Matn Abī Shujāʿ — Part 3

Recap and continuation: the categories of water, skins of dead animals, bones and hair, gold and silver vessels, and the Siwāk.

1. About the Text and Its Author

Matn Abī Shujāʿ is a short treatise (not a poem) detailing the rulings of fiqh according to the Shāfiʿī school. The English poem used in class is a translated rendering; the original is prose.

* Author: Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Iṣfahānī, known as Qāḍī Abū Shujāʿ.

* Origin: Isfahan, in Persia (modern Iran).

* Death and burial: He passed away in Madinah and is buried in al-Baqīʿ, the graveyard beside Masjid al-Nabawī.

The first book of the treatise is the Book of Purification (Kitāb al-Ṭahārah). It opens with the seven waters — waters that are fit to purify.

2. The Four Categories of Water

Water is divided into four categories, each with its own ruling.

Category 1 — Muṭlaq (Pure and Purifying)

Muṭlaq water is both pure and purifying. A useful comparison: soap is clean and cleansing — “clean” means it is not dirty, “cleansing” means it can clean something else. In the same way:

* Pure means the water itself is not filth (najis).