Is It Problematic to Have a Mattress Stained With Blood?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

1. Once period stain got onto my bedsheets and mattress. I washed the blood-stained part of the bedsheet in the sink to remove the stain and then sent the bedsheet to the laundry service for washing. I used wet tissues to take the stain out from the mattress, let it dry, and then placed a fresh, clean bedsheet on top. Is that enough to purify the mattress and sheet for prayer and other forms of ibadah?

2. Also, another time, the blood was on the sheet and mattress protector, and nothing came on the mattress. The dried blood-stained sheet might’ve rubbed against the mattress, so I rubbed the mattress several times with wet tissues even though no visible stain was on it. Could you please guide me if this is the right way of cleaning? I’m really unsure

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

1. Wet tissues won’t be enough to ritually purify your mattress because the body of the filth has to be removed in this situation by washing your mattress, i.e., by pouring water over it until you are reasonably sure that the filth is gone. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

The legal reason in order to keep a place ritually pure is to be able to perform a valid prayer at this place. There is no reason for you to keep your mattress ritually pure from this perspective because even if your mattress was ritually pure, your prayers on it would be invalid. The reason for this is that a mattress is not solid enough to prevent your head from sinking in if you were to put more pressure. It is a condition for the validity of the prayer to pray in a place where this won’t happen. This is not the case with a mattress. [Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fatah]

As for other acts of worship, such as Dhikr and reading the Quran, it is not a condition for their validity that they are performed in a ritually pure place. Nonetheless, you will find tremendous benefits and rewards by striving to perform those acts of worship in a place that is ritually pure. [Dardir, Sharh al-Kharida al-Bahiya]

2. No filth has transferred to your mattress because no sign of filth was present on it. Thus your mattress remained pure.

When two objects come into contact and one of them is filthy, then filth is considered to have transferred only if one of the two objects was dripping wet or a sign of the filth (color, smell, taste) is manifest on the pure object. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi Al-Falah]

Cleanliness

Nonetheless, the general act of keeping things clean and neat is praiseworthy. We know this because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) held in high regard Umm Mihjan (Allah be pleased with her), who used to clean the masjid.

This companion passed away without the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) knowing. He then asked the others what had happened to her. Upon being told that she had passed, he said, “Did you not think to tell me?” They replied in a manner indicating they did not think it newsworthy. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked them to point out her grave, over which he then prayed [Bukhari].

This tradition speaks to not just the importance of cleaning the masjid, but cleanliness in general; it was her act of continually cleaning the masjid that was noteworthy.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.