A man afflicted with incontinence of wind or urine: if he feels something coming out while standing for prayer, what is the ruling on this prayer?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In the question regarding the man who is afflicted with wind or the discharge of something from his private part: he performs wudu, then goes to pray. He performs wudu before the adhan, before the iqamah, but even during the iqamah, he 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, 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 has occurred in the meantime, this is not permissible. Rather, after the adhan is called, he performs wudu and resorts to 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 case, it does not harm him if something comes out of him, because he is among those with an excuse. His condition, no matter how strong his flow is, is much lighter than that of the woman with irregular bleeding (istihadah), 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 abundance of that blood, the blood of istihadah, flowing from her. She thought, out of ignorance of the ruling of the Lawgiver in this matter, that this was menstrual blood, so she left prayer for two years because she thought this blood was the menstrual blood that prevents prayer. Then she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained of her condition to him. He said: 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. It is not permissible for us to resort to ta'wil except with evidence, and there is no evidence here. The obligatory thing is to say that we stop at the apparent meaning of the hadith, which is the position of the majority of jurists. This means that this woman cannot pray the recommended prayer (sunnah) of the time and the obligatory prayer (fard) of the time. If she wants to pray the sunnah, after finishing it, she must perform wudu for the fard; otherwise, she restricts herself to the fard. This is what is obligatory for her, and no more. Therefore, if the Lawgiver permitted the woman with istihadah, 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 of urinary incontinence or wind is more deserving of being given this ruling.
The Shaykh : This is considered to be among those with an excuse, 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 has occurred in the meantime, this is not permissible. Rather, after the adhan is called, he performs wudu and resorts to 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 case, it does not harm him if something comes out of him, because he is among those with an excuse. His condition, no matter how strong his flow is, is much lighter than that of the woman with irregular bleeding (istihadah), 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 abundance of that blood, the blood of istihadah, flowing from her. She thought, out of ignorance of the ruling of the Lawgiver in this matter, that this was menstrual blood, so she left prayer for two years because she thought this blood was the menstrual blood that prevents prayer. Then she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained of her condition to him. He said: