Can a Mattress Be Used after an Impure Spot Has Been Cleaned?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I didn’t know that mattresses are purified by pouring water rather than wiping. There was a blood stain from menstruation, which I scrubbed with surf before washing the cloth and wiping it again (not sure if I wiped twice). The stain and odor were eliminated. Because it was a small stain, I’m not sure if it went to the foam inside or not.
After a few years, the mattress has been flipped and moved numerous times. Now I’m not sure where that spot on the mattress is. It’s now very difficult for me to sit with wet clothes on the mattress, even with the sheet, because that could be the location of the stain. In this situation, what can I do?
In addition, washing the mattress in an apartment is generally difficult. How can we cleanse them? I follow Hanafi madhab; please guide accordingly.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Like you said, the stain and odor were eliminated after you scrubbed and washed the impure area with a wet cloth. You should assume that the mattress is clean and free of impurities because it was washed. It was a blood stain, so it was washed and dried, and the mattress was clean from then on. You can be sure that it did not penetrate the mattress’ foam. Do not be concerned about this. Please follow the links provided below.
With reasonable certainty, any object will be pure if there is no trace of filth or odor after washing it. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; ‘Ala al-Din Ibn ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]
You might also want to spread a sheet over the mattress and use it as needed while washing the other bedding.
Related:
My Mattress Is to Big to Be Washed. How Can I Remove Filth From It?
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course:
Satanic Tactics: Seven Tricks of the Devil.
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
