Is Using Water Alone Sufficient After Using the Toilet?

Question: Is using water alone sufficient after using the toilet?

Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

I pray you are well.

Yes, using water alone is sufficient to purify your hand after using the toilet (Shurunbulali; Marawi al-Salah).

Purity is Not the Same as Hygiene

Having said that, it is important to note they hygiene is not what the jurists set out to discuss in their books. For the sake of hygiene, you should use some sort of soap.

The jurists focused on the validity of worship. The question here would be: ‘if you did not have soap, could you pray after washing your hands with water alone after relieving yourself? Would the prayer be valid? The answer is ‘yes’. The fuqaha were not discussing whether it is a good move to make some chapattis with your hands straight after using water alone.

In general, however, “Islam is clean, so be clean…” as the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said (Ibn Hibban).

I pray that helps.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

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 Qur’anic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.