How Should I Wash Myself as a Woman After Istinja’?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I want to ask if this is waswasa or something I should fix. So, since I have waswasa, I use soap to wash myself because, with just water, it takes too long for me because I feel like I can’t wash every part properly. But I usually make everything wet, then I take soap, and I start washing for like 10 min, and then I rinse everything off my hands and private part.

But now I fear washing it without adding water for 10 min might not be good,  or is it okay if I rinse afterward? I fear the urine might stay on my hands or private parts because I wash for too long without rinsing in between. I thought it was fine because the soap was not dry, but now I feel like I touched certain areas that don’t have soap on them, and then rinsing my hand is not enough.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question and for asking a question.

It is a bit of both misgivings and learning how to wash yourself as other women. It should only take around 2-3 minutes. Ask other righteous women and learn from their good habits.

After you’ve relieved yourself, wait a little, then clean yourself and sprinkle water on your private parts and underwear. Don’t stare, check, investigate, or do anything else. This should not take longer than 10 minutes, as you mentioned. Perform wudu and pray. Ignore all feelings and sensations. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

You can search for more related answers on SeekersGuidance Answers.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction, in sha’ Allah.

Related:

• How Should One Properly Do Istinja and Wudu?
• Istinja’ for Woman Archives
• Purification in Islam: A Comprehensive Reader
• Ritual Purity: A Reader
• A Reader on Ritual Purity, Urine Leakage, and Misgivings
• 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)
• The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD. [Video]
• Being Balanced – Emotional and Mental Health

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[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 the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught 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 interest is a love of books and gardening.