What Advice Do You Have for Someone Who Has IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

I suffer from chronic IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Every morning my stomach works about 3 times before I do ghusl. Whilst making ghusl, I have this fear that excreta could have gone into my front private parts, so I stop the ghusl and go back to the toilet to urinate. Then I start ghusl again. This has now become a daily occurrence. Please advise.

Answer

I pray you are well.

Don’t Stress about Impurity You Are Not Certain Of

Don’t worry about it. Wash yourself once, and then perform your ghusl. You only need to do something if you are certain that something has come out.

The default assumption is that you have cleaned yourself and that nothing else has come out. Certainty is not removed by doubt. [Zarqa, Sharh al Qawa‘id al Fiqhiyya]

You’re not expected to keep checking, and don’t worry about any feelings or thoughts that encourage you to go and check. If you’re feeling anxious about it, it may be that you also suffer from OCD. Please listen to this seminar for advice on how to work past this issue.

Seek Medical Help

Speak to a doctor or a practitioner of traditional Chinese Medicine. There are ways and means of getting past this issue. Activated charcoal tablets help a lot with this issue too.

May Allah grant you well-being.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008, he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital, and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.