Q: My problem is that when I intend to pray a lot of gas starts to build up in my bowels. I make wudhu with difficulty by stopping it and pray in the same way. This problem always occurs whenever I decide to pray. At other times, I have gas problems comparable to a normal person. Following is an account of hardships that I have been facing because of it.
1. I live in Canada where to make wudhu and pray on time requires a lot of effort in an office environment. I would like to pray multiple Salaah especially in winter with one wudhu but I could not.
2. Praying Salaah with Jamaat is extremely difficult. I want to go to mosque more frequently but it is simply not possible for me.
3. I could not concentrate during Salaah because I am more focussed on stopping the gas than on the prayer itself. Even then, most of the times, I am not sure if I was able to keep my wudhu or not.
4. I could not offer Nafil Salaah because doing even fardh is very difficult for me.
5. Sometimes people force me to lead the prayer which I try to avoid but at times I have to do it. This makes me feel guilty that I am responsible for invalidating the other people’s Salaah due to my condition.
In my opinion, I should be excused from breaking the wudhu by passing of the gas only because I have no control over it. As long as I have the wudhu the gas keeps bothering me until the wudhu is broken by passing it. Please advise keeping in mind the above difficulties and also the fact that I live in a western country where practicing shariah is quite difficult.
A: If you do find time where you can perform four rakaat namaaz with the wudhu then you must perform every namaaz with wudhu. However, if you don’t find this amount of time then you will be counted as a ma`zur (excused). Hence, your wudhu should be performed for every Salaah time.
( وصاحب عذر من به سلس ) بول لا يمكنه إمساكه ( أو استطلاق بطن أو انفلات ريح أو استحاضة ) … ( إن استوعب عذره تمام وقت صلاة مفروضة ) بأن لا يجد في جميع وقتها زمنا يتوضأ ويصلي فيه خاليا عن الحدث ( ولو حكما ) لأن الانقطاع اليسير ملحق بالعدم ( وهذا شرط ) العذر ( في حق الابتداء ) … ( وحكمه الوضوء ) لا غسل ثوبه ونحو ( لكل فرض ) اللام للوقت كما في “لدلوك الشمس” ( ثم يصلي ) به ( فيه فرضا ونفلا ) فدخل الواجب بالأولى (الدر المختار 1/305-307)
Answered by:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)