Is it Sufficient to Tissue Wash Urine from One’s Garments?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I was at work on break and had about 15 minutes for salah. I visited the washroom, and urine fell on the inside of my tracksuit bottoms, which then dispersed, and I didn’t know which parts were filthy. I wetted my hand and some tissue, dabbed some of the areas, went and did wudu, and prayed.

Is what I did correct, or was it necessary to wash the entire clothing? If so, this would be impractical in any setting, particularly at work, where time is limited and suitable washing facilities are not available, nor would it be comfortable working in wet clothing.

Would it be permitted in such circumstances to do a make-up (qada) of salat?
This Is light filth but would the ruling be different if it was heavy filth?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health.

It was not necessary to wash your entire clothing and bottoms. You only had to clean the area where the urine fell if it was more than 5cm in diameter.

It would not be permitted to leave the prayer and make it up later. This is no excuse.

Filth (Najasa) Is of Two Types: Heavy (Mughalladha) and Light (Mukhaffafa)

Heavy filth includes the following:

  • Spilled blood,
  • Urine of humans
  • Feces
  • Wine (khamr),
  • Sperm or sexual fluid (maniy).

Light filth includes the following:

  • the urine of animals whose meat is permissible to eat
  • the urine of horses,
  • drippings of birds whose meat is not permissible to eat.

The excused amount of liquid filth in the Hanafi school is approximately 5cm in diameter. One’s prayer in clothing affected by filth, which is less than 5cm in diameter, would be valid. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; ‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

Check these links:
What Should I Do About Left Over Drops Of Urine? – SeekersGuidancePrayer Reader:
hanafi
The Ultimate Guide To Prayer in Islam – SeekersGuidance

Ritual Purity: A Reader – SeekersGuidance
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings) (seekers.flywheelstaging.com)
Provision and Work: A Reader – SeekersGuidance

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekers.flywheelstaging.com)

I pray this helps with your question.

[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 hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching 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 personal interest is the love of books and gardening.