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Losing Track of Filth

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Sidi Moustafa Elqabbany

1. I have read the following on www.Sunnipath.com – “If you lose track of filth (such as the carpet, in this case), then if the contaminated area is large, you can pray anywhere on it.”

I have lost track of filth and have become paranoid. If I touch any part of any carpet in our whole house I wash my hands, and I never pray anywhere without a clean mat or towel. Is this action blameworthy?

2. I follow the Shafii madhhab. However, growing up, I misunderstood the proper way (according to the Shafi`i madhhab) of purifying things from najasah. For example, if there was najasah on the floor, I would get rid of the najasah (taste, smell and color) by methods like scrubbing, wiping with wet cloth or mopping the floor. But at the end, I did not flow water over the affected area as I thought getting rid of the najasah through this method was enough.

Now that I have a better understanding, how do I handle all the places around the house that I’ve cleaned in this improper way before? I am not sure of the places that were affected by najasah before as traces of the najasah have gone. I am especially concerned with my room where I carry out my prayers. I am sure the floor has been affected by najasah before but I am not sure where exactly in the room and traces of the najasah have gone. I do use a prayer mat when praying but I really want my floor to be pure, again.

Also, is it true that for Hanafi madhhab, it is OK to clean hard surfaces by wiping it with wet cloth (after color, taste and smell of najasah has been gotten rid of). My room floor is made from parquet (varnished wood); would this count as a surface that can be cleaned by wiping? The other room’s floors are tiles; can this surface be cleaned by wiping?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The first question references the following link, which is relevant to the question at hand:

http://www.sunnipath.com/resources/Questions/qa00002414.aspx

There are two issues here: the first is concerned with praying on an area where one has lost track of filth; the second relates to whether this filth can then spread to other areas. Regarding the first, the upshot is that if one loses track of a spot of filth in an area that is small enough for one to pray in, then one must purify the entire area. If the area is larger than this, one can pray anywhere on it. Regarding the second, a spot can only spread filth if one is certain that it was filthy to begin with. If it is possible that the spot is pure, it does not contaminate that which touches it.

The above is the ruling of the Sacred Law. It is permissible to pray directly on the carpet or floor without purifying it. If you want to be precautious, it is sufficient to spread out a prayer rug and pray on it. Anything more than this will probably lead to spiritual or psychological problems. Always trying to make things more difficult on yourself can open two doors for Shaytan: the first will be for you to start resenting your practice of the Sacred Law and the second will be to start abandoning it. May Allah be our refuge from all of this.

Rather than going through this hardship, give yourself a break and just stop where the Sacred Law has stopped. Believers rejoice in the Mercy of Allah. Allah has made things easy on you, so rejoice in His Mercy and stop worrying about things that the Shaytan and your own misgivings have imposed upon you.

As for the question about Hanafi fiqh, it should be directed to hanafi@sunnipath.com.

And Allah the Exalted knows best.

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.

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