Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
My question concerns children who are not potty-trained. I always thought that we couldn”t carry them in prayer, but recently someone mentioned that if they lean on us (hug our legs, for example) then this would nullify our prayer, since we are, in effect, supporting them.
Is a distinction made if we hold something v. something holds us? Or, is the result–i.e., the contact with najas–what matters?
And is it correct to assume that their diaper is najas, since we are not 100 percent certain that it is? Can we operate on the assumption that it is not? Do we have to check to be sure one way or the other?
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
wa `alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
Alhamdulillah, motherhood is a wonderful blessing, but like every worldly blessing, it has many associated tests. One of these tests is performing a valid prayer. 🙂
The most useful rule to keep in mind when dealing with filth and filth-affected things is that “certainty is not lifted by doubt.” If you are certain that your baby is pure (because, for example, you just gave her a bath and washed her front and rear private parts with water) and unsure whether or not she has urinated or defecated in her diaper, then you may assume that she is pure and you are not obligated to check her diaper.[1] If, later on, you check her diaper and find that it is, in fact, dirty, then you may assume that it became dirty at the last possible moment before you checked.[2]
If, however, you are certain that your baby has a dirty diaper (because, for example, you can smell it from the other end of the house), then your prayer will be invalidated if you are considered to be supporting (hamil) your baby (e.g. the baby sits in your lap or leans on you) or if the baby grabs hold of your body or clothes. If, however, the baby merely brushes against your body or clothes with a *pure part* of its body or clothes without you supporting the baby in any way and without the baby grabbing hold of your body or clothes, then the prayer remains valid.[3]
I hope that makes sense.
And Allah Most High knows best.
Hamza.
[1] Shaykh Amjad verified with Shaykh Muhammad al-Khateeb of Tarim (may Allah preserve them both) that if one is not obligated to remove one”s doubts regarding a matter by trying to achieve certainty through further investigation, even when this is within one”s reach.
[2] This is based on the legal maxim that “changes in situations are attributed to the last possible time.” This maxim is a straightforward extrapolation of the maxim, “certainty is not lifted by doubt.”
[3] Taken from Hashiyat al-Jamal `ala Fath al-Wahhab. Note that the qualifier *pure part* excludes the case where the baby contacts one”s body or clothes with a filthy part of its body or clothes. In this case, one”s prayer is invalidated even if one is not supporting the baby.