How Do I Clean My Impure Clothes?
Question: There is a dog in front of my apartment who urinates on the grass. This one time it was raining, and I walked through a puddle of water in the area the dog urinates. Instead of cleaning my foot 7 times, I walked around the apartment as if nothing happened. Now, whenever I walk around the apartment and I step where there is water on the floor, the bottom of my pants get wet. Because of this, I have to wash my pants 7 times. Do I have to do this every time?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
Assalam’aleykum, I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Jazakum Allah khayr for your question!
In order to solve the situation you have described you need to know that:
1-If you have not seen the dog urinating in the puddle of water you have walked in, you cannot be sure that this water was filthy. And thus, by default, this water was pure because the basis for things is to be pure and certainty is not lifted by doubts.
2-The area of the ground and the grass where this dog is used to urinate do not stay forever filthy. As soon as the traces of the filth have disappeared, the ground and the grass become pure. [Nur Al-Idah]
3-If your clothes would ever be affected by the urine of a dog you would only need to wash the area three times while squeezing it after each washing because this is enough to have physically removed the filth from your clothes. [Maraqi Al-Falah]
4-The urine of a dog on your clothes would only prevent you to pray if the extent of it would be above a circle of a diameter of 5 cm. Below that extent, you can still pray in your clothes. [Nur Al-Idah]
And Allah knows best.
I hope that the above answers your question. If something is unclear please do not hesitate to ask again.
May Allah Most High grant you the best of this world and the next. Please keep us in your du’as!
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
