How Can One Distinguish Between Air Bubbles in the Stomach and Wind from the Rear?


Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I would appreciate this question being answered now as I do not know what to do about my Isha prayer. I can improve my diet. I understand that holding in the wind doesn’t break your wudu. And I also appreciate that unpredictable air bubbles that exit do not break wudu, as mentioned on this website. What happened to me was that I held in the wind during prayer, and then immediately after, I felt a strong air bubble exit. This confuses me, and I need to know if my prayer is valid. Do I have to assume that the air bubble was gas, as I felt it immediately after I held it in the wind, or can I treat them as two separate things? I need help coming to a definite conclusion because I always get second thoughts.

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.

You just need to distinguish between any kind of air exiting your rear or air bubbles in your stomach. This is known by hearing or smelling something, or when there has undoubtedly been a passage of gas and air felt from the rear, it will invalidate the wudu; otherwise, if it was felt in the stomach, it will not.

Ignore Doubts and Follow Your Probable Opinion

One must use judgment when distinguishing between flatulence and mere misgivings or doubts of flatulence. The basis on which they judge is a reasonable surety. If one is not at least reasonably sure that they passed wind, they act as though they haven’t.

[IbnʿAbidin , Radd al-Muhtar]

Please read this valuable answer to correct your issue of flatulence. It is also linked below.

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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.