How to Apply the Rulings regarding Transfer of Impurities?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question(s)
Question (1)
According to my understanding, when two objects come into contact (at least one of which is wet), there must be a clear transfer of impurity by a change in color or smell for the other object to become impure. But, if I’m fairly certain that no color or smell has transferred, do I still have to smell it?
Question (2)
What if a long time has passed since the event and I’m not sure if impurity has transferred because I didn’t smell or look at the time, but I doubt the chances are high?
Question (3)
When I rub my bathroom floor, the cloth turns yellow, but I’m not sure if this is due to urine or just the type of floor I have. Should I only smell if I’m in doubt in this case?
Answer(s)
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Answer (1)
When two objects come into contact and one of them is filthy then filth is considered to have transferred only if one of the two objects was dripping wet or a sign of the filth (color, smell, taste) is manifest on the pure object. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
Actively smelling the item would be excessive.
Don’t fall into waswas. Please see:
How Should I Deal with Waswasa?
Answer (2)
In this case you apply the following principle: “Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa’l Nadha’ir; Majallat al-Ahkam al-`Adiliyya]
The basis for an item is to be pure. This means that if you are unsure about this item becoming filthy afterward you are allowed to consider that this item has remained pure.
Answer (3)
You apply the same principle for your floor:
“Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa’l Nadha’ir; Majallat al-Ahkam al-`Adiliyya]
The basis for your floor is to be pure.
In addition to that: filthy floor becomes pure merely by drying as long as the traces of filth are gone. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
Please remember that the sunna is to urinate sitting even for a man. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
This will make the likeness of your floor to be affected by urine extremely low.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
