Keeping wudhu while being diagnosed for IBS

I have a problem with keeping my wudhu. I pass gas a lot and have problems with my bowel movements. My doctor has diagnosed me with IBS- Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Before I was actually diagnosed I would always repeat my wudhu and sometimes have to repeat it more than twice. Also when I pray I would always be concentrating on not passing gas.

Sometimes I will sit on the toilet 30 minutes and feel better but as soon as I stand up for prayer my tummy will rumble and I will need to do wudhu again.

The Imam at my local Masjid where I go regularly told me that I should ignore these doubts… or even if they are too I should pray anyway as I am having to repeat my wudhu so much and Islam is a religion of ease not difficulty.

However I have read in books of fiqh (Hanafi madhab which I follow) that you are only considered mazoor if you can’t find a single moment to pray and are continuously breaking your wudhu. This is not the case with me… sometimes I can be quite settled for a few hours and pray without breaking wudhu. The thing is it is all quite unpredictable- I have no idea when I will feel better and suddenly when I will feel ill.

I especially have a problem at work and university where we only get a limited break to pray- and perhaps my wudhu will break in that time.

After having been diagnosed I started to accept that perhaps I could go easier on myself and allow the wind to pass and still pray. I have been doing this for several months.

Recently I have drastically tried to change my diet to alleviate my symptoms. Although the diet I am following can take a while to work, I felt some relief after a week and so started to assume that I should not consider myself mazoor. However a day later I started having gas again- but determined to not slack, I have been redoing my wudhu and praying as I used to before- concentrating on not passing wind etc.

I really have no idea what to do. Especially when I am at university and work where I cannot keep repeating my wudhu- if it was a one off I would of course- but this is a regular occurrence.

Please advise me… I would really like to talk to someone in person if possible.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The issue of mazoor is very important and it ought to be adhered to.

It is important to know the condition for a person to become mazoor and a person to remain mazoor have two different implications.

If a male or female cannot hold his/her wudhu (with ease and without putting their health at risk) for one complete fardh prayer, then one will be considered a mazoor. Preferably one should measure their stability of holding wudhu between the time of Asr and Magrib, for this is the shortest time between two prayers[1].

One will remain mazoor (excused person) as long as one cannot hold his/her wudhu for any moment between two prayers.

For example, if one is diagnosed with IBS, between the time of Zuhar and Asr (or any time between two prayers) he/she did not have any moment in which he/she could hold his/her wudhu. From that point on he/she will remain as mazoor. Meaning at the beginning of every prayer he/she will have to renew his/her wudhu and the wudhu will be valid until the end of time of the same prayer.

In your case, if before going to work or school you did not have the urge to pass wind until break time, then you are considered as mazoor and it is permissible for you to pray by performing wudhu once.                                                                                                    

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Immad Bin Arshad

Student Darul Iftaa
California, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

www.daruliftaa.net