How Should I Clean Filth?


Shafi'i Fiqh

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

I was cleaning my clothes, which had become impure, while standing up to let the water drain. After cleaning the clothes, I realized that my lower pants were wet. I’m unsure if my lower pants became impure since I stood up straight while cleaning them.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.
Water only becomes contaminated by filth if one has seen (there is evidence) that the filth came into contact with water. Your pants may have been wet with used water, not necessarily contaminated water, especially since the water was constantly in motion (flowing), and Allah knows best. [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]
Remove as much of the filth substance as possible, remove the remaining traces with flowing water, and use a cleaning agent if needed. The surface is considered clean if two of three traces (color, taste, and smell) are removed, and Allah knows best. [ibid.]

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and, for six years, the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.