Fatwa ID: 08406

Written by Maulana Mohammed Aabu Saeed Miah

Question:

I get a lot of indecision over whether I am pure or not, have I passed wind or not in cases of uncertainty, are drops in underwear urine or water from Istinja. Because I fear that the conclusion I have come to is just me being tempted by my nafs/me being lazy.

I also doubt a lot of the decisions I make about things at work and uni because I fear being misled by my nafs/making the wrong decision. Any advice? It’s very detrimental to my work and studies, and causes a lot of stress.

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

Answer:

Being confused by constant doubts entering one’s mind is very challenging. I understand you must feel frustrated and overwhelmed by these stray thoughts.

A key thing to remember with anything in our Deen is to do your level best. With things like relieving yourself, a person can take a long time in being cautious, this is not needed. Your responsibility is to make a good effort according to your normal habit. This can be done by coughing, leaning to one side, or taking some steps back and forth, or other things according to your habit.

One of the tricks of Shaytan is to make you feel overwhelmed by whispering doubts to you. Please see the Hadeeth below:

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “Satan comes to one of you in Salat and blows air in his bottom, so he imagines that he has realised air, yet he did not. So, if he gets that feeling he should not leave his prayer unless he hears the sound (of the air) or smells its odour.” [Bulugh al-Maram 83].

We learn from this Hadeeth that we do not make any decision unless we are sure. Therefore ask yourself next time, “Am I sure these are urine drops?” If you’re not sure then do not act accordingly rather just carry on.

One of the key guidelines of the Sharia is that doubt is not take doubt into account against certainty. This means if you are certain, you have tried your level, reasonable best, then you ignore any doubt. To ignore it is to recognise the thought, see if you have done your level best and see if you are certain through logical analysis. Then to not give it importance. Ignoring it does not require you to forget it, but to recognise it and not accept it. After which you have completed your responsibility to Allah Ta’ala.

References:

” اليقين لا يزول بالشك” – قاعدة 3 – القواعد الفقهية للشيخ عزت عبيد الدعاس

وَعَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اَللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا; أَنَّ رَسُولَ اَللَّهِ ‏- صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏-قَالَ: { يَأْتِي أَحَدَكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ فِي صَلَاتِهِ, فَيَنْفُخُ فِي مَقْعَدَتِهِ فَيُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ أَحْدَثَ, وَلَمْ يُحْدِثْ, فَإِذَا وَجَدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَا يَنْصَرِفُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ صَوْتًا أَوْ يَجِدَ رِيحًا }

[Bulugh al-Maram 83].

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Maulana Mohammed Aabu Saeed Miah

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham