What Is the Ruling in Case of Doubt about the Transfer of Impurity?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I just recently discovered that my 23-year-old brother does not wash after he urinates from drops on the toilet seat, and we all use the same toilet. What do we do with him and ourselves?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Purification is Based on Reasonable Surety

Be clear that the rulings of purification are never based on conjecture.

If you are confident or reasonably sure that drops of urine were on the seat and came in contact with your skin or clothing, then you must remove it by washing. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

If the supposed urine has dried, it does not transfer to the one who sits on it unless it gets wet and the color or smell of that urine appears clearly on the clothing or skin. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

If the urine dried and did not become wet or if it was dry then became wet but no traces transferred, then both the skin and/or the clothing that came in contact with it are pure. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Cleaning the Toilet Seat

If the toilet seat does not have a porous surface, then merely wiping it with dry tissue would suffice to purify it. You must wash the toilet seat surface if actual urine stains can be seen. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

As For Previous Prayers

There is no need to repeat any previous prayers. Even if there was urine that came in contact with one’s body or clothing, it is unlikely that it exceeded the excused amount of impurity for the prayer. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Impurities on the body and/or clothing that do not exceed 5gms for solids or 5cms for liquids are excused. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Related:
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)

Hope this helps
And Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.