What Should I Do If I Am Too Afraid to Ask from My Host for Water for Purification?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

What should I do if I wake up in janaba while visiting relatives for Fajr? There is water, but it’s uncomfortable to ask for a bath. Is wudu sufficient for prayer, or should I wait to make up the prayer after performing the ghusl?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

If you need to perform a ritual bath and you don’t have access to water you own, it is obligatory to ask for water from the people around you if they are not stingy. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

If they will only give you water by selling it to you, it will be obligatory for you to buy it from them if the water is sold at the market price and you can afford it. [Ibid]

If you can’t acquire water from the people around you you will have to look for water for a distance of 400 steps from your location. [Ibid]

If, despite the above, you don’t have access to water, you will be allowed to pray with dry ablution (Tayammum). You won’t have to repeat this prayer. [Ibid]

Allah (Most High) says: “O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean earth by wiping your faces and hands. It is not Allah’s Will to burden you, but to purify you and complete His favor upon you, so perhaps you will be grateful.” [Quran, 5:6]

Fear of People

Please don’t worry too much about what people may think of you in this kind of situation.

Allah (Most High) says: “So do not fear them; fear Me if you are ˹true˺ believers.” [Quran, 3:175]

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

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.