Is My Bed Frame Filthy If I Place an Impure Towel on It?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I used to be ignorant about hygiene. After showering, I’d use a damp towel and place it on my wooden bed frame. I used an anti-bacterial spray and wipe (unsure if they were the same brand) to clean the frame. Later, I learned that spraying and wiping simultaneously can make disinfection ineffective. I used only one sprayed wipe on the entire bed frame. Is my towel now contaminated because it touched the damp bed frame?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health.
If your towel had some form of filth, blood, semen, etc, and it transferred onto the bed frame, then that area of it will be impure. However, you don’t have to worry about it; a bed frame is not touched upon regularly. Most importantly, you clean it with anti-bacterial wipes, making it clean. Do not worry about the past.
When two objects come into contact, and one is filthy, filth is transferred only if one is dripping wet or a sign of the filth (color, smell, taste) is manifest on the pure object. [Tahtawi, Hashiyat al-Tahtawi ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah]
Anti-Bacterial Wipes
It would be fine to use wipes to wipe away impurities. The alcohol used in it as an ingredient is synthetic, not real alcohol, that would be considered impure.
Knowledge
The long-term cure for these constant doubts is to seek a deeper understanding of Islamic Knowledge. With knowledge, Shaytan cannot deceive you with his whispers and plots. I would advise you to find authentic scholars in your area and study an introductory text in Islamic Jurisprudence with them.
SeekersGuidance has classes available in Islamic Jurisprudence and many other subjects.
Related:
- How Do I Remove Impurities from Something that Cannot be Squeezed?
- Purification in Islam: A Comprehensive Reader
- Devil’s Tricks – The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained. [Video]
- Mental Health Workshop: An Islamic Guide to Dealing with Depression
- Doubts – IPD Session #3 | COJ – an ISIP Youth Chapter Initiative
- The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD
- Key Principles Relating to Certainty, Doubt, and Baseless Misgivings (waswasa)
- A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)
I would like you to go through this 2-hour long podcast. It will be highly beneficial and guide you through— Being Balanced – Emotional and Mental Health – Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat.
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance, like Satanic Tactics: Seven Tricks of the Devil?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
