Short answer
If the impurity can be seen, wash it until the substance is gone; a stain that will not come out is excused. If it cannot be seen, like dried urine, the Hanafi method is to wash it three times and wring it each time. A normal washing machine cycle with rinses also makes clothes pure. Soap is not required.
Visible impurity is purified by removing it with water, with no set number of washes; a remaining colour or smell that is hard to remove is excused. Invisible impurity is purified by washing three times and wringing each time, or by washing under running water until you are confident it is gone.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- One wash that removes the impurity's colour, smell and taste is enough; three is recommended.
- Maliki
- Wash until the impurity is gone, with no set number.
- Hanbali
- In the relied view of the school, impurity on anything other than the ground is washed seven times.
Explanation
A woman asked the Prophet ﷺ what to do when menstrual blood got on her clothes. He told her to scrape it, rub it with water, rinse it and then pray in it. This is the basic method: remove the impurity with water, and the garment is pure again.
Hanafi method by hand:
- Visible impurity (blood, stool, vomit): scrape off what you can, then wash until it is gone. The number of washes does not matter.
- Invisible impurity (dried urine, a drop you know fell): wash three times, wringing the cloth well after each wash.
- Things you cannot wring, like a heavy coat: wash, let the dripping stop, and repeat three times.
- Leftover stain: if colour or smell stays after proper washing, it is excused. You do not need bleach.
Washing machine: many Hanafi muftis today say that a standard cycle, which fills, drains, rinses with fresh water and spins, purifies clothes, including clean clothes washed with impure ones. Shake off solid impurity first, and use a cycle with at least one full rinse.
Only the impure part needs washing, not the whole garment. Washing off najasah needs no intention or wudu, and children's clothes are washed the same way. For how much impurity is excused, see types of najis.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Muddaththir 74:4
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ ﴿٤﴾
And your clothing purify
The command to keep clothes pure.
Sahih al-Bukhari 227
Sahih... تحته ثم تقرصه بالماء وتنضحه وتصلي فيه ...
"She should scrape it, rub it with water, rinse it, and pray in it."
Washing with water purifies clothing.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on impurities and their purification. Visible impurity until removed; invisible impurity by washing until thought pure, set at three washes with wringing.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on purifying impurities. Washing things that can and cannot be wrung.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on removing impurity. The Hanbali narrations on the number of washes.
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.