Should I Repeat My Prayers After Realizing My Hairdresser Owns a Dog?

Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan

Question: Assalam alaykum,

I am a shafii, recently it has come to my realization that the hair dresser I have been going to for years owns a dog and sometimes brings the dog into the shop. I have not seen her touching the dog with wet hands. I am worried that my hair has been contaminated with filth. I am worried my prayer for many years may not count.

What should I do?

Answer: Wa alaykum al-Salam

Thank you for your question.

The default rule or maxim in relations to possible contamination with najasah, is purity until definite contamination is established. The maxim reads, “certainty will not be removed through doubt”.

Since it’s established that whenever you entered the hairdresser you were in a state of purity, with certainty, and that there is doubt whether your hair was contaminated or not, the above rule and maxim means that your would have maintained a state of purity. Consequently, there is not need to worry about further contamination at your home. Also, while the Maliki position may be a viable alternative, there is no need to depart from your madhhab in this instance.

And Allah knows best

Wassalam
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan

Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.