Am I Sinful for Dropping Saliva in Front of Me While Praying?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I was praying the nafl prayer and unintentionally dropped saliva in front of me. Am I sinful? What should I do now?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Dropping saliva in the prayer won’t invalidate it because avoiding it was beyond your ability. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
Allah, Most High, says: “Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford.” [2.286]
Nonetheless, striving to avoid being affected by such incidents is superior, as you are addressing Allah, Most High while praying. Thus you should strive to avoid any breach of etiquette with Him as you would do while addressing anyone of importance. [Tahtawi, Hashiya ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah]
What is disliked is spitting willingly during the prayer. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “When one of you stand for the prayer, he must abstain from spitting in front of him because he is addressing Allah, Most High, as long as he is praying.” [Bukhari]
And Allah knows best.
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha’ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
