Can One Use Wet Wipes Other than Water to Clean Impurities? – Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Can I use things other than water to clean impurities, for example, can I use wipes, to clean an impurity, or must I use water for the place to be pure? If there is a difference of opinion on this topic, may you please mention it?

Answer

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Using Wet Wipes to Remove Impurity from Body

You cannot remove filth from the body by just using wet wipes or similar items because you must use something which removes the filth, such as water, and not something which will cause the filth to spread unless the impurity is a small amount. Alternatively, you may use dry wipes, like tissue, paper towel, etc., then when the core of the impurity is removed, you may use wipes. 

[Tahtawi, Hashiya al-Tahtawi ’ala Maraqi ‘l-Falah]

Using Wet Wipes After Istinja

It is a strongly confirmed sunna for both men and women to cleanse their private parts after using the toilet. This sunna may be fulfilled in three ways:

1. The optimal is first to use toilet paper or the like and wipe the area clean. Then, one should wash the area with water.

2. To wash the area clean with water alone. This follows in optimality.

3. To wipe the area clean with toilet paper or its equivalent only. This is the least optimal but also fulfills the sunna, and everything is fine with this. 

[Tahtawi, Hashiya al-Tahtawi ’ala Maraqi ‘l-Falah]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related Answers

Can I Use Wet Paper Towels to Clean Filth off of My Body? – Is Cleaning Myself with Toilet Paper in the Bathroom Sufficient? (seekersguidance.org)

Purification in Islam: A Comprehensive Reader – SeekersGuidance

Key Principles Relating to Certainty, Doubt, and Baseless Misgivings (waswasa) – SeekersGuidance

A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings) (seekersguidance.org)

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[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.