*In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May Allah's blessings be upon the noblest of prophets and messengers, Muhammad, and upon all his family.* *And then:* Purification is one of the most important matters for every Muslim man and woman for many reasons. It is considered a condition for the validity of prayer and other acts of worship. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "The prayer of one who has broken his wudu is not accepted until he performs wudu." An example of this is the statement of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: *"O you who have believed, when you rise to prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful."* [Al-Ma’idah: 6][perform] The noble verse encompasses the legislation of the three types of purification while clarifying that purification is a condition for prayer. Its overall meaning is that whoever intends to pray, if he is not in a state of janabah, must perform wudu. If he is in a state of janabah, he must perform ghusl, provided he is able to use water. Otherwise, he must perform tayammum. So the one with minor hadath who is ill, or traveling, or has come from relieving himself, and the one with major hadath who is unable to find water, if they intend to pray, must perform tayammum by wiping the face and hands. The noble verse also indicates, at its conclusion, the wisdom behind legislating the three purifications. The purpose is not to place hardship and difficulty upon the servants, but rather to purify their souls with a spiritual purity and to complete His favor upon them so that they may be grateful. There are two verses in the Noble Qur’an regarding the legislation of the two purifications: water-based and earth-based. One is this verse, and the other is in Surah An-Nisa. This verse from Surah Al-Ma’idah is cited even though it comes later than Surah An-Nisa in the Qur’an because it is more detailed and explanatory. The address in the noble verse is directed to the believers. From this, it might be inferred that the obligation to perform the branches of religion is exclusive to Muslims and not to disbelievers. This issue has been a matter of discussion among scholars. The view attributed to the majority is that the obligation is general. However, some, such as the author of _Al-Hada’iq_, Al-Muhaddith Al-Kashani, Al-Amin Al-Astarabadi, and Sayyid Al-Khoei, held that it is exclusive to Muslims. If we refer to the Noble Qur’an, we find that the verses differ in this regard. Some are specific to the believers, while others are general to all people. An example of this is the noble verse that is the subject of our article, and another example is His saying: *"And to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way"*, and His saying: *"O mankind, worship your Lord"*, and also His saying: *"And woe to the polytheists, those who do not give zakah"*.[due] Accordingly, a clear conclusion cannot be drawn from the Noble Qur’an alone. However, in the noble Sunnah, there is what clearly indicates exclusivity. It is reported in the authentic hadith of Zurarah: I said to Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him), "Tell me, is recognizing the Imam obligatory upon all creation?" He said: "Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) to all people as a messenger and as Allah’s proof over His creation on His earth. So whoever believes in Allah and in Muhammad the Messenger of Allah, follows him and affirms him, then recognizing the Imam from us is obligatory upon him. But whoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger, does not follow him, does not affirm him, and does not recognize their right, then how can recognizing the Imam be obligatory upon him when he does not believe in Allah and His Messenger?" If recognizing the Imam is not obligatory before believing in Allah, the Glorified, then it is even more appropriate that the remaining obligations are not directed before that. Based on this, the verses whose apparent meaning is general must be interpreted. For example, it may be said: The meaning of the verse that affirms woe upon the polytheists who do not give zakah is to affirm woe upon them for their polytheism, which became the cause for their abandonment of zakah, not for the abandonment of zakah itself. Likewise, in His saying: *"They will say, 'We were not of those who prayed'"*, the meaning is: It was said to them, "What put you into Saqar?" They said: "The reason for that was the abandonment of faith, which led to the abandonment of prayer and other obligations upon Muslims." *Dr. Murad Abdul Ameer Al-Hussaini*