Fatwa ID: 07974

 

Answered by Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

 

Question:

 

Please try to answer my question after considering the following scenario:

 

Mr. X wakes up in the morning at 08:00 to open his bowels (defecates). He then does proper Istinja with water to clean his private parts but does not do Wudu because it’s not Prayer time.  He then goes to work as usual. Between this time and Zuhur, he does not pass any urine or any stools. He however has passed flatus. At Zuhur time (13:00) he wants to prepare for prayer. He has no urge to pass urine or bowels. At this point, will he need to do Itinja followed by Wudu, or will he just need to do Wudu and Istinja is not needed?

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Answer:

 

Passing wind does not necessitate Istinjā’, as long as no impurity exits. You would only need to make Wudu in this situation.

 

Fatāwā Hindiyyah states:

[Istinjā’ is] Removing impurity from a passage [private parts]. It is not Sunnah for flatulence [passing gas], stones, sleep, or bloodletting.^[1]

 

Fatāwā Hindiyyah further elaborates:

(His statement: “It is not recommended for wind”) because its essence is pure, and it only breaks the Wudu because it emanates from the place of impurity. End quote. And because with the exit of wind, there is nothing on the passage [private parts], so it [Istinjā’] is not Sunnah for it, rather it is an innovation (Bid’ah), as stated in Al-Mujtaba Bahr.^[2]

 

 

Only Allah (عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ) knows best.

Written by Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

 

 

 

References:

[1] إزَالَةُ نَجَسٍ عَنْ سَبِيلٍ فَلَا يُسَنُّ مِنْ رِيحٍ وَحَصَاةٍ وَنَوْمٍ وَفَصْدٍ

(Radd Al-Muhtār, vol. 1, pg. 335, Darul Fikr Beirut)

 

[2] (قَوْلُهُ: فَلَا يُسَنُّ مِنْ رِيحٍ) لِأَنَّ عَيْنَهَا طَاهِرَةٌ، وَإِنَّمَا نَقَضَتْ لِانْبِعَاثِهَا عَنْ مَوْضِعِ النَّجَاسَةِ اهـ ح؛ وَلِأَنَّ بِخُرُوجِ الرِّيحِ لَا يَكُونُ عَلَى السَّبِيلِ شَيْءٌ فَلَا يُسَنُّ مِنْهُ بَلْ هُوَ بِدْعَةٌ كَمَا فِي الْمُجْتَبَى بَحْرٌ.

(Radd Al-Muhtār, vol. 1, pg. 335, Darul Fikr Beirut)