Thursday 18 Ramadan 1445 - 28 March 2024
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Does Feeling That Something Came Out of the Back Passage Break Wudu?

Question

After I defecate, I feel something coming out of the back passage. Sometimes there is something and sometimes I do not find anything. 

My question is: do I have to check my Wudu for every prayer? What about the prayers I did in the past? Do I have to repeat them? Please note that I do not know how many they are.

Summary of answer

The mere feeling that something has come out of the back passage does not break your Wudu. You do not have to repeat the prayers that you have offered because you were in a state of Wudu and you were not sure that there was anything that would invalidate it.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

If a person relieves himself, cleans himself, and then does Wudu, he is in a state of ritual purity until he is certain that there is something that has invalidated his Wudu. His Wudu does not become invalidated because of mere doubts, even if the doubt is so strong that he thinks it most likely. 

Based on this, merely feeling that something has come out of the back passage is not counted as invalidating Wudu. You should also beware of whispers from Satan . So long as you have done Instinja (washing the private parts with water) and cleaned the place properly, you do not have to check before praying. 

The prayers that you have offered do not have to be repeated, because you were in a state of purity and you were not certain that there was anything that would invalidate it

This principle is indicated by the report narrated by Al-Bukhaari (137) and Muslim (361) from `Abdullah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that a man complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he imagined that he felt something when he was praying, and he said: “You should not stop (the prayer), unless you hear a sound or smell something (and odour).” 

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“This Hadith is one of the basic principles of Islam, and an important principle of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), which is that things remain as they are unless there is certainty that they have changed, and doubting what is certain does not affect it .  

Another issue related to this Hadith is that if a person is certain that he purified himself and is uncertain that he has invalidated it, then the ruling is that he is still in a state of purity, and it makes no difference whether this doubt occurs during the prayer or outside the prayer. This is our view and the view of the majority of scholars of the earlier and later generations. … Our companions said: With regard to doubt it makes no difference whether the two possibilities with regard to invalidation of purity are equal or not, or if one of them is more likely, or he thinks it most likely. He does not have to do Wudu in any case.” (Sharh Muslim) 

Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: When I urinate and do Wudu then pray, I feel that something is coming out of my penis, and when I check it I find that some urine has come out. What is the solution? 

He replied: 

“Undoubtedly in His wisdom, Allah has made strong nerves that control urine and faeces so that nothing comes out. But these nerves may be affected by sickness so that they become weak, then urine comes out either continuously or occasionally. 

A person may himself be the cause of that, because there are some people who, when they finish urinating, squeeze the urethra to the end of the penis, so as to extract the urine, and there are some who keep squeezing until the last drop of urine comes out. This is a mistake, even though some jurists say that it is Sunnah to extract the last drop. 

This is a weak view, and in fact is innovation, as was stated by Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and as is obvious from the Sunnah, because there is no report that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) squeezed the urethra to the end of the penis, or that he squeezed it to extract the urine. But some people do that, either because they are following the opinion of the jurists who said that, or because they imagine that if they do not do that, there will be some urine left in the penis. But this is a mistake. 

If a person urinates and washes the tip of the penis only, that is sufficient and there is no need to squeeze it or shake it. Rather he should wash the tip of the penis where the urine has got onto it, and that is the end of the matter, even if the person has gotten used to doing this because of this sickness of which he himself is the cause. 

My advice to him is: if this happens to you, do not pay any attention to it, do not squeeze the penis, rather leave it as it is. When the last drop of urine has come out, you should wash the tip of the penis, and you may feel something in his penis but you do not have to look, because some people, when they feel something in the penis, they pull down their trousers and start squeezing the penis from the end. But if one squeezes it something will inevitably come out. Rather you should leave it and not pay any attention to it. 

Some of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: ‘In this case if he is affected by these whispers , he should sprinkle some water on his trousers so that if he thinks or doubts, then he can assume it is this water.’ 

But we say: there is no need for that, and this is too much. Do not do that, and do not pay any attention to it, and it will go away in sha Allah. If you feel some coolness at the tip of the penis or you feel something in the penis, do not go and look, and just ignore it." (Al-Liqa’ Al-Shahri) 

And Allah knows best.

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Source: Islam Q&A