What Is the Ruling on Praying in an Impure Place?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad
Question
What is the ruling on praying in a place that is impure (najis)?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Master of the Messengers, his Family, and all his Companions.
Maintaining Purity in Prayer
Prayer is one of the most important acts of worship that a Muslim must maintain with all its conditions and pillars. Allah says:
“And who are (properly) observant of their prayers.” [Quran, 70:34]
One of the conditions for the validity of prayer is the purity of the place from impurity (najasa). The “place” refers to the area where the worshiper stands and prays, including the space from where the feet are placed to where the forehead touches during prostration. Any part of the body that comes into contact with the ground during the prayer must be free from impurity.
Evidence from the Sunna
The evidence for this condition is found in the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) instruction to pour water on the spot where a Bedouin urinated in the mosque. [al-Fiqh al-Manhaji ‘ala Madhab al-Imam al-Shafi‘i]
Anas Ibn Malik narrated:
“The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) was sitting in the mosque with his companions when a Bedouin came and urinated in the mosque. The companions said, ‘Stop! Stop!’ But the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to them,
‘Do not interrupt him; let him finish.’
After the man finished, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) called him and said:
‘These mosques are not the place for anything filthy, including urine. They are only for the remembrance of Allah, prayer, and the recitation of the Quran.’
Then the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) ordered one of the people to bring a bucket of water and pour it over the area where the Bedouin had urinated.” [Bukhari; Muslim; Ibn Khuzayma]
Purity of Place Similar to Purity of Clothing
This ruling regarding the purity of the place is analogous to the ruling on the purity of clothing, as the place is similar to clothing in terms of its contact with the body during prayer.
We ask Allah to honor us by enabling us to worship Him and draw closer to Him in a way that pleases Him. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad
Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad, born in Damascus, Syria, in 1965, pursued his Islamic studies in the mosques and institutes of Damascus. A graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in 1985, he holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan.
He has extensive experience developing curricula and enhancing the teaching of various academic courses, including conducting intensive courses. Shaykh Awad has taught Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Quranic sciences, the history of legislation, inheritance laws, and more at several institutes and universities such as Al-Furqan Institute for Islamic Sciences and Majma‘ al-Fath al-Islami in Damascus.
He is a lecturer at the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Waqf University in Istanbul, teaching various Arabic and Islamic subjects, and teaches at numerous Islamic institutes in Istanbul. Shaykh Awad is a member of the Association of Syrian Scholars, a founding member of the Zayd bin Thabit Foundation, a member of the Syrian Scholars Association, and a member of the Academic Council at the Iman Center for Teaching the Sunna and Quran.
Among his teachers from whom he received Ijazat are his father, Shaykh Muhammad Muhiyiddin Awad, Shaykh Muhiyiddin al-Kurdi, Shaykh Muhammad Karim Rajih, Shaykh Usama al-Rifai, Shaykh Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ahmad al-Qalash, Shaykh Muhammad Awwama, and Shaykh Mamduh Junayd.