What Do I Do If I Am Not Certain Whether I Passed Wind?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
Sometimes I feel a bubble from my backside. It doesn’t feel like wind, more like a bubble. I can feel it in my anus, and sometimes I sit down, then it goes through my legs. Does this break wudu?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah guide us to that which pleases Him, forgive us for our shortcomings, and alleviate our difficulties, Amin.
If a person is not sure whether wind came out of him, his ablution (wudu) is not invalidated by this doubt. If this happens in prayer, he has to carry on with his prayer, which is valid. Ablution will only break if he is sure that he passed wind. [Nawawi, Minhaj Al-Talibin]
‘Abbad Ibn Tamim narrated, from his paternal uncle, that he complained to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) about when a man thinks that something has happened during the prayer. He said: “Do not stop unless you hear a sound or notice a smell.” [Agreed upon – Bukhari and Muslim]
Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “If one of you feels something in his stomach and is not sure whether something came out of him or not, let him not leave the mosque unless he hears a sound or notices a smell.” [Muslim]
I pray this is of benefit.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and pursuing his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
