What Amount of Prayers Do I Have to Repeat When Finding a Barrier on My Skin Preventing the Validity of My Ritual Bath?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I have recently noticed a few very small black pieces presumably from my trousers that get stuck to my back passage. I have scratched them off and they seem to be impenetrable to water. What will the be the situation with any ghusl I have done while these things were on there? Are they valid and therefore were my prayers valid?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
All the prayers you have performed before finding these pieces of clothing on your skin were valid.
This ruling is because, according to the Hanafi school, new events (in this case, pieces of clothing sticking to your skin) are attributed to the closest time possible. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Manhal al-Waridin]
In your case, the closest time possible is right before you found them after removing your clothes, an event that took place well after you finished your prayers. Thus, you assume all your ritual baths and prayers preceding this finding were valid. This is because it is possible that these pieces of clothing became stuck to your skin right before you removed your clothes before you examined your skin.
This legal principle is an application of another legal principle: “Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Majalla]
Which is, in turn, based on the following verse of the Quran:
“Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36] [Du‘ass, al-Qawa‘id al-Fiqhiyya]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[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.
