Is My Phone Filthy after Removing It from Unused Toilets?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I remember I dropped my phone in the toilet once, and I took it out. I don’t remember if there were najasa in the toilet at that time, but is toilet water considered clean after flushing?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Your phone was ritually pure.

The water in the toilet, after being flushed, is deemed pure as long as no trace of filth is visible. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

The reason for this ruling is that running water has removed the filth present, and the water that remains after the flushing process, if free of filth and thus pure. [Ibid.]

Running water remains pure as long as the traces of filth affecting it are not manifested in it because when water is running, the filth is moving and not staying where it was. Thus, there is no way to be sure that the filth is present in a specific part of this water, as no traces are manifested, and the certitude of its purity is not lifted by doubts regarding its purity. [Based on Ayni, Binaya; Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

It is not a condition for running water to be supported by continuous water coming behind it, such as a river coming from a spring. Even a finite amount of water will take this ruling as long as it is running. An example would be the water thrown on the ground from a bucket. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Spreading of Impurities

When two objects come into contact, and one of them is filthy, then filth is considered to have transferred only if one of the two objects was dripping wet or a sign of the filth (color, smell, taste) is manifest on the pure object. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Don’t fall into waswas. Please see: How Should I Deal with Waswasa?

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[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.