Book of Purification
Chapter on Water

Kitab (book): Linguistically, the root k-t-b revolves around the idea of gathering; it was called a kitab because it gathers letters, words, and sentences. In this context it simply means “what is written.”
Technically: Whatever is written on parchment (or the like) to convey something to another person, or written down so that it will not be forgotten. Scholars also apply the word kitab to a compilation that brings together several chapters and sections.

Taharah (purification):
Linguistically: cleanliness and freedom from tangible and intangible defilements.
Legally: the removal of ritual impurity (hadath) with purificatory water or clean earth whose use is permitted, and the elimination of physical filth.
According to unanimous Muslim agreement, purification is the disappearance of the condition that resides in the body. The legal consequence of that condition is that it bars a person from prayer and similar acts. The jurists speak of “removal” with regard to hadath because it is an intangible state, and of “elimination” with regard to najasah because it is a physical substance, and elimination pertains only to corporeal things.

Bab (chapter):
Linguistically: the doorway into something.
Technically: a heading that gathers kindred subjects of knowledge, usually containing sub-chapters and specific issues.

Miyah (waters): the plural of maʾ (water), the well-known liquid that is chemically composed of the gases hydrogen and oxygen. Its sources are rainfall, springs, artesian wells, lakes, and rivers.