Waswaas regarding transferring impurity to objects through wet hands and feet
Fatwa No: 309736

Question

Shaykh, assalaamu alaykum. Please, I am in trouble. Help me by answering my question in detail and do not direct me to another fatwa. May Allaah help you. I am in danger of falling into trouble. For a period of my live, I did not pay attention to purity; I used to go the toilet and come without washing my private parts and (urine) would splash on my clothes and on my hand, and I sometimes would practice the secret habit with my hand after urinating and used to touch and insert my impure hands in the buckets and water containerers wich I would bathe with, wich made it impure. While my feet were wet, I used to pray and to go to more than four masjids and to my class mates' homes, and I would touch their carpets, clothes, and even their body while I was wet. However, I have realized that my actions were wrong and made repentance to Allaah but am now confused. I fear and worry to the extent that I might become crazy, and I developed a little waswas (devilish whisperings) regarding the actions that I did. I now fear to become insane because I do not know how to tell (the residents of) those homes and mosques to purify their homes. Shaykh, did Allaah not order us in the Quran to fear Him according to our ability? Should I destroy my health? Did Allaah not order us not to harm our selves by your own hands? Tell me what to do because I will go back to my own country and will probably never meet this people again and then I cannot tell them because I cannot tell them to purify their homes, and it is also difficult for them because they are very not pious people, but they do pray. It is beyond my ability; what solution does islam have for me?

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 ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

The scholars held different opinions regarding the case when a wet foot or hand whose ritual impurity is established touches a dry, pure object; will the impurity be transferred to the object in this case or not? Some scholars maintain that the impurity is not transferred to the dry object in this case. There is no harm in following this scholarly view, especially when the ritual impurity of the wet hand or foot while touching the pure object is doubted. Verily, the impurity of a given object is not established based on mere doubts; rather, it must be established with certainty. If you follow this scholarly view, then you can overcome such troubles and repel this waswaas (obsessive whispering).

Allaah knows best.

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