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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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