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Should he spit if his gums start to bleed whilst praying? Does that invalidate wudoo’? Is it possible to split whilst he is praying? Should he spit whether he is in the mosque or some other place? Does it invalidate the fast if he swallows the blood that comes from his gums? Does he have to wash the piece of cloth into which he spat and on which blood can be seen? Is it sufficient to wipe it with a paper tissue or is it essential to use water? What if he spits on the ground, is it sufficient to wipe it with the tissue? If washing with water is obligatory, is it sufficient to wash it once or is it essential to wash it three times?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
If there is bleeding from the gums, then it is not permissible to swallow it, whether that happens whilst one is praying or otherwise.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the blood comes out of the mouth, then it is not permissible to swallow it, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood…” [al-Maa’idah 5:3].
End quote from Fatawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb (7/2).
So if he is praying and he swallows it deliberately, then his prayer is rendered invalid, because it is like eating whilst praying. But if that happens involuntarily, such as if the blood reaches the throat (before he can do anything about it), then his prayer is still valid.
If he is praying in the mosque, then he should spit into a tissue, and it is not permissible for him to spit in the mosque, lest he contaminate it. If he is praying outside the mosque, it is permissible for him to spit beneath his left foot or to his left.
Al-Hajjaawi said in az-Zaad (p. 47)
He may spit to his left whilst praying, and if he is in the mosque (he should spit) into his garment. End quote.
It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (40/126):
The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that it is haraam to throw sputum or the like on the walls of the mosque or on the rugs; rather the mosque should be protected from all kinds of dirt and filth, even if it is not actually najis (impure), such as sputum or the like.
End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If a person is in the mosque (and he needs to spit), then he should spit in his garment (a handkerchief) and should not spit in the mosque, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Spitting in the mosque is wrong.” If someone commits this wrong action, the expiation for that is to bury it. Based on that, we say: do not spit in the mosque to your left; rather spit into your garment.
He should not spit under his foot in the mosque, because spitting in the mosque is wrong, because it contaminates the mosque.
End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (3/273).
Secondly:
The fuqaha’ differed concerning the ruling on blood that comes out from anywhere other than the front and back passage and whether it invalidates wudoo’ or not.
The more correct view is that it does not invalidate wudoo’. We have explained that previously in fatwa no. 45666 .
Thirdly:
With regard to the effect on the fast of swallowing blood that comes from the gums, if he swallows it involuntarily, then his fast remains valid, but if he does that deliberately, then his fast is spoiled, and if it was a day of Ramadan or an obligatory fast, then he must make it up; if it was a voluntary fast, then he does not have to make it up.
See the answer to question no. 37937 .
Fourthly:
With regard to blood that comes out of the nose or mouth, if it is a small amount, then it is overlooked, but if it is a large amount then it is najis, and whatever gets onto the body or the clothes must be washed off; if that happens during prayer, then the prayer is rendered invalid and must be repeated if it was an obligatory prayer.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: What is the ruling on blood if it comes out whilst a person is praying; does it interrupt the prayer or not?
He replied: If the blood that comes out comes from the front or back passage, then it invalidates wudoo’; in this case he must stop praying, wash off whatever of the blood has got onto him, do wudoo’ anew, and start his prayer all over again.
But if it does not come from the front or back passage, such as blood that comes from the nose or the teeth, or from an injury, then he should carry on praying, if he is able to pray without being distracted by this blood and he can complete the prayer, because the more correct scholarly view is that blood does not invalidate wudoo’, even if it is a large quantity.
But if it is a lot of blood, then most of the scholars think that blood is najis in large quantities, and it cannot be overlooked. In that case it is essential to stop praying in order to wash off whatever blood has got onto the body, then go back and pray again without repeating wudoo’, according to the more sound opinion [because his wudoo’ was not invalidated by the bleeding]; in other words, he should start the prayer all over again.
But if the blood is a small amount, then he may carry on with his prayer and there is no blame on him..
End quote from Noor ‘ala ad-Darb (2/7).
See question no. 163819 .
If the gum bleeds slightly, which is what is usually the case with bleeding from the gum, then he should spit into a tissue whilst he is praying, because this is overlooked, and he does not have to wash the handkerchief or garment, but it is mustahabb to wash it for the purpose of cleanliness and getting rid of dirt, but not because it is najis.
Fifthly:
There is no religious text concerning the number of times something should be washed to remove najaasah (impurity), except the najaasah of a dog only; the najaasah of a dog must be washed seven times, one of which should be with dust. With regard to other kinds of najaasah, no particular number is stipulated; rather it must be washed until the najaasah is removed, even if it is only washed once.
See the answer to question no. 163825 .
And Allah knows best.