Friday | 19 April 2024 | 10 Shawaal 1445

Fatwa Answer

Question ID: 812 Category: Knowledge
Cleanliness - Suspicion of Impurity

Assalamu'alaykum

The question laid out in the scenario below is based on my own inability to decipher whether or not the situation that arose is one of waswasa or not, simply because of fear of how to approach the situation if there is a finding of napaaki.  I have suffered from Taharah & other waswasa for over a decade.

Question

I always enter my house toilet with slippers on.

My house toilet when flushed sometimes splashes water out from the toilet bowl and on to the floor.  These drops are only visible on close inspection. I try to clean the floor after finishing from the toilet, but sometimes if I am in a rush for Salah or for work I do not clean the floor.  Therefore drops would have accumulated over a period of time on the toilet floor.  After finishing in the toilet sometimes I make wudhu in the sink next to it and water will land on the same floor.

On Thursday, after finishing in the toilet I exited in to a carpeted room wearing the same slippers that I had used in the toilet.  This would cause any napaaki on the slippers to dry, although may be not fully.  This will depend on how much wetness there was on the toilet floor.  If wudhu was made, then the bottom of the slippers would be more wet than if only the toilet had been used.

After this I walked outside in the same slippers to my car which was a few feet away.  I then drove to Masjid.  After exiting the car I walked around outside in the Masjid car park for over an hour providing security.  The grounds of the car park were, if I recall correctly, partially wet as it had been raining earlier in the day.

After an hour or so and just prior to entering the Masjid, I accidentally
stepped in a muddy puddle of water which caused water to get on to my slippers, through my leather and cotton socks such that the dampness could be felt on my feet.  I was not sure what to do.  I stood outside in the car park and took about 5 minutes to decide my next course of action after which I entered the carpeted lobby area of the Masjid.  Prior to doing so I removed my leather and cotton socks so that the carpet would not become wet.  After this I placed my feet on to the carpet of the lobby area.

However some moisture from my feet did get on to the carpet.  I then walked through the carpeted lobby, through the Masjid (Jamat Khana) and to the wudhu khana where I washed my feet.  Prior to entering the Masjid (Jamat Khana) I tried to carefully place the dry part of my leather socks in the carpeted lobby area as I thought that I do not want to take in to the Jamat Khana potentially napaak socks.  However, a subsequent doubt has arisen as to whether I was careful enough in this respect.

This is compounded by the fact that I forgot my leather socks in the lobby area. When I returned a week later to pick them up, they had been moved in to the Jamat Khana. My inclination is that since they were placed in the lobby late at night, they could only have been moved the next day, several hours later by which time they should have been dry and therefore any impurity on them would not have transferred to the carpet.

My mind is now occupied with the thought, which I cannot shift, which is:

1. Is the carpeted lobby area of the Masjid now napaak and how far does that napaaki extend to?

2.    Does it extend to the Jamat Khana too?

3. What about the carpeted area where I placed my leather socks and the fact that they were subsequently moved to the Jamat Khana?

4. If napaak, how do I address the washing of the carpet with the Masjid committee without bringing humiliation to myself?

The aforementioned worries are consuming my mind and I cannot seem to see a way out.

I know that there would be no visible sign or even possibly smell of napaaki on the carpet.

الجواب وبالله التوفيق      

Fuqahah have documented a rule of thumb in regards to the situation described in your question i.e. until there is absolute belief of a place being impure it will be considered pure. A place or clothing does not become impure due to mere suspicion. All of the situations described in your question are reflective of only suspicions and uncertainties. Therefore, your clothes, socks and the carpet are all considered pure. However if there is confirmed presence of impurity on a place or clothing, in that situation it will be considered impure.

 واللہ اعلم  بالصواب