Does Seeing a Discharge on Underwear Directly After the Prayer Invalidate It?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I am someone who regularly deals with the emission of wadi.
Sometimes, directly after prayer, I will check my underwear to see whether there has been an exit of this discharge, and there will be. However, I had no idea or indication while praying that there was any exit, as I couldn’t feel it.
Does this mean I need to repeat the prayer?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Your wudu broke when you saw wadi after your prayer. Thus your prayer was valid, and you don’t have to repeat it.
The reason for this ruling is that, according to the Hanafi school, new events (in this case, the breaking of your wudu) are attributed to the closest time possible. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Manhal al-Waridin]
In your case, the closest time possible is right before you removed your clothes, which is an event that took place well after you have finished your prayer.
This legal principle is an application of another legal principle: “Certainty is not lifted by doubt.” [Majalla]
Which is, in turn, based on the following verse of the Quran:
“Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36] [al-Da‘‘as, al Qawa‘id al-Fiqhiyya]
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.
