FAQ in the category of Wudu, Ghusl, Tayammum

1 Is it permissible to perform ghusl while being naked? Is it permissible to urinate in the place where we bath?..

It is permissible to have a bath naked in a closed place and alone; it is not haram. However, it is better to cover the private parts in terms of good manners. Ghusl made while one is naked is valid.

MANNERS OF HAVING A BATH

It is better to act in accordance with manners of having a bath but it is not a sin if one does not act accordingly.

1. We should clean our teeth with miswak (Islamic toothbrush) before we bathe.

2. We should take a bath with nice thoughts like going into the presence of Allah with a clean body.

3. We should enter the bathroom with our left foot.

4. When entering we should say “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, I seek refuge in Allah from the evil of out cast Satan and all kinds of excrement.”

5. We should close the door so that nobody sees inside the bathroom.

6. When bathing in a public bath, we should cover our private parts and wear a loincloth.

7. We should firstly wash our right and left shoulders.

8. We should not waste the water.

9. When we feel hot water on our skins, we should think of Hell and compare the hellfire with this hotness of water.

10. We should not talk while bathing; we should not sing songs including Allah’s names or holy things and should not read verses from the Quran.

11. We should not enter the bathroom towards the evening and between the evening prayer and night prayer.

12. One should not pour water on himself while standing in the bathroom. If the water that falls on the floor does not splash on a person's body, it is permissible to have a bath by sitting.  

13. Urinating or defecating in the place of bathing must be avoided. The Prophet warns us about it,

“One of you should not urinate in the place where he bathes and should not make wudu  (ablution) in that place. Most of delusions –waswasa- come from this.” (Tirmidhi, Tahara 17; Nasai, Tahara 6)

14. Those who have a bath should wash and clean the bathroom. There should not be any unpleasant sights in the bathroom. They should clean all the dirt of soap, hair, and dirty water on the floor. The dirty clothes should not be hung and should not be left as dirty.

15. Everybody should have their own loincloths and use that.

16. If they have long hair and mustache, they should trim and shorten them before bathing.

17. It is mustahab (recommended) to pluck and shave the hairs of your armpits once in maximum forty days

18. It is Sunnah to remove the pubic hairs once in maximum forty days.

19. It is Sunnah to have kohl three times on our right eye, two times on our left eye, and to begin from the right one.

20. We should bury or burn the nails and hairs we cut by wrapping them in something.

2 Does sleeping without leaning on anything invalidate wudu? Are there hadiths regarding the issue?

Sleep invalidates wudu. For, feeling disappears when one sleeps. The evidence showing that deep sleep and a long sleep invalidate wudu is the following hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) narrated by Hz. Ali:

"The eye is the string that ties the anal sphincter. Therefore, a person who sleeps must make wudu." (1)

Another hadith regarding the issue is the one narrated by Muawiya:

"The eye is the string that ties the anal sphincter. When the eyes sleep, the string is loosened." (2)

Both hadiths show that sleep is likely to invalidate wudu.

Fiqh scholars have different views about sleep invalidating wudu; Nawawi mentions those views in Muslim's Explanation (1,73). We choose two views that are close to each other but are different in terms of explaining the depth of the sleep that can be regarded as evidence for passing wind. These two views are stated as follows: 

The first view is the view of Hanafis and Shafiis:

The sleep that invalidates wudu is the one in which the hips do not sit on the ground firmly, or sleeping on one side of the body or sleeping by leaning on something. For, sleeping on one’s side and similar states causes the joints to loosen. However, the wudu of a person who sleeps by placing his hips firmly on the back of an animal or on a similar ground like that is not invalidated.   

If a person leans on something and when the thing that he leans on is removed, he topples and if his hips are not on the ground, his wudu is invalidated according to Hanafis. For, with that kind of leaning, the state of loosening reaches the ultimate state. However, according to Shafiis, if his hips sit on the ground firmly, his wudu is not invalidated because he becomes sure that no wind will come out while sitting like that. Accordingly, the decree is the same in both madhhabs. Wudu is not invalidated if a person sleeps while standing (qiyam) bowing down (ruku’) and prostrating (sajdah) in prayer or outside prayer in these positions. For, the state of being able to control oneself continues in these positions; if this position ends, he will fall; therefore, a full loosening does not occur.

Their evidence about it are some hadiths. One of them is the following hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas:

"Wudu is not necessary for a person who sleeps while prostrating unless he lies on his side. If he lies on his side, his joints will loosen." (3) 

In another narration, the hadith is as follows:

"There is no need for a person who sleeps while sitting to make wudu. For, wudu becomes necessary for a person who sleeps on his side. For, the joints of a person who sleeps on his side loosen." (4)

The following is stated in one of the following narrations of Bayhaqi:

"Wudu does not become wajib for a personwhosleeps while standing, bowing down and prostrating unless he lies on his side."

One of the evidences regarding the issue is the following hadith reported by Anas:

"The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would sleep by sitting while waiting for the night (isha) prayer and perform the prayer without making wudu." (5)

This hadith is an evidence showing that a little sleep does not invalidate wudu.

Another evidence regarding the issue is the following hadith reported by Amr b. Shuayb from his father and reported by his father from his grandfather:

"There is no need for a person who sleeps while sitting to make wudu. However, it is necessary for a person who sleeps on his side to make wudu." (6)

Kamal b. al-Humam states the following about the hadiths above: If you think about the hadiths we have mentioned, you will see that they are not lower than the degree of hasan. (7)

The second view is the view of Malikis and Hanbalis.

A little and slight sleep does not invalidate wudu but deep sleep invalidates wudu. The expression Malikis use is as follows: A slight sleep does not invalidate wudu even if lasts a long time.

Deep sleep is the sleep in which a person does not notice sounds or when he does not notice the thing that falls from his hand or he does not notice the saliva coming out of his mouth, etc. If he notices them, this sleep is regarded as light sleep. Their evidence is the hadith narrated by Hz. Anas mentioned above:

"The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would wait for the night (isha) prayer. Their heads would droop and then they would perform the prayer without making wudu."

The following hadith reported by Ibn Abbas is also among their evidences:

"I slept next to my maternal aunt, Maymuna. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) got up to perform prayers. I stood on his left. He held my hand and took me to his right. When I was about to fall asleep, he held me from my earlobe."

Ibn Abbas added:

"He performed eleven rak’ahs like this." (8)

These two hadiths show clearly that a little sleep does not invalidate wudu.

Footnotes:

1. Ahmad b. Hanbal, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah narrated it. The meaning of the hadith is as follows: Being awake isthe string of the anus. That is, it prevents the things inside from coming out. For, as long as a person is awake, he notices the things that come out from him. Naylul-Awtar, I, 192.
2. Ahmad b. Hanbal and Daraqutni, Naylul-Awtar, I, 192.
3. Ahmed b. Hanbal narrated it, Naylul-Awtar, I, 193.
4. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Daraqutni narrated it. Naylul-Awtar, I, 193.
5. Abu Dawud, Muslim and Tirmidhi narrated it. Naylul-Awtar, I, 193.
6. Ibn Adiyy narrated this hadith. Nasbur-Raya, 1,45. Bayhaqi narrated a similar hadith from Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman.
7. Fathul-Qadir, I, 33.
8. Muslim narrated it. Naylul-Awtar, I, 192.

(see İslam Fıkhı, Wahba az-Zuhayli, 1/194-195)

3 Is wudu invalidated if blood flows after making wudu? For instance, if a person cuts his face while shaving or hits a place and blood comes out, is his wudu invalidated?

If blood comes out of the mouth and nose, front and back private parts, and any organ, wudu is invalidated:

If the blood that comes out of the mouth in liquid form is more than the saliva or equal to it, wudu is invalidated; if it is less, wudu is not invalidated. It is understood from the color.

The blood coming out of the other places invalidates wudu when it overflows the place it comes out. A blood drop that comes out like a pinpoint and remains there does not invalidate wudu. It does not matter when it is wiped with the hand or a finger. The same decree is valid for the pus and yellow liquid coming out of a wound. Accordingly, if the blood that comes out while shaving or the blood coming out of a wound overflows the place it comes out, wudu is invalidated; otherwise it is not invalidated.

Clean water coming out of the pimples on the body is regarded like blood according to the sound view. According to another view, when such water comes out, wudu is not invalidated. This view is ease for those who suffer from smallpox and mange. It is reported from Hulwani that it is permissible to act in accordance with that view if there is a necessity.

According to Shafiis, leakage of blood, pus and yellow liquid that come from anywhere except the genital organs and anus do not invalidate wudu. However, a person can perform prayers only after washing that blood.

4 Does it prevent wudu to make a pause while making wudu? Does it harm wudu if a person wears his sock after washing his right foot and before washing his left foot?

It does not prevent wudu if a person wears his sock after washing his right foot and before washing his left foot. However, it is sunnah to wash wudu organs one after another.

To Wash Wudu Organs One After Another:

Wudu is a separate deed that our religion orders to prepare for worshipping; it is a whole with its sunnahs and fards. Therefore, it is regarded as sunnah to wash an organ before another organ dries. In some madhhabs, it is regarded as fard.

It does not matter if the weather is hot or cold, windy or calm. The organs that integrate wudu are washed one after another without a pause. A deed from outside should not intervene it. In that case, it is makruh to wash wudu organs with a pause if there is no excuse. If water for wudu runs out and some time passes to find wudu is an excuse; therefore, it is not makruh to pause wudu to find water.

The same thing is valid for ghusl and tayammum. The same issues are written in Sirajul-Wahhaj and Fatawa al-Hindiyya. (Celal Yıldırım, Kaynaklarıyla İslam Fıkhı, Uysal Kitabevi: 1/25.)