Are My Previous Prayers Valid despite Discovering Blood Afterwards?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I noticed blood right after praying Fard Salah, Sunna, and many past makeup prayers. Are all my prayers valid?
I had istihada at the moment, but I completely cleaned myself and was sure there was no blood when I made wudu, and I even checked for blood after wudu (just before starting my prayers). But after finishing all my prayers, I immediately checked my undergarments and saw one tiny drop of blood. What should I do in terms of repeating Salah?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Your wudu was broken the moment you witnessed the blood with your own eyes, not before. Thus all the prayers you have prayed before seeing the blood are valid. [Birgivi, Dhukhr al-Muta’hhilin]
The reason for this ruling is that, according to the Hanafi school, new events (in this case, the breaking of your wudu) are attributed to the closest time possible. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Manhal al-Waridin]
This legal principle is an application of another legal principle: “Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Majalla]
Which is, in turn, based on the following verse of the Quran: “Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36] [Du‘ass, al-Qawa‘id al-Fiqhiyya]
When you discovered the blood, you had the certainty that it had exited your body a few seconds ago. You also had doubts that it could have been much earlier when you were praying, but you cannot be certain of this. Thus, by following the Divine command not to follow conjectures, you ignore those doubts and stick with the certitude that the bleeding only happened a few seconds ago. Based on this reasoning, you can deem your previous prayers valid.
Word of Caution
Please remember that the Sacred Law does not require a woman to check herself frequently. [Shaykh Ashraf Muneeb, Birgivi’s Manual interpreted]
The Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) has said: “Religion is easy, and no one overburdens himself in his religion, but he will be unable to continue in that way. So do not be extremists, but try to be near perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
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.
