Doubts Regarding Whether Nosebleeds Break My Wudu

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: The flesh against my inner nose bone is always dry and I always have a wound in my nose that often bleeds. I don’t really know if it is flowing or not, but if you put water in the nose then the blood will move from its place i think. Because I am Hanafi, my wudhu will break easily. I wanted to know can i take wudhu as shafi but pray as a hanafi?

And what if you are with congregation and your nose bleeds, what do you do?

Answer: assalamu `alaykum

This is baseless misgiving (waswasa) and must be ignored. You are not to deem your ablution as being invalid in this case unless you are absolutely sure that you have bled in a manner that nullifies ablution i.e. with flowing. As long as you are not certain, your ablution will be valid.

Mere thoughts, assumptions, and potentialities are of no significance. To base one’s religious practice on such uncertainties is contrary to the prophetic sunna. As such, it must be avoided.

Likewise, if you are waiting to pray in congregation and your nose bleeds then you should wait until the bleeding subsides, redo ablution, and then pray. Again, this only applies if you are certain that you had bled.

Salman

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani