Must I Break My Prayer If I Suffer with Uncontrollable Wind?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it necessary for me to break my prayer due to the need to pass wind, if I suffer continuously with uncontrollable wind?

Answer

If you are able to make it through an entire ablution (wudu) and prayer without passing wind, then you are technically not an excused person (m’adhur). [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah] 

In normal circumstances it would be necessary to break the prayer, if the need to pass wind is so great that it distracts one from the prayer. [Ibid.]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Three things that are not permissible to do: …(3) for a person to prayer whilst holding back urine (as well as stool and wind), until he relieves himself.” [Tirmidhi]

He also said, “It is not permitted for anyone who believes in Allah and the last day to prayer while holding back urine (stool, or wind), until he relieves himself.” [Abu Dawud]

Hardship Requires Facilitation

However, due to the difficulty and the frequency of this issue, do not break your prayer merely out of need to pass wind; doing so will lead to hardship and may lead to misgivings (waswasa). It is a principle of the Sacred Law that ‘ hardship must be averted in the Sacred law’ (al-haraj madfu’un shar’an). [Ibn Nujaym; al-Ashbah wa al-Nazair]

Now, if you are able to minimize the possibility of such a situation from occurring, such as using the restroom before making ablution (wudu), try to do so when reasonably feasible.

Hope this helps

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 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 several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.