Purity And Gas Issues
Answered by Ustadh Farid Dingle
Question: Gas sometimes exits my vagina and it really troubles me. Should I make wudu every time I think may have happened?
Answer: Dear questioner, Thank you for your valued and important question.
May Allah make your situation easier and give you clarity in your worship of Him.
You should only make wudu when you are absolutely certain that gas has come out of your vagina. Otherwise, you should completely ignore it.
It is normal to occasionally get a little OCD about religious practice. You should just ask a scholar about it, and ignore the thoughts.
Certainty and doubt
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was asked about someone with uncertain sensations of passing wind in the prayer. He replied, ‘Let him not leave the prayer unless he hears something or smells something.’ (Bukhari and Muslim)
The ulema had deduced from this hadith, among countless others, a very important and useful principle: ‘Doubt shall not remove certainty.’ (al Ashbah wa al Nadhair, Suyuti) As long as you are certain about something, just ignore doubts about it.
So, if you think that you pass gas, but are not sure, you just assume that it was nothing and ignore it.
Going Overboard
In another version of the hadith above, these thoughts are actually ascribed to the Devil. (Talkhis al Habir, Ibn Hajar al Asqalani). This tells us that not only are these thoughts wrong, but they are actually sent by the very one who is trying to ruin us.
This is very useful to know because it means that just ignore them completely and go on applying Islam as we have properly learned to do so. It also tells us that our iman must be quite high because otherwise, the Devil wouldn’t occupy himself with us so much.
So we should just thank Allah for faith in Him, and for knowledge of how to apply Islam properly, and just completely ignore these thoughts.
Please also see: A Reader on Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)
I pray this helps.
[Ustadh] Farid Dingle
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Farid Dingle has completed extensive years of study in the sciences of the Arabic language and the various Islamic Sciences. During his studies he also earned a CIFE Certificate in Islamic Finance. Over the years he has developed a masterful ability to craft lessons that help non-Arabic speakers gain a deep understanding of the language. He currently teaches courses in the Arabic Language.
