How Should One Properly Do Istinja and Wudu?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

I take very long in the bathroom and then miss prayers. I spend 30 min on the toilet and 20 making wudu. I fill my lota (jug) 4-5 times to wash for urine. Should every part be rubbed? Must inner thighs be washed in istinja? What if vaginal discharge touched them, and I do not know?

Is it sufficient to pour water on the inner thighs? Is it permissible to sit on the toilet with legs open to avoid anything touching your thighs? Will this cause splashes when urinating? I am worried that vaginal discharge mixed with water will splash my inner thighs during istinja.

Answer

I pray that this situation improves for you and that you stop paying attention to waswasa (baseless misgivings).

Using four or five jugs of water is way too much water. Although there is no set amount, one large jar (lota) is usually too much.

• Every part does not have to be rubbed, nor is rubbing obligatory. However, scholars advise that one use the middle finger of the left hand to remove the filth in the rear.
• Inner thighs don’t require washing during istinja.
• If you don’t know that vaginal discharge affects your inner thighs, you don’t need to wash them. Certainty is not removed by doubt.
• If the vaginal discharge does affect the inner thighs, one can pour water and rub to remove it. However, most vaginal discharge is pure, so it doesn’t require removal.
• Sit on the toilet with the legs open when relieving oneself is permissible. What causes splashing is different for everyone. A woman can gently push her skin down (the pelvic area where the pubic hair is) to prevent urine from splashing out onto the seat.
• Vaginal discharge mixed with urine should not splash on the thighs when washing oneself. If something does splash, assume it is pure water. You may be seeing more splashes because you are using so much water.

Pouring water during rubbing and drying should take a minute or two. The same is with wudu. So urinating, washing, and performing wudu should take five minutes. Please keep working on this until it is down to the desired timing.

Also, take a course on obligatory knowledge to fight off this waswasa. It is the best weapon you can have. The Shaytan is succeeding when he whispers to you to prolong your time in the bathroom because you end up missing prayers. Make up those prayers and don’t succumb to his tricks. Please see the link below for complete detail on this topic.

Kindly see this article:
How to Deal With Waswas Regarding Purity According to the Shafi’i School?

Hope this helps
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.