Urge to Relieve Oneself During Prayer
Question: As salamu alaykum
Once I’ve relieved myself it takes about the time to make wudu before I feel some sort of urge again to pass wind or urinate again. It’s generally small/moderate. Is this included in what is deemed disliked regarding praying while resisting the urge to relieve oneself?
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!
To pray while having the urge to urinate or defecate or while needing to relieve oneself from gas is deemed prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman). Therefore if it distracts you you must break the prayer and relieve yourself unless you fear the prayer time will expire [ Hashiya Ibn Abidin ].
I have asked Shaykh Faraz Rabbani (may Allah protect him) specifically about this issue. He told me that the prayer is deemed prohibitively disliked when one is actively pushing back the urge to relieve oneself. A sign of this would be that if one would go to the toilet the relieving would happen without any effort. As for a mere feeling, it is of no consequence and one can continue to pray. Especially when this is a recurring situation.
And Allah knows best.
I hope that the above answers your question. If something is unclear please don’t 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
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
