Lesson No 43

MORE ABOUT VISIBLE UNCLEANNESS

AND HOW TO CLEANSE IT.

17. How to cleanse the leather articles such as socks, shoes, hold-alls etc., if some filthy substance has smeared them?

Ans They become clean by being rubbed against the earth or any other such thing provided its impression on the item concerned is fully rubbed off.

17. How to cleanse these articles if filth like urine, wine, etc. defiles them?

Ans. These will be cleansed only if washed with a liquid substance like water so as to remove all traces of uncleanness. That is to say, any kind of uncleanness except the filthy substance itself that smears the leather article, will be cleansed only if washed, and in no other way.

17. Can the articles such as knife or sword made of metals like iron, silver, copper or aluminum be cleansed without washing?

Ans. Articles of metal like iron (which is free from rust) or of silver, gold, copper, aluminum or brass and those of glass, ivory, bone and porcelain if they are clean and have no engravings on them can be cleansed by rubbing off the traces of filth and its impressions altogether.

17. What do we mean by a certain thing being without engravings?

Ans. Engravings are marks that give an uneven surface to an object. They need special provision because filth is still possible to lurk in the articles concerned even after they have been rubbed off. They, however, become clean by rubbing them if they contain only colour paint and no engravings.

17. How to cleanse the soil that has got defiled with urine and wine, etc?

Ans. Uncleanness automatically vanishes once the ground dries up and effects of uncleanness (such as colour, smell and taste) disappear.

17. How to cleanse uncleanness that smears the baked bricks or stones of the pavement of a house or mosque or those of a wall?

Ans. The bricks or stones of a building, if unclean, will become clean if traces of uncleanness disappear.

17. How to wash articles like brass vessels or thick cushions which cannot be wringed?

Ans. The method to be followed in cleansing articles that are difficult or impossible to wring is as follows: wash them once and leave them. When water stops dripping, give them a second wash and leave them. Wash them the third time after dripping of water as a result of the second wash has stopped and they will become clean. But it is necessary to rub them as much as possible so that maximum possible efforts have been spent in cleansing them.

17. Can unclean clay vessels be cleansed?

Ans. Clay vessels can also be cleansed. The method described above will hold good for them also.

17. Is the ashes of an unclean substance such as dung clean or unclean?

Ans. When an unclean substance has been burnt to ashes, it becomes clean.

17. What should we do if a rat falls into ghee (a kind of butter) and dies?

Ans. If the ghee is frozen, throw out the rat and the ghee just around it. The rest of the ghee is clean. If the ghee is in the melted form; the entire ghee will be unclean.

17. How to cleanse the unclean ghee or oil?

Ans. Put into unclean ghee or oil an equal quantity of water and boil the two together. Then take out the ghee or oil that floats on the surface. Do it thrice and the ghee or oil will become clean and usable.

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