To What Length Should I Go to Determine If Filth Is Present in a Room?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

To what length does one go to determine if filth is present [visible or invisible] by way of colour, taste, smell in a room?

Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmat Allah,

You don’t need to go to any lengths to determine if “filth is present” because the basis in such matters is purity, unless there are clear signs to the contrary.

The signs, here, would be the traces of filth—i.e., color and smell. In  absence of this, we act according to our operating certainty, namely, purity, and ignore satanic misgivings.

If you are struggling with regular doubts and misgivings, I’d suggest reading The OCD Workbook, and particularly the section on Scrupulosity.

[Birgivi, al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya (542)]

Please also see: A Reader on Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings).

Consider taking the following free class at SeekersGuidance: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Basic Hanafi Jurisprudence (STEP).

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

Wassalam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.