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Is it necessary to wash my hands during ablution?

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Dear questioner,
Thank you for your important question.
May Allah, Most High, reward you for your desire to increase in knowledge.
Washing your hands at the beginning of ablution is sufficient, and your previous ablutions are valid.
Washing the hands until the elbows is an integral of ablution. Washing your hands until the wrists, separately at the beginning of ablution, is a Sunna action that ensures no filth on your hands before beginning ablution.
(Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah)
And Allah alone knows best,
[Ustadh] Omar Popal
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Filth that is excused

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Question: In the Shafi’i school, is there any amount of filth that is by default overlooked in prayer?

Answer:

Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

Dear questioner,

Thank you for your important question.

No, in the Shafi’i school, no filth amount is by default overlooked in an absolute sense. We do not say that a speck or a certain fraction of one’s clothes may have filth on it. Rather we say that any filth that is difficult to avoid regularly given one’s circumstances is overlooked. (Bushra al-Karim, Ba ‘Ishn)

The possibility or even likelihood of having urine on one should be completely ignored. There is no need to go looking for it or wash it unless one is 100% certain that it has come out.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that when thoughts like this come to one that we should ascribe them to the Devil and tell him in our hearts that he is a liar. (Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, and others)

Also, if you are genuinely suffering from OCD, I personally advise you to seek clinical help. You are not insane or “weird.” You have a problem that can and will go away with the help of Allah.

Please also see:
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/hanafi-fiqh/key-principles-relating-to-certainty-doubt-and-baseless-misgivings-waswasa/
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/shafii-fiqh/how-can-i-end-urine-drops-quickly-shafii/
I pray this helps.

[Ustadh] Farid

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Farid Dingle has completed extensive years of study in the sciences of the Arabic language and the various Islamic Sciences. During his studies, he also earned a CIFE Certificate in Islamic Finance. Over the years, he has developed a masterful ability to craft lessons that help non-Arabic speakers gain a deep understanding of the language. He currently teaches courses in the Arabic Language.

Does Dead Skin Prevent the Validity of Wudu?

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Question:

Salaam. Does dead skin that can be rubbed off of the body affect wudhu or ghusl?

Answer:

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

Assalam’aleykum, I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Jazakum Allah khayr for your question!

No, dead skin does not prevent the validity of wudu because dead skin is not a real physical barrier that would prevent the water to reach the skin.

Examples of real physical barriers that would prevent the validity of wudu are wax or grease. Rheum that dries and gathers as a crust in the corners of the eyes is also an example of a real barrier preventing the validity of wudu. [Maraqi Al-Falah]

And Allah knows best.

May  Allah Most High grant you the best of this world and the next. Please keep us in your du’as!

Wassalam

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Should I Leave the Sunna of the Tooth-Stick (Miswak)?

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Question:

Should I leave the sunna of the tooth-stick (miswak) and go back to using a toothbrush, if the stains of my teeth are not going away, rather getting worse?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

With regards to oral hygiene, there are two sunnas. The first and most fundamental of the two is that the mouth be cleaned; this entails removing the stains as well as freshening the breath. The second is the use of the tooth stick specifically.

The first sunna can be achieved by any means that accomplish the desired result alluded to above; this would include the use of toothpaste and toothbrush. [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

The second sunna, however, is not achieved by the mere cleaning of the mouth. For this reason, it is a reasonable solution to use both the toothbrush with toothpaste and the tooth-stick. In this way, you will achieve both sunnas and the desired hygiene.

 

Remaining Steadfast on the Sunna

The sunna of the tooth-stick is a great blessing of Allah Most High to the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The prayer performed with the tooth-stick (i.e. used during the wudu) is better than the prayer without it seventy fold.” [Bayhaqi]

He also said, “If it was not that I would cause my community hardship, I would have commanded them to use the tooth-stick all the time.”

May Allah always keep us firm on the Prophetic way.

I hope this helps,
Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

 

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.

Is My Wudu Valid if I Pass Gas During the Act?

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Question:

Is our wudu valid if we pass gas during wudu, but not after completing it?

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question. If one passes gas while performing ritual purity (wudu) then one would have to re-start the wudu.

The only exception to this would be a person in a state of chronic annulment (dawam al-hadath). A person with chronic annulment of wudu (da’im al-hadath), for example, because of the constant release of wind, is not obliged to try praying several times without releasing wind. His prayer is perfectly valid, if he has made wudu with an intention suitable to his state and prays his obligatory prayer once, even if he passes wind during the whole wudu and the whole prayer. He is considered to have chronic annulment if he cannot find enough time to be free of breaking his wudu, or if he does find enough time, but is unable to pinpoint when it will occur.

The default for a normal, healthy person, however, is that the wudu is nullified if the gas passes while performing the wudu.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

 

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.

Does Leakage After Sex Necessitate a Ritual Bath?

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Question:
Does leakage after sex necessitate ghusl?
Answer:
Dear questioner,
Thank you for your important question.
May Allah, Most High reward you for your desire to increase in knowledge.
It is not necessary for a woman who finds her husband’s semen leak out of her vagina to repeat the major ablution (ghusl). However, she is required to make a new ablution (wudu).
Any prayer she prayed between intercourse and when she spotted her husband’s semen does not need to be made up. [Ibn Abideen, al-Hashiya]
In the Hanafi school of law, semen is considered impure. The semen that leaks onto a piece of clothing must be cleaned. It is not necessary to clean any liquid impurity below 5cm in diameter.
[Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
If one finds that they often have this issue and are going out of the house, they should consider using the restroom before leaving or carrying a change of clothes.
And Allah alone knows best,
[Ustadh] Omar Popal
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Must a Woman Perform the Ritual Bath Due to Intermittent Flow? 

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Question:
Do women need to perform ghusl due to intermittent flow?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
Assalamu ‘alaykum dear sister in faith,
It is normal for women to experience intermittent flow during their menses. The color and heaviness may also vary throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle. Women also experience patterns of flow.  For example, it is common that flow cease at night and resume later the next day. A woman becomes attune to her own patterns and may act upon what she deems to be probable.
Thus, if a brief interruption occurs during menses, during the days of her habit, she can reasonably assume that the flow will resume shortly, and she would not need to perform ghusl.
If, however, the interruption extends or occurs after the days of her habit, she should exercise caution.  She should make use of a vaginal insert (kursuf) to determine the end of her menses (hayd).
If she finds that the discharge is colored (even yellow), she is to consider it as menstrual flow (hayd).
The obligation to perform the ritual bath (ghusl) and resume prayers  would only come into effect once she observes uncolored discharge.
[Birgivi, Dhukhr al-Muta’ahilin]
Allah, Most High, knows best.
[Ustadha] Iman Badawi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Was My Prayer Valid After I Woke Up Recalling a Dream but Did Not Shower?

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Question:

I slept for an hour after maghrib, and I had a strange dream as I usually do. I remember an intimate moment after waking up. I do not remember feeling anything. I was wearing patterned underwear so I could not make out any discharge. I checked myself and found normal vaginal wetness. So, I did not make a ghusl, but I made wudu and prayed as there was no extra wetness and any feelings involved. Is my prayer valid?

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question.

Your prayer was valid because you did not see any wetness beyond the usual, therefore you did not require a ritual bath (ghusl). I encourage you to enroll in a free course here at Seekers to learn your personally obligatory knowledge so that you will know answers to questions like this. Also, please see these links about the ritual bath:

Please See:

https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/wet-dreams-and-ghusl/
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/hanafi-fiqh/rules-regarding-ghusl-and-wet-dreams-for-men-and-women/
https://islamqa.org/hanafi/seekersguidance-hanafi/107483

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

 

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.

Is My Ablution Nullified Upon Hearing a Sound?

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Question:
Is my ablution nullified upon hearing a sound?
Answer:
Dear questioner,
Thank you for your important question.
May Allah, Most High reward you for your desire to increase in knowledge.
Your ablution (wudu) is not nullified until you are certain that gas left the body, regardless of whether you hear a sound from your stomach.
The Hadith you are referring to is:
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “If one of you feels a disturbance in his stomach and doubts whether he has released some wind or not, then he should not leave the mosque unless he hears its sound or smells (its) odor.”
[Muslim, al-Sahih]
In his commentary on this Hadith, Shaykh Nurul Din al-Itr says: “Hearing a sound or smelling a scent is not a condition for the nullifying of ablution. Rather, the intended meaning behind these words is the attainment of certainty that gas has left the body. [Nurul Din al-Itr, I’ilam al-Anam]
Please consider taking a class on the basic rulings of Purification & Prayer: Class on Worship
And Allah alone knows best,
[Ustadh] Omar Popal
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Do Traces of Stool Nullify My Prayer?

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Question:
Do traces of stool nullify my prayer?
Answer:
Dear questioner,
Thank you for your important question.
May Allah, Most High reward you for your desire to increase in knowledge.
Your prayer is valid so long as the amount of impurity on your body was less than 5cm in diameter.
The cleanliness of the body is from the conditions of prayer. Muslims must not only be in a state of ritual ablution (wudu) but also be free from any physical impurity such as blood, urine droplets, feces, etc.
If the impurity is still within the body, then it is not considered.
Ex. If the stool is still within the anus, it is not considered in the nullification of prayer. Once stool exits the anus, then it is considered.
If the impurity has left the body such as blood, urine or stool, then it will be considered as a physical impurity that must be removed or cleansed before praying.
According to the Hanafi school of law, all physical impurity less than 5cm in diameter is looked over. Anything above 5cm will nullify the prayer. [Maydani, al-Lubab]
However, one of the signature traits of a Muslim is the adherence to inward and outward purity at all times.
The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:  “Purity is half of faith.”
[Muslim, al-Sahih]
And Allah alone knows best,
[Ustadh] Omar Popal
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani