Can I Use Pull-Ups for Anxiety Relief if Arousal Occurs?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

I am an autistic Muslim woman with urge incontinence and OCD. Sometimes I use pull-ups on purpose to help calm myself, and other times I have accidents during panic attacks.

I do not want or like the sexual arousal that sometimes happens.

I always make sure I am clean for prayer, and I am getting professional mental health support. Is this haram, since my goal is comfort and anxiety relief, not sexual pleasure?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

What you have described is not haram. You describe it as a means to cope with real medical and psychological needs, and your intention is comfort and relief, not desire.

The arousal you do not want or seek is not sinful. Keep doing what helps you stay clean and able to pray, keep following your professional care, and do not let doubts trouble you.

The Act Itself

There is no clear evidence in Sacred Law that forbids urinating into an absorbent garment. By default, actions are allowed unless there is proof they are forbidden (al-asl fi al-ashya’ al-ibaha).

What you are doing meets a real need: it helps manage your anxiety and is connected to your medical conditions, for which you are getting professional help. Taking steps to manage distress and keep functioning is not wrong.

In your situation, this is more like a therapeutic support than something blameworthy. [Suyuti, al-Ashbah wa al-Naza’ir]

The Question of Intention

You are worried about the arousal, but Sacred Law is clear and reassuring here. Actions are judged by intention.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Actions are but by intentions, and every person shall have only what they intended.” [Bukhari]

Your intention is to find calm and relief, not sexual pleasure. The physical response that happens without your choice and that you dislike is not something you chose.

Scholars agree that if a physical reaction happens during something that is allowed, and you do not want it or enjoy it, it is not sinful. You are not responsible for a bodily reaction you did not choose or encourage. [Mawlana Ilyas Patel, “Is One Sinful for an Unintended Physiological Response During a Halal Act?” SeekersGuidance]

The only time this would be different is if someone did the act to seek arousal or focused on it for its own sake. That is not your case. You do not want the response, and you turn away from it. There is no sin in that.

When you urinate by accident during a panic attack, this is not your choice, and you are not responsible for it.

No one is held accountable for something that happens to them without their control.

On the OCD and Scrupulous Doubt

Because you have OCD, you need to be especially careful, and this is a kindness to yourself. OCD often makes people keep questioning things that are already answered. Try to avoid this. Now that you have a clear answer, do not keep asking for more reassurance.

The best thing is to accept the ruling and not keep going over it. Following good advice instead of giving in to compulsions is itself obedience to Allah.

Purity and Prayer

You are already careful about staying pure, and you are doing the right thing. Before each prayer, make sure to clean yourself, change or use a fresh absorbent garment if needed, make wudu, and then pray. Urine is a ritual impurity (najasa) and must be cleansed from your body and anything you carry during prayer.

Wudu should be renewed for each prayer as is required for someone with a chronic excuse. As long as you do these things, your prayers are valid.

Principle and Practical Guidance

The main rule is that things are allowed by default, and you are only responsible for what you intend and choose, not for things that happen without your control or desire. Keep using the coping methods your mental health care team recommends.

Keep up your efforts to stay pure for prayer, and do not let OCD make you question what has already been answered.

Try to accept this answer as the relief it is meant to be: your worship is accepted, Allah knows your intention, and you are not sinning. Hold on to this and do not let doubts trouble you.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.