Ritual purity in Islam |Part of a series on| Purity (Arabic:
طهارة, Tahara(h)) is an essential aspect of Islam. (The same
term taharah is also found in Hebrew -- see tumah and taharah --
applying to purity in Ancient Israel and modern Judaism also).
Its opposite is najis, things who are considered as ritually
impure i. e. are in the state of najāsa. Observing cleanliness
of the soul, the clothes and the surroundings is obligatory upon
every Muslim, and this is considered as one of the pillars of
Islam for the Ismailis. Before offering prayers it is necessary
to perform wudu and in certain cases wudu and ghusl both. The
purifying agent is always pure water. However, during times when
water is not available or is scarce, symbolic wudu and ghusl can
be performed with clean dry earth which is known as 'Tayammum'.
If the body or clothes show traces of blood, pus, urine, feces,
semen or alcohol, then Taharat becomes essential. The clothes
should be washed and the affected part of the body cleaned with
pure water, o