I have a question basically I have been told that if you are touched by the saliva of a dog or if you smoke ganja(hashish) or if you drink alcohol then your salah and duas are not accepted for 40 days, dies this mean we shouldn’t do salah for 40 days please explain, I follow the hanafi madhab.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Brother in Islam,
The various forms of Ibadat are meant to attain the closeness of Allah Ta’āla. Ibadat generates a spiritual light in one’s heart that builds up and a person feels familiar with Allah Ta’āla and His Greatness. Over time, through the spiritual light in one’s heart, the greatest enjoyment and pleasure of a believer is his relationship with Allah Ta’āla. No worldly comfort or enjoyment can be equivalent to the spiritual enjoyment a believer enjoys through Ibadat.
As such, the various forms of Ibadat are not just rituals and customary acts to be merely fulfilled. It should be fulfilled with complete devotion and a mind-set of attaining closeness to Allah Ta’āla.
Committing sins is the consequence of negligence and unmindfulness. When a believer performs an act of Ibadat in this state, whilst it is appreciated and it is an expression of his Imaan the act itself is discharged, it lacks Qubuliyah[1] and acceptance by Allah Ta’āla due to committing sins. It is in light of the above, the following Hadith should be understood:
“مَنْ شَرِبَ الْخَمْرَ لَمْ يَقْبَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ صَلَاةً أَرْبَعِينَ صَبَاحًا فَإِنْ تَابَ تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْه”
“Whosoever drinks wine Allah Ta’āla will not accept his Salah for forty days. If he repents, Allah Ta’āla will forgive him.” [2]
The Hadith refers to wine. All intoxicants including Hashish are included in the same prohibition.
Wine and other intoxicants are addictive. They consume the energy of one’s mind and heart to desire more of it. As such, the heart and mind is not focused on Ibadat and does not desire doing Ibadat. Imagine presenting an Ibadat to Allah with an empty heart. The solution is to change and reform. The enjoyment through the intoxication of Ibadat is pure, wholesome and unparalleled in spiritual enjoyment in which a believer can surpass the ranks of some angels. The intoxicants of this world reduce a person to worse than animals. However, sincere Tawbah followed by reformation propels him to great heights of closeness to Allah Ta’āla. The utmost in any good is Qubuliyah (acceptance) from Allah Ta’āla.
It does not behove a believer to be in unnecessary contact with a dog. If a person is touched by the Saliva of a dog that area should be immediately washed.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Saleem Ibn Sajawal Khan
Bradford, UK
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
[1] وَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ شَرِبَ خَمْرًا خَرَجَ نُورُ الْإِيمَانِ مِنْ جَوْفِهِ. رَوَاهُ الطَّبَرَانِيُّ فِي الْأَوْسَطِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَقَالَ الْأَشْرَفُ: إِنَّمَا خَصَّ الصَّلَاةَ بِالذِّكْرِ ; لِأَنَّهَا أَفْضَلُ عِبَادَاتِ الْبَدَنِ، فَإِذَا لَمْ يَقْبَلْ مِنْهَا فَلَأَنْ لَا يَقْبَلَ مِنْهَا عِبَادَةً أَصْلًا كَانَ أَوْلَى، قَالَ الْمُظْهِرُ: هَذَا وَأَمْثَالُهُ مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى الزَّجْرِ وَأَلَّا يَسْقُطَ عَنْهُ فَرْضُ الصَّلَاةِ إِذَا أَدَّاهَا بِشَرَائِطِهَا وَلَكِنْ لَيْسَ ثَوَابُ صَلَاةِ الْفَاسِقِ كَثَوَابِ صَلَاةِ الصَّالِحِ، بَلِ الْفِسْقُ يَنْفِي كَمَالَ الصَّلَاةِ وَغَيْرِهَا مِنَ الطَّاعَاتِ، وَقَالَ النَّوَوِيُّ: إِنَّ لِكُلِّ طَاعَةٍ اعْتِبَارَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا سُقُوطُ الْقَضَاءِ عَنِ الْمُؤَدِّي، وَثَانِيهُمَا تَرْتِيبُ حُصُولِ الثَّوَابِ فَعَبَّرَ عَنْ عَدَمِ تَرْتِيبِ الثَّوَابِ بِعَدَمِ قَبُولِ الصَّلَاةِ (فَإِنْ تَابَ) أَيْ بِالْإِقْلَاعِ وَالنَّدَامَةِ (تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ) أَيْ قَبِلَ تَوْبَتَهُ (فَإِنْ عَادَ) أَيْ إِلَى شُرْبِهَا (لَمْ يَقْبَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ صَلَاةَ أَرْبَعِينَ صَبَاحًا) وَلَعَلَّ وَجْهَ التَّقْيِيدِ بِالْأَرْبَعِينَ لِبَقَاءِ أَثَرِ الشَّرَابِ فِي بَاطِنِهِ مِقْدَارَ هَذِهِ (مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح، ج6ص2386، دار الفكر)