How Does Impurity Spread on the Wet Floor?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

If you recently washed your foot, it’s still wet, and a drop of impure water fell on it. Do the whole foot and the slipper become impure? Is the specific place impure where the drop fell or the entire area? Is it ok to wash that particular place only?

If a bathroom floor I know is impure because people walk in it with their impure slippers if water falls on it and a few drops come on me, but I can’t see any impurity on the floor such as feces or urine, but I know it’s impure. Are these drops excused, or do I have to wash them?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

If the drop of impure water fell on one’s foot, whether that foot is wet or not, only the place where the impurity contacted the foot is impure. Washing only the contact point of the impurity is sufficient to attain purity. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Impurities on Surfaces

The bathroom floor or any other surface is impure if the actual impurity falls upon it. If impurity did come in contact with the floor, only the place of connection is impure.

Once the impurity has dried on the floor, it does not transfer. That is, unless water comes in contact with it or a soaking wet foot. However, the soaked wet foot is only considered impure if traces of the impurity are clearly visible on foot. Traces are the color and/or smell. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Everything is Pure until Proven Impure

The floor is pure if you cannot see any impurity on the floor. There is no need for conjecture, assumptions, or even investigating. It is not common for people to urinate or defecate on the floor; that’s why we will ignore any contrary belief.

Unless one sees actual traces of impurity, one should act as if it’s pure. We are not responsible for anything beyond that. Allah Most High says, “and He (Allah) has not placed upon you in the religion any undue hardship.” [Quran, 22:78]

Hope this helps
And Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.