Fatwa ID: 07475
Answered by Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat
Question:
Salaam, so I had done wudu and made sure to clean myself properly when using the toilet
I finished praying fajr salah and it wasn’t until after I read salah, I decided to wipe my front passage and found that the tissue was wet (I didn’t dry myself properly though after I had used the toilet so maybe the wetness was that?) and it smelt however, I had made sure to properly clean myself before salah.
I also don’t think anything had come out apart from air bubbles.
I washed myself off after prayer and checked with the tissue and my private didn’t smell
So, does this mean the salah I read was invalid because of this smell and the wetness of the tissue? Even though I didn’t dry myself properly when using the toilet.
Please can you advise me on this as I do find making wudu and performing salah a bit of a burden in my everyday life?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
First, understand that there is a distinction in Fiqh between something that definitively invalidates wudu and something that does not. From what you’ve described, it seems the wetness you found after Salah might have been left over from your initial cleaning (istinja), and not from any discharge that would invalidate wudu.
- Wetness and Smell After Istinja:
According to Hanafi Fiqh, if the wetness after using the toilet is due to remaining water from istinja (cleaning oneself) and not from an impure substance, this does not invalidate wudu. The following reference from Radd al-Muhtar explains that leftover water from cleaning does not invalidate wudu unless there is certainty of impurity:
- Air Bubbles and Wind:
In the Hanafi school, passing wind invalidates wudu, but mere doubts about whether something has come out do not. Al-Durr al-Mukhtar and Radd al-Muhtar clarify that doubts are not acted up.
General Principle Regarding Doubts (الشك):
The principle of assuming purity (طهارة) unless there is certainty (يقين) of impurity is a key concept in Hanafi Fiqh. This principle is discussed in both Al-Hidaya and Radd al-Muhtar. Doubts about the validity of wudu or Salah should not be acted upon unless there is clear evidence to the contrary.
- The Burden of Constant Doubts (Waswasa):
Hanafi jurists caution against falling into obsessive doubts or waswasa concerning purity and impurity. This is a key point in preventing worship from becoming burdensome. The Radd al-Muhtar advises against being overly scrupulous unless there is clear evidence of impurity.
To conclude, your salah is valid, the wetness you observed after Salah was likely from the remaining water used in Istinja and does not invalidate your prayer. The smell and the suspicion of air bubbles do not invalidate wudu in the absence of certainty. Therefore, you should proceed with confidence in your ibadah and avoid letting doubts overburden you.
Only Allah knows best.
Answered by Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
“ولا بأس ببقاء أثر الماء بعد الاستنجاء إذا لم يتحقق خروج النجاسة”
(Radd al-Muhtar, Vol 1, Pg 202)
“والأصل في كل شيء الطهارة حتى يقوم الدليل على نجاسته بيقين”
(Al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Vol 1, Pg 146)
“والأصل بقاء الطهارة حتى يتحقق الحدث”
(Al-Hidaya, Vol 1, Pg 18)
“ولا ينبغي للمرء أن يدخل نفسه في الوسواس حتى يرى أثر النجاسة بيقين”
(Radd al-Muhtar, Vol 1, Pg 170)
