ten times, until the affected area is purified. The evidence for this is the Prophet’s statement to the women who washed his daughter: “Wash her three times, or five, or seven, or more, if you think necessary.” (1) Although washing a deceased person is generally not performed to remove an impurity, if—in such a case, that is, purification not undertaken to remove impurity—the number may be increased beyond seven when the washer considers it necessary, then in the case of impurity this is all the more warranted. Indeed, it must be washed until the impurity is removed.
An item rendered impure is not purified by the sun, …
His statement, “An item rendered impure is not purified by the sun”: an item rendered impure is that which impurity has come into contact with.
Here it is an indefinite noun occurring in a negative context, and thus includes every item rendered impure, whether it be land, a garment, bedding, a wall, or anything else. It is not purified by the sun—that is, by its impurity disappearing through the sun. The evidence for this is:
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Allah Most High says: “And He sends down upon you water from the sky to purify you thereby.” [al-Anfal 8:11] Thus, Allah has made water the means of purification.
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The Prophet’s statement regarding the sea: “Its water is purifying.” (2)