How Can Impurity on a Groovy Kitchen Counter Be Purified?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I know that a smooth surface is purified by wiping, but my kitchen counter is old, has scratches, and has tiny holes on the surface that can be seen if looked closely. Washing it would be hard as ill have to empty the cabinets underneath to do so. My mother scrubs the counters with a soapy sponge and then wipes them with a wet cloth.

Is that enough for purification? The food comes in contact with the counters, and sometimes, if there is water on the counter, my clothes get wet, are my prayers valid? I have Religious OCD, and it’s causing me mental anguish.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is enough for your mother to scrub the counter with a soapy sponge and wipe it clean. As you have OCD, it makes you feel anguished and worried. I suggest your mother use a board when cleaning meat, poultry, or similar items. This way, the surface of the counter will not have been used.

If a smooth surface, such as glass, the worktop is filthy; it is enough to wipe this surface with a dry cloth. Caution would entail using a moist cloth. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

As for objects which are not smooth, such as wood or, in your case, a worktop with grooves, you will have to wipe clean until you are reasonably sure it is clean. [IbnʿAbidin, Radd al-Muhtar; ‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

Related Answers
How Can One Purify a Filthy Surface? – SeekersGuidance
(122) 30 – Devil’s Tricks – The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained – Sh Faraz Rabbani – YouTube
Doubts – IPD Session #3 | COJ – an ISIP Youth Chapter Initiative
The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD
Key Principles Relating to Certainty, Doubt, and Baseless Misgivings (waswasa) – SeekersGuidance
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings) (seekersguidance.org)
(1) The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD~Dr. Hooman Keshavarzi – YouTube
Satanic Tactics: Seven Tricks of the Devil (seekersguidance.org)
Being Balanced – Emotional and Mental Health – Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat (seekersguidance.org)

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)

May Allah (Most High) give you ease and relief from OCD.

I pray this helps with your question.

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