Does Stomach Growling Invalidate My Wudu?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalam alaykum
When I am fasting my stomach begins to growl but also the colon/back area. It doesn’t feel like passing wind. Nevertheless it is in the back area. Is my wudu still valid when this happen?
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
Yes, you are correct to assume that your ritual ablution (wudu) is not invalidated by stomach growling and the like. Rather, it is the exiting of filth, such as actual gas from the rear, which is problematic and invalidating.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant them peace) said, “If any of you feels something in his stomach such that it is unclear to him whether something has come out or not, then he should certainly not leave the mosque, unless he hears a sound or smells an odour.” [Muslim]
[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah (1.131)]
Please also see: Could You Please List All the Nullifiers of Ablution According to the Hanafi school?
And Allah Most High alone knows best.
wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.