Fatwa ID: 07529

Answered by Maulana Sarfraz Mohammad

Question

Is steam and air impure? If I wash najasah off my hands using hot water and the heat/steam when washing transfers to my face, do I need to wash my face? Or when I’m showering and washing impurity off and the shower room is steamy, is the mirror etc filled with impure water from the steam? Or when wind such as if I put a blow dryer on something najas and the wind pushes the air to me is that najas.

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

Answer:

In the Hanafi madhhab, steam and air are not considered impure (najas). When you wash najasah (impurity) off your hands or body with hot water and steam or heat from the water touches other parts of your body, such as your face, it does not make those areas impure. The steam is essentially vapour and does not carry impurities, as the water used for cleaning the impurity is assumed to be pure once the impurity has been removed from the body.

Similarly, when you shower and the room becomes steamy, the steam or condensation on the mirror or other surfaces is not considered impure, even if you were washing off impurities during the shower. The steam does not carry the impurity in a way that transfers it.

Regarding air, such as the wind or a blow dryer, air itself does not carry impurities. So if air is blown over something impure and then reaches you, it does not render you or your surroundings impure, unless actual physical particles of the impurity are carried with the wind or dryer, which is generally unlikely in normal conditions.

In summary, steam and air do not transfer impurity according to the Hanafi view. So there is no need to wash your face or clean surfaces affected by steam or air in such scenarios unless there is direct contact with the actual najasah.

Only Allah تعالي Knows Best.

Answered by Maulana Sarfraz Mohammad

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

References:

“شك في وجود النجس فالأصل بقاء الطهارة  ولذا قال محمد رحمه الله: حوض تملأ منه الصغار، والعبيد بالأيدي الدنسة، والجرار الوسخة يجوز الوضوء منه ما لم يعلم به  نجاسة.”

الاشباہ والنظائر ص:49،ألقاعدة الثالثة:اليقين لا يزول بالشك،ط