Dried White Substance in One’s Underwear

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat is asked about finding dried white substance or discharge in one’s underwear after prayer and how to deal with this.

Question:

Assalam alaykum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh.

What should one do in the event when one finds dried white substance in one’s underwear? There have been numerous occasions when I have prayed and then gone to the bathroom only to find this.

What are the correct methods of cleaning and does one have to repeat prayer?

Shukran.

Answer:

Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh.

I pray you are well.

Practical Steps to Ascertain Validity

You can, in general, assume that your prayers are valid. The default assumption with anything that breaks your wudu (Hadath) is that it happened at the earliest possible moment (Ibn Nujaym, Al Ashbah wa al Nazaʾir). Meaning, if you see some dried discharge on your clothes you should ask “When is the last possible moment it could have come out and dried?”

The discharge you see is most likely prostatic fluid (wadi). Let us assume that after the initial discharge it takes ten minutes to dry. So, the next time you see this discharge on your underwear, you can assume it occurred ten minutes before that.

Then you should see how much there is. If it is more than the excused amount, and you prayed in the last ten minutes, you should repeat the prayer. If it is less than that, and therefore excused, you assume that your prayer is valid, and carry on with your life.

Excused Impurities

The amount of impurity which is excused for the purpose of the prayer is equivalent the circular depression in the middle of an outstretched palm. This is roughly equal to a £2 coin.

Impurities on your body which, when accumulated, would be less than this amount, do not affect the validity of the prayer. It is, however, superior to remove them before praying.

Removing the impurities is simple. You can wash the discharge under a tap, or by pouring water on it. When the impurity disappears the garment is considered to be pure.

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

Abdul-Rahim

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.