Tuesday 5 Rabi‘ at-akhir 1446 - 8 October 2024
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Does Vomiting Invalidate Wudu?

Question

Does vomiting invalidate wudu?

Summary of answer

Imam al-Shafi`i was of the view that vomiting does not break wudu and this is the correct view because there is no sound evidence to show that vomiting breaks wudu.

Praise be to Allah.

Does vomiting break wudu?

Some scholars are of the view that vomiting does invalidate wudu, such as Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Ahmad. But Ahmad stipulated that vomiting does invalidate wudu if there is a large amount of vomit. 

Imam al-Shafi`i was of the view that vomiting does not invalidate wudu, and this is the correct view, because there is no sound evidence to show that vomiting invalidates wudu. (See: al-Majmu’, 2/63-65; al-Mughni, 1/247-250) 

Does whatever comes out of anything other than the front and back passages break wudu?

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Does whatever comes out of anything other than the  invalidate wudu? 

He replied: 

“What comes out of anything other than the front and back passages does not invalidate wudu , whether it is a little or a lot, except urine and stools. That is because the basic principle is that it does not invalidate wudu. Whoever claims something that is contrary to the basic principle has to provide evidence, but it is proven that man is tahir by the shar’i evidence, and whatever is proven by the shar’i evidence cannot be altered except by further shar’i evidence. We do not go beyond what is indicated by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), because we submit to the laws of Allah, not to our whims and desires. So there is no justification for making people purify themselves when it is not essential and we do not waive from them a purification that is obligatory.

If someone were to say that it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) vomited then did wudu, we say: this hadith has been classed as da’if by most of the scholars. Then we say that this is simply an action, and the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) simply did an action does not indicate that it is obligatory, because there is no clear instruction. Moreover it is contradicted by another hadith – even if it is da’if – which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was treated with cupping then he prayed and did not do wudu. This indicates that it is not obligatory to do wudu after vomiting. 

This is the correct view, that whatever comes out from the body does not invalidate wudu even if it is a lot, whether it is vomit, saliva, blood , pus or anything else, unless it is urine or stools, such as if an opening is made in the body to let them out, in which case wudu is invalidated when they come out from that opening.” (Majmu’ Fatawa Ibn ‘Uthaymin, 11/198)

For more, please see these answers: 174361 , 44980 , and 82759 .

And Allah knows best.

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Source: Islam Q&A