Short answer
Washing with water is the main way. The Hanafi school also accepts other ways for certain things: rubbing shoes on the ground, wiping smooth surfaces like glass or a knife, the ground drying out, rubbing off dried semen, tanning hides, and a substance turning into something else (istihala). The Shafi'i school limits purification much more to water.
Najasah can be removed with water or any pure liquid that removes it, such as vinegar. Leather footwear is purified by rubbing off najasah that has a body; smooth hard surfaces by wiping; ground by drying with the trace gone (for prayer on it, not tayammum); dried thick semen on clothing by scraping; hides by tanning; and a najis thing by complete transformation, such as wine becoming vinegar.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Najasah is only removed with water, except that wine turning into vinegar by itself and tanned hides become pure. Shoes and the ground must be washed.
- Hanbali
- In the relied view only water removes najasah, and tanning does not purify the hide of an animal that died unslaughtered. Wine that turns into vinegar by itself becomes pure.
Explanation
Water is the basic purifier. When a bedouin urinated in the masjid, the Prophet ﷺ told the Companions to pour a bucket of water over it. But the sunnah also shows other ways. He said that if someone sees dirt or impurity on his sandals, he should wipe them on the ground and pray in them, and that a hide becomes pure when it is tanned.
The Hanafi ways of purification:
- Washing with water, or another pure liquid that removes the impurity, such as vinegar. See cleaning clothes.
- Rubbing (dalk): shoes or khuffs with impurity that has a body, like dung, are purified by rubbing them on the ground until no trace remains. Urine on shoes must be washed.
- Wiping: smooth, non-absorbent things such as glass, mirrors, polished metal, knives and glazed tiles are purified by wiping the impurity off well.
- Drying of the ground: earth on which urine fell becomes pure for prayer once it dries and no colour or smell is left. It is not used for tayammum.
- Scraping dried semen from clothes: see semen.
- Tanning: purifies hides: see leather.
- Transformation (istihala): when a najis substance changes completely into a new one, like wine into vinegar or dung burnt to ash, the result is pure.
For carpets and floors, see cleaning carpets. For invisible impurity, the Hanafi method is to wash three times and wring. Purification needs no intention, so a machine or someone else can do it for you.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Muddaththir 74:4
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ ﴿٤﴾
And your clothing purify
Commands purifying one's clothes; the sunnah shows the ways it is done.
Sunan Abi Dawud 650
Graded sahih... فان راى في نعليه قذرا او اذى فليمسحه ...
"If he sees dirt or impurity on his sandals, let him wipe it off."
The basis for purifying footwear by rubbing.
Sahih Muslim 366
Sahih... اذا دبغ الاهاب فقد طهر ...
"When a hide is tanned, it becomes pure."
Shows that tanning purifies a hide.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on najasat and their purification. Purification by rubbing, wiping, drying of the ground and scraping semen.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on najasat. Istihala and purification with liquids other than water.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on removing najasah. The Shafi'i view that only water removes najasah.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.