Fatwa ID: 05909
Answered by: Maulana Mohammed Haroon Hussain
Question:
The ruling for the one who doubts he passes wind during salah should not stop until he hears a sound or smells something.
I finished praying my Salah got up and moved just a little bit and then found a foul smell what should I do
I did not leave my prayer as I never found the smell during the prayer but I found it a short while after should it have been repeated or was that prayer complete?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
The prayer will only break if the wind comes out1. If you definitely felt the wind come out, then you must go and repeat your wudhu and your prayer. The advice to not go unless you smell something or hear a sound is for that person who is plagued with doubts. Most people are not in that category. The majority of people can feel when wind has come out, even if there is no smell or sound. As such, the wudhu WILL break. If one definitely felt that there was no wind passed, then his wudhu will not break. However, if one does get plagued with doubts and he is definitely sure that he passed wind, then his wudhu will break2. The only time it will not is if he cannot make up his mind whether it did break or it did not break. In that case, he will act upon the principle that doubt will not take precedence over certainty; therefore he will only go and repeat his wudhu if he heard a sound or smelt something3.
In the situation you have described, it is best to repeat the prayer. The smell may not come immediately and one may notice it after a while. Thus, if you did smell something a few minutes later, it makes the most sense to attribute it to wind passing and to repeat the prayer.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Maulana Mohammed Haroon Hussain
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 والمعانى الناقضة للوضوء كل ما خرج من السبيلين
المختصر للقدوري – ص 4 – كتاب الطهارة – قديمي كتب خانه
2 منها ما يخرج من السبيلين من البول والغائط والريح الخارجة من الدبر
الفتاوى الهندية – ص 12 – كتاب الطهارة – الفصل الخامس في نواقض الوضوء – دار الكتب العلمية
3 اليقين لا يزول بالشك
القوائد الفقهية – دار الترمذي
