Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn Abī Awfā, and al-Ḥasan (رحمهم الله) stated that bleeding does not invalidate wudu.
Jābir (رضي الله عنه) once bled from his nose, mixed it with soil, and prayed. (Ibn Abī Shaybah 1381)
Response:
There is no absolute principle to differentiate between small and large quantities of blood.
A clear textual proof is needed for impurity.
It is better to wash the blood as per the ḥadīth:
"Leave that which puts you in doubt for that which does not."
✦ Type ⑤: Blood of Fish
Ruling: Pure
Evidence:
Since a dead fish is pure, its blood is also considered pure. The Prophet ﷺ said:
"That which causes blood to flow and over which Allah’s name is mentioned, eat of it."
✦ Type ⑥: Blood of Insects (Flies, Mosquitoes, Bees, etc.)
Ruling: Pure
Evidence:
If these fall into a drink, the Prophet ﷺ instructed to submerge them fully.
Had their blood been impure, the command would have differed.
✦ Type ⑦: Residual Blood in the Body of a Slaughtered Animal
Ruling: Pure
Evidence:
This includes blood in the heart and spleen.
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) said:
"We used to eat meat and see traces of blood in the pot."
Ibn Taymiyyah:
"Washing the meat of a slaughtered animal is an innovation. The Companions would cook it without washing, and visible blood streaks were present. There is a consensus on the purity of such blood." (Fatāwā 21/522)
❖ Conclusion:
Some forms of blood — such as menstrual blood and flowing blood — are deemed impure in Islamic law. However, other types — like blood from human wounds, fish blood, blood of insects, and residual blood in slaughtered animals — are considered pure. These rulings are established based on authentic proofs and narrations from the Prophet ﷺ and the early generations.
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
