This indicates that the body of the deceased is not impure, for if it were impure, washing it would be of no benefit. A dog, for example, would not become pure even if you washed it a thousand times. Were washing a dead body not to purify it, commanding that it be washed would be pointless.

If it is said: This is clear with regard to the believer—that he does not become impure—but what of the polytheist? How can it be said that he does not become impure when Allah says, “Indeed, the polytheists are impure” [al-Tawbah: 28]?

The reply is that the impurity intended here is spiritual impurity. The evidence for this is that Allah, Most High, has permitted us to marry women from among the People of the Book and to eat their food, even though their hands touch it. A man also touches his wife if she is from among the People of the Book, yet no command has been reported requiring purification from them. This is the correct view.

Some scholars held that the disbeliever becomes impure through death (1), citing the following:

1. The explicit wording of the aforementioned verse.

2. The implied meaning of the aforementioned hadith.

3. The fact that he is not washed. If he is not washed, the reason, they argue, is that he is intrinsically impure; and whatever is intrinsically impure cannot be purified by washing.

This view is refuted by saying that the impurity mentioned in the verse is spiritual impurity, based on the proofs cited by those who hold that the body of the disbeliever is pure. The implied meaning of the hadith, “Indeed, the believer does not become impure,” is answered in the same way. As for the fact that he is not washed, this is because washing the deceased is an act of honor, and the disbeliever is not deserving of such honor.