If a man is afflicted by the passing of wind or the discharge of something from his private part, he performs wudu for every prayer, but he continues to feel that sensation between the iqamah and the prayer. What is the ruling?

The questioner : As for the man who is afflicted by the passing of wind, he performs wudu and then goes to pray. He performs wudu before the iqamah, but during the iqamah he also feels something coming out. What is the ruling on the prayer of this person?

The Shaykh : This is considered to be among those with an excuse (ahli al-'udhr), and those with an excuse are commanded by the Shari'ah to perform wudu for every prayer. This means that it is not permissible for him to perform wudu except after the time has entered, and it is not permissible for him to perform wudu except to pray immediately. If the time enters and he performs wudu, then prays after half an hour, and the flow of fluid or wind occurs during that time, this is not permissible. Rather, after the adhan, he performs wudu and takes some of the prescribed means that help him reduce the discharge of fluid or wind, and help him reduce the spread of impurity from urine or otherwise. Then he stands for prayer when the iqamah is called. In this state, it does not harm him if something comes out of him, because he is among those with an excuse. His condition is this, no matter how strong his flow is; his condition is much lighter than that of the woman with irregular bleeding (mustahadhah), who has blood coming out of her outside her regular period. There was a woman in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh, who continued for two years seeing blood. When she sat on a mat that had water on it, the water would become blood by morning due to the large amount of that blood of irregular bleeding coming out of her. She thought, out of ignorance of the ruling of the Lawgiver in this matter, that this was menstrual blood, so she left the prayer for two years because she thought this blood was menstrual blood, which prevents prayer. Then she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained to him about her condition. He said: But he told her: "Perform wudu for every prayer." Some scholars interpret this hadith to mean "Perform wudu for the time of every prayer." This is an expansion for which there is no evidence in the Sunnah, because it is a figurative interpretation (ta'wil) of the hadith, and there is no basis for adopting a figurative interpretation except with evidence, and there is no evidence here. The stronger position is that we stop at the apparent meaning of the hadith, which is the view of the majority of jurists: "Perform wudu for every prayer." This means that this woman cannot pray the recommended practice (sunnah) of the time and the obligatory prayer of the time. If she wants to pray the sunnah, she must perform wudu for the obligatory prayer after finishing it, or else she restricts herself to the obligatory prayer. This is what is obligatory for her, and no more. If the Lawgiver permitted the woman with irregular bleeding, from whom blood hardly ceases, to perform wudu for prayer and pray even if blood is coming out of her, then the one with an excuse, whether it is urinary incontinence or wind, is more deserving of being given this ruling.