Short answer
For a carpet, pour water on the spot, press or suck the water out, and repeat three times. In the Hanafi school, earth and floors fixed into the ground become pure for prayer once the impurity dries and no trace remains, though not for tayammum. Smooth surfaces like glass and metal can be wiped clean.
Ground, and things fixed into it like bricks and tiles, become pure for prayer when the impurity dries and its colour and smell are gone. A carpet or rug is purified by washing it three times, letting the water drip or pressing it out each time. Smooth, non-porous things such as glass, a mirror or a knife are purified by wiping.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Ground does not become pure by drying; water must be poured over it.
- Maliki
- Water must be used; drying alone does not purify.
- Hanbali
- Ground is purified by pouring water over it once; drying alone is not enough.
Explanation
A Bedouin once urinated in the masjid, and the Prophet ﷺ told the Companions to leave him and pour a bucket of water over the spot. Ibn Umar also reported that dogs used to urinate and come and go in the masjid in that time, and nobody sprinkled water on any of it. Hanafi scholars take the first as one way to clean ground, and the second as showing that dry ground becomes pure for prayer by itself.
Carpets and rugs:
- Remove any solid impurity and blot up as much liquid as you can.
- Pour clean water over the spot.
- Press it out with a towel, or use a wet vacuum or carpet cleaner to pull the water out.
- Do this three times. A carpet cleaning machine that sprays and extracts water does the same job.
Floors:
- Earth, concrete, stone, bricks or tiles fixed into the ground: once dry with no colour or smell left, you may pray on them. To be quicker, pour water and mop it up.
- Smooth hard surfaces like glass or polished metal: wiping until no trace is left purifies them.
- Laminate, vinyl or sealed wood: mop the spot with clean water, wring the mop out, and repeat three times.
- Pet urine: cat and dog urine are impure; clean them the same way.
Ground that dried by itself is fine to pray on but not to use for tayammum, which needs earth that is pure and purifying. If you do not know where the impurity was, the rest of the floor stays pure. For clothes see cleaning najis from clothes.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 220
Sahih... دعوه وهريقوا على بوله سجلا من ماء ...
"Leave him, and pour a bucket of water over his urine."
Pouring water purifies the ground.
Sunan Abi Dawud 382
Grading to be checked... وكانت الكلاب تبول وتقبل وتدبر في المسجد ...
"Dogs used to urinate and come and go in the masjid."
The Hanafi evidence that ground which has dried is pure for prayer.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on impurities and their purification. Ground is purified by drying for prayer but not for tayammum; smooth surfaces by wiping.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on impurities. Bricks and tiles fixed into the ground, and washing things that cannot be wrung.
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.