How Should One Wash Clothes in a Tub?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I use the site for Hanafi Fatwas. On that, I have seen fatwa that the water will become impure because of the impure clothes in it. I also find conflicting fatwas there sometimes. Some websites are stricter than others or something. And I saw it after I sent my question that the maid actually does *not* keep the water running/overflowing. She washes in the tub water.

Additional info: The maid comes late, so the impurity is dried on the pants when she comes to wash it; I wonder if it affects the ruling.

Now I just wash impure cloth in the shower during ghusl to be free from this. But what about my previous prayers? Was the impurity small enough on clothes to be excused or assumed to be pure?

Answer

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

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

Assume the impurity on your clothes was excused or pure. However, it is a good habit to remove any kind of dirt, soil, or impurity from the clothes before they are placed for washing. This way, you will not have doubts and misgivings.

Perceivable Filth

If the filth is perceivable, one is only required to remove the body of the impurity. There are no specific requirements for the method or number of times needed as long as the body is removed.

Note that stains that remain and are difficult to remove are excused. One is not required to use soap or put themselves in difficulty to remove them. [Tahtawi, Hashiyat al-Tahtawi ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah]

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

Related:

• How Do I Hand-Wash Clothes To Remove Impurities?
• Washing Impurities Archives
• Purification in Islam: A Comprehensive Reader
• A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught 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 the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.