Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu `aleykum wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuh!

I have doubts about correctness of some acts in wudhu, istinjah, ghusl, namaz, etc. I have questions, and some of them look silly even to me, but I can`t ignore them. Please answer some questions according to Hanafi madhab (my English isn`t perfect, but I hope that the meaning of my words

will be clear for you):

1) Do cotton thread and wool yarn isolate the skin from water in wudhu and

ghusl (they usually are in the nails (not behind, just on or get in them, being "sticked" (without glue or smth. else, of course) and on heels, and it`s not so easy just to clean the body from them)? If a bit of smth. "sticks" (without glue or smth. else, of course) to my heel, do I have to clean my heel from it before wudhu?

2) Is it necessary to clean nose between ghusl from some white soft rolls of

mucus?

3) Is istinka before and after istinjah necessary (fard, wajib)?

4) If I thought for some time in one way, and as it became obvious later it was kufr, do I have to do ghusl? That`s if I thought earlier in the right way, but then have read or heard smth. and this caused kufr, and then have read that it was kufr.

5) If I have wudhu and then after or even during namaz understand that I didn`t wash some part of skin, what do I have to do?

6) When I wake up, I sometimes see some drops of clean unsticky fluid. Do

I have to do ghusl?

7) If I don`t see wetness after waking up, but then cleanning the private parts, I unintentionally get toilet paper into urethra, and paper becomes wet, do I have to do ghusl then?

8) If during wudhu or ghusl my thought goes to kufr and even I "agree" with it, but then when I understand that it means kufr, I reject these thoughts, do I have to repeat wudhu, ghusl, washing parts that were washed during these thoughts?

9) If during istinjah I have some doubts about going najasa to another part, do I have to wash it or just to ignore these thoughts?

10) May I wear cloth made from viscose (artifical silk)?

11) Through standard white T-shirts you can see some colour and so on if to

look narrowly (so shirt is a little gauzy) - may I have namaz in them if they are the the single cloth on some parts of aurat?

12) If I have smth. (for ex. soft rolls of matter getting from eyes or some pus that looks like snivel) on my eyelash, do I have to clean eyelash before

whudhu?

Sorry for the questions. But I can`t ignore them. 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Wudu questions

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: Do cotton thread and wool yarn isolate the skin from water in wudhu and ghusl (they usually are in the nails (not behind, just on or get in them, being "sticked" (without glue or smth. else, of course) and on heels, and it`s not so easy just to clean the body from them)? If a bit of smth. "sticks" (without glue or smth. else, of course) to my heel, do I have to clean my heel from it before wudhu?

If one does proper wudu and ghusl, the cotton thread or wool yarn would be washed away in the course of the wudu or ghusl. It is highly improbable that cotton thread or wool yarn, without any particular adhesive or glue, should attach itself to the human body in a strong way. If for any reason it does, and one has done his wudu or ghusl in the perfect manner, the few threads of cotton thread or wool yarn on his nails or his heels would have absolutely no bearing on the validity of his wudu.

Q-2: Is it necessary to clean nose between ghusl from some white soft rolls of mucus?

It was the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to do his wudu before he would do the ghusl or full bath. And cleaning the nose is a part of the wudu or ablution, whereby one must inhale the water from his hands until the water reaches the inner bone of the nose, and then blow it out. This process must be done preferably three times during every wudu.

Cleaning the nose is necessary, but not an obligatory act in wudu or ghusl; thus if for any reason one misses out on cleaning his nose,

his wudu or ghusl will still be valid and he will be available for prayer.

Q-3: Is istinka before and after istinjah necessary (fard, wajib)?

It is obligatory for every believer who answers the call of nature to wash and cleanse his private parts thoroughly (istinjah).

Please explain what exactly is istinka as we have no knowledge of this term in Shariah.

Q-4: If I thought for some time in one way, and as it became obvious later it was kufr, do I have to do ghusl? That`s if I thought earlier in the right way, but then have read or heard smth. and this caused kufr, and then have read that it was kufr.

Ghusl is a process of cleaning physical impurities; and the act or thought of ‘kufr’ is a spiritual impurity which cannot be cleansed by water but must be cleansed by seeking forgiveness from Allah Subhanah.

Doing the ghusl will not cleanse away one’s act or sin of kufr; seeking forgiveness from Allah Subhanah is the only way to clean oneself of the impurity of ‘kufr’.

Q-5: If I have wudhu and then after or even during namaz understand that I didn`t wash some part of skin, what do I have to do?

Four acts in the wudu are considered obligatory parts of the wudu; and if any one of them is missed, then the wudu will be considered invalid. They are:

1. the washing of the face
2. the washing of the hands upto the elbows
3. the wiping of wet hands over the head
4. the washing of the feet upto the ankles

If one has missed any of the above four obligatory acts of wudu, then his wudu will be considered invalid and he must repeat his prayer again. Or if one is in prayer and is convinced he has missed one of the obligatory acts of wudu, he must leave the prayer and do the wudu again and then perform his prayer again.

But if one has missed washing any other part of the body than the four listed above, his wudu will be considered valid and thus his prayer will be valid. The other acts like gargle, rinsing the nose, cleaning the ears, etc. are not obligatory acts of wudu, and if for any reason one misses to do them, his wudu will be considered valid.

Q-6: When I wake up, I sometimes see some drops of clean unsticky fluid. Do I have to do ghusl?

Only if one is convinced that he has ejaculated or has had a wet dream, then the ghusl would become obligatory for him. If the drops are of madhi or urine, one may wash the private parts and the clothes that they have touched without doing the ghusl or full bath.

Q-7: If I don`t see wetness after waking up, but then cleanning the private parts, I unintentionally get toilet paper into urethra, and paper becomes wet, do I have to do ghusl then?

Here too, the ghusl is not obligatory unless and until one has ejaculated due to wet dream or sexual intercourse. Washing the private parts and the clothes they may have touched would suffice.

Q-8: If during wudhu or ghusl my thought goes to kufr and even I "agree" with it, but then when I understand that it means kufr, I reject these thoughts, do I have to repeat wudhu, ghusl, washing parts that were washed during these thoughts?

Thoughts do not break one’s wudu or ghusl, unless one physically releases something from his private parts; but the thoughts by themselves do not invalidate the wudu or ghusl, and there is no need to repeat the ghusl or wudu.

Q-9: If during istinjah I have some doubts about going najasa to another part, do I have to wash it or just to ignore these thoughts?

If one is convinced that the urine or impurity has touched other parts of his body or clothes, he must wash it with water. In Islam, one is recommended to act on convictions rather than doubts. If one only doubts or thinks that the urine or impurity has touched other parts of his body, he need not act on it; only if one is absolutely sure and convinced that the urine has touched other parts of his body or clothes, he must wash it.

Q-10: May I wear cloth made from viscose (artifical silk)?

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have forbidden the believing males to wear silk clothing. Viscose is a synthetic material and there is absolutely no harm or sin for the believers to wear viscose material.

Q-11: Through standard white T-shirts you can see some colour and so on if to look narrowly (so shirt is a little gauzy) - may I have namaz in them if they are the the single cloth on some parts of aurat?

Provided the clothes are pure and cover the satr of the believers, one may offer prayers in those clothes.

12) If I have smth. (for ex. soft rolls of matter getting from eyes or some pus that looks like snivel) on my eyelash, do I have to clean eyelash before whudhu?
When one washes his face during wudu, these soft rolls of matter from the eyes, if any, should naturally be washed away. The remaining of the soft rolls of matter which is naturally secreted from the eyes do not invalidate one’s wudu.

In Islam, the determination of impurity is not on doubts; but rather on belief. If you have a doubt that something is impure, then one should not act on these doubts; but rather act only if one is absolutely convinced that the thing is impure.

What we can gauge from your short note is that Shaitaan is trying to whisper these misgivings and suspicions in your heart! Shaitaan’s prime duty is to keep a believer from remembering and worshipping his Lord, and he does this by whispering doubts and putting suspicions in our hearts. He first and foremost tries to stop the believers from worshipping and remembering their Creator, and when he finds that he is not successful, he tries to create doubts and suspicions on one’s purity and ‘taharah’, so that one may constantly suspect he is impure and thus his prayer is not valid in the sight of Allah Subhanah! These are nothing more than the tricks played by Shaitaan to stop a believer from worshipping and remembering his Merciful Lord!

What you need to do, is the next time any of these doubts arise in your heart, do not give them any importance at all; and put your trust in Allah Subhanah Alone. And whenever these doubts arise, immediately seek the refuge of Allah from the accursed Shaitaan by saying: “Aoodobillahi minas Shaitaan ir-rajeem” (I take refuge in Allah from Shaitaan, the cursed). Allah will, Insha Allah, protect you from these whisperings of Shaitaan, and doubts, and suspicions.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan