a couple of times I had a wet dream on the couches and it had probably transfered because I could smell some semen on the them. I did not clean it and my mother took a cloth and bucket of water and wiped the couch while putting it back in the bucket and wiping again several times. My question is does this make the whole couch impure. Besides sometimes wet clothes from the washing machine is put there on the couch does this also make the clothes impure. I suffer from a lot of whispers so this is bothering me a lot.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
When the impurity was wiped with the cloth, that portion of the cloth became impure. If that impure portion of the cloth was dipped back into the bucket, it would have consequently contaminated the pure water and rendered it impure. As a result that portion of the couch which your mom wiped over would have been wiped with impure water.
The proper way to clean an invisible impurity (i.e. in this case the impure water) for an item which cannot be wrung or squeezed would be the following:
1. Pour water over the impure area (the area of the couch your mom wiped over) and then dry it with a clean piece of cloth or any other way, letting the couch dry to the extent that water doesn’t drip. Repeat this procedure three times and the couch will be pure after that. [i][ii][iii]
2. An alternative and quicker method would be to estimate the amount of water needed to immerse the impure section of the couch and pour three times (3x) that amount of water on it. In this second solution you do not need to repeat any procedure, just pouring three times the water on the impure area will render it pure. You can now dry it up with a clean piece of cloth or any other way. [iv][v]
When It Is Very Difficult To Purify By Pouring Water: If, however, the entire couch has been wiped with that impure cloth it will be quite difficult and impractical to implement the above two solutions due to the possibility of ruining the couch and pouring such a large amount of water indoors.
Therefore, in such difficult cases where there is a genuine need for a more practical solution, the fuqaha have offered another method as mentioned in Fatawa Dar al-Ulum Zakariya and Fatawa al-Lacknawi [vi][vii][viii]:
You can take some clean and wet pieces of cloth and wipe the couch thoroughly multiple times. If you are using a bucket of water to wet the pieces of cloth do not dip the used pieces of cloth back into the bucket. The couch should be wiped until you are reasonably sure that it has become clean and pure.
Wet Clothes on Dry Impure Surface: Those wet pure clothes that were put on the impure section of the couch when the couch had become dry (as is understood from the question) will not become impure as long as there are no traces of impurity visible on the clothes. If there are any traces of impurity, it will suffice to just clean the affected area of the clothes.
Wet Clothes on Wet Impure Surface: If, however, the impure couch was also wet when the wet pure clothes were put on it, then the clothes will also become impure as mentioned in Imdad al-Fatawa. [ix] [x]
As far as whisperings about purity are concerned, the principle you need to keep in mind is that: “Certainty is not negated by doubt,” meaning that as long as you only have a doubt about impurity on your clothes or body, you do not need to change or wash your clothes. They will be considered pure and your salah valid.
Allah has made following Islam easy. Tell yourself that you are a slave of Allah and you will follow His rules instead of making up your own rules. For further details see Fatwa # 32637: http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/32637
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Sohail ibn Arif,
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
وإن كانت غير مرئية يغسلها ثلاث مرات. كذا في المحيط ويشترط العصر في كل مرة فيما ينعصر ويبالغ في المرة [i]
الثالثة حتى لو عصر بعده لا يسيل منه الماء ويعتبر في كل شخص قوته وفي غير رواية الأصول يكتفي بالعصر مرة وهو أرفق. كذا في الكافي وفي النوازل وعليه الفتوى. كذا في التتارخانية والأول أحوط. هكذا في المحيط…وما لا ينعصر يطهر بالغسل ثلاث مرات والتجفيف في كل مرة؛ لأن للتجفيف أثرا في استخراج النجاسة وحد التجفيف أن يخليه حتى ينقطع التقاطر ولا يشترط فيه اليبس.
فتاوى الهندية، ١/ ٤٢
قوله: وبتثليث الجفاف فيما لا ينعصر) أي ما لا ينعصر فطهارته غسله ثلاثا وتجفيفه في كل مرة؛ لأن للتجفيف) [ii]
أثرا في استخراج النجاسة وهو أن يتركه حتى ينقطع التقاطر ولا يشترط فيه اليبس
البحر الرائق، ١/ ٢٥٠
فتاوي دار العلوم زكريا، ١/ ٥٤٥ – ٥٤٦ [iii]
وأما حكم الصب فإنه إذا صب الماء على الثوب النجس إن أكثر الصب بحيث يخرج ما أصاب الثوب من الماء [iv]
وخلفه غيره ثلاثا فقد طهر؛ لأن الجريان بمنزلة التكرار والعصر والمعتبر غلبة الظن هو الصحيح
البحر الرائق، ١/ ٢٥٠
فتاوى محمودية ٥/ ٢٥٧ – ٢٥٨ [v]
ينظر فتاوى دار العلوم زكريا ١/ ٥٤٥ – ٥٤٦ حيث إستدل فضيلة الشيخ بالعبارتين التاليتين [vi]
وغسل ومسح والجفاف مطهر” – الدر المختار، ١/ ٣١٥”
المطهر السادس: المسح بخرقات مبتلة” – فتاوى اللكنوي ص. ١٤١”
أي موضع يطهر بخرقات مبتلة بدون سيلان الماء أقول هو موضع المحجمة وغيره من مواضع الضرورة [vii]
فتاوى اللكنوي، المسماة، نفع المفتي والسائل، ص. ١٩
المطهر السادس: المسح بخرقات مبتلة على موضع المحاجم وغيره [viii]
المرجع السابق، ص. ٢١
[ix] فتاوى محمودية، ٥/ ٢٦٨ – ٢٦٩
[x] امداد الفتاوى، ١/ ١١١ – ١١٢