Removing urine drops with wet towel

21-10-2016 | IslamWeb

Question:

Please, I realized that when I urinated, some tiny drops splashed on my thighs; I soaked a towel with water and cleaned these drops. I do not know whether what I did was right or not. Please tell me. I have looked through all the fatwas on urine but did not found a suitable answer. I feel that what I did was right since the water took away the impurity onto the towel, and I rinsed the towel with water after that.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The impurity of urine is removed by pouring water over the area tainted with urine until the water runs off unchanged with the smell or color of urine.

The Hanbali book Al-Mubdi‘ Sharh Al-Muqni‘ reads, "All impurities, regardless of whether it be urine, alcohol, or an impurity from a dog or a pig, that tainted the floors, or what is attached to it like walls, sinks, or the like, it is incumbent to wash it off by pouring water over it until its color and smell are gone. If the color and smell are not gone, then the tainted area is not properly purified. However, it is excused if the impurity is difficult to remove except with hardship like the case with defiled garments, as underlined in the commentary."

Hence, what the questioner did of wiping the urine with the towel was wrong. This is not sufficient in terms of washing off the impurity. Instead, she should have poured water over the area tainted with urine until all traces of the impurity are washed off entirely. For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 333622.

However, if she washed the tainted area afterward while taking a shower or the like, then it has become purified.

Allaah knows best.