Does Touching a Pigskin Item Invalidate My Prayer?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalamu alaikum,

Is my prayer invalidated if, during a congregational prayer, the pigskin jacket of someone praying next to me touches my clothes or skin?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.

No, your prayer will not be invalidated by merely touching a pigskin item during the prayer. [Tahtawi, Hashiyat al-Tahtawi `ala Maraqi al-Falah]

The jurists mention that this is not considered to be a form of carrying filth, which normally invalidates your prayer if greater than the excused amount, hence it does not affect the validity of your own prayer.

Note that they also qualify the touching to be with something dry, as there is no filth transfer in such a case, as opposed to wet filth which could be invalidating.

And Allah alone gives success.

wassalam,

Tabraze Azam

Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani