Is It Possible to Be Ritually Clean Despite Urinating in the Shower?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

If you are a woman who doesn’t know much about the rules of urine and how to clean it and such and you urinate in the shower but you finish your shower thinking you are clean, is this enough to be pure?

Answer

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Yes, you can assume you are pure because of the flowing nature of the water and because of the easy-going rulings regarding urine cleaning (Istibra’) when it comes to women in Islam.

The process of ensuring that there are no traces of urine at the point of exit is called Istibra’.

The duty to perform Istibra’ is only incumbent upon men. Women don’t have to perform Istibra’, whether she is menstruating or not. A woman simply needs to wait for a little after urinating, and that’s it. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Allah, Most High, says: “Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you.” [2.185]

The Messenger of Allah (blessing and peace be upon him) has said, “Those who make things hard for themselves will be destroyed.” [Muslim]

And Allah knows best.

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.