How Can One Clean Smooth Surfaces Such as Toilet Seats?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is it okay to spray water on an impurity on a smooth surface with a spray bottle and wipe it away, or must water be poured over it? Pouring, in the case of impurity on a bathroom floor, seems like it would spread filth.
I employ this method: I wet the tissue, wipe away the impurity, and repeat three times. Finally, I dry the floor with dry tissue.
Is this method valid, or does it spread filth? Do I have to wait for the floor to dry between wet wipes?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health.
There are several ways to clean a smooth surface:
First, if the toilet seat is dry, you don’t have to worry about any impurity unless there is a visible sign or smell. You should not assume water on a toilet seat is impure unless there is a trace. [Tahtawi, Hashiyat al-Tahtawi ‘Ala Maraqi al-Falah]
If you think the seat has liquid impurities, wiping it with tissue is sufficient to make it clean and pure. [Ibid.]
If the above does not make you feel assured, then the best and only way is to place tissues around the toilet seat; this way, you will have covered any possible impurity, and you will not be struck by misgivings.
As for the floor, this will take some time to clean. You should only worry about cleaning it if you are barefoot. You will have worn your slippers/shoes anyway, so you will not have to worry.
Related:
Is It Necessary to Wipe the Dry Toilet Seat, or Is It Pure?
Ritual Purity: A Reader
Toilet Seat Archives
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)
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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.
