THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAMAK AND SERTU AND THE METHOD OF PURIFICATION

Islam is a religion that emphasizes cleanliness and purity in both physical and spiritual elements. Personal hygiene, settings, clothes, and equipment are all examples of physical hygiene aspects. This is necessary to verify that all acts of worship undertaken by Muslims are in accordance with Shariah.

SERTU	Purifies any body part that is contaminated with najis mughallazah (dog or pig) Remove najis and wash them with water mixed with soil once and clean water 6 times.
SAMAK	Purifies animal skin (edible or not) Get rid of blood, meat and anything attached to the skin that can be detrimental by using sharp tools like alum or manjakani

Sertu, according to the Fourth Edition Hall Dictionary, is to purify any portion of the body afflicted by mughallazah excrement (dogs and pigs) once with water mixed with dirt and six times with absolute water, tanning.Meanwhile, the word samak has several meanings. Among them are things used to cook and colour animal skins, cleansing mughallazah excrement once with ground water and six times with absolute water, and a plant used to tan leather.

Tanning is derived from the Arabic word, الدبغ which implies the procedure of cleansing the skin of animals that may be eaten or not, that is, by removing blood, flesh, and everything attached to the skin that rots if not removed, with a sharp instrument such as alum or manjakani fruit and the like. Matla’ al-Badrain (25).

Bersertu, on the other hand, is a method of purifying oneself from mughalazah pollutants, in which dogs and pigs are washed seven times with water, one of which is ground water, depending on whether the impurities are najis aini or najis hukmi. Whether influenced by dress, physique, or location. For example, al-Mujtaba fi Sharh Safinah al-Naja (69). This is recorded in the hadith transmitted by Abu Hurairah R.A, according to which the Messenger of Allah SAW said:

طَهُورُ إِنَاءِ أَحَدِكُمْ إِذَا وَلَغَ فِيهِ الْكَلْبُ، أَنْ يَغْسِلَهُ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ أُولَاهُنَّ بِالتُّرَابِ

Meaning: The sanctity of one of you’s vessel when a dog licks it (the vessel) is in the fact that you wash it seven times, the first of which is mixed with soil.

(Muslim history (279))

Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. did not specify the form and condition of the soil that can be used to purify mughallazah excrement in the zahir hadith of the law of tanning with dirt in locations affected by mughallazah impurity. This appears to imply that any sort of soil on the planet may be utilised for tanning. All sorts of soil, including sand dust, are mentioned by Imam Al-Sharbini. Soil combined with foreign substance is not an impediment as long as it does not alter the soil’s originality and is sacrosanct.

Similarly, soap containing clay materials can be used to execute sertu/tanning mughallazah excrement if the soil is pure, the percentage of soil content in the soap surpasses the quantity of other ingredients, and the tanning procedure is Sharia-compliant.

Therefore, every Muslim must understand and apply the principles of cleanliness and purity in their daily life. As a result, any industry, premises, equipment, or clothing that is suspected of being contaminated with mughallazah excrement from pigs, dogs, or their offspring must be combined with one (1) water mixed with dirt and six (6) times absolute water.

The Prophet SAW said:

“Clean your food containers that have been licked by dogs with seven (7) washes and the first of them with soil”.

 (Hadith of Muslim History)