Do doubts about impurity and arousal of sexual desire invalidate ‘Umrah?

14-5-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

I performed Tamattu‘ Hajj this year, and upon assuming Ihraam for ‘Umrah from Abyaar ‘Ali, I took a bath and purified myself well. While I was looking for the bus which would take us to Makkah, I felt that something was coming out from my genital strongly. Having arrived at Makkah, I made Ghusl and performed ablution again, then, performed ‘Umrah. I fear that something impure, like urine, smeared my garment and made it unclean. During my stay in Makkah before Hajj, I performed another ‘Umrah, and during Tawaaf, my sexual desire aroused unintentionally due to the overcrowding. This was against my will, but I stopped thinking about it immediately and no semen was discharged. I fear that I discharged pre-ejaculatory fluid, knowing that man may not notice its discharge. Is the Muslim required to look at his genital at the time when he feels these fluids, so that he becomes sure about their nature? Were my first and second ‘Umrah valid? I slaughtered an animal before carrying out the rituals of Hajj, telling my Lord Allaah that this sheep was compensation for any defect or negligence in my rituals.

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 two ‘Umrahs you performed are valid – Allaah Willing. If the fluid that you felt coming out of your genital was not a form of whispering or doubt, it would not have any effect on your ‘Umrah because you repeated your ablution, which is a requirement for the validity of Tawaaf. If it was doubt or whispering, it is clear that certainty is not canceled by doubt, and the state of purification in principle remains. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, except Maalik  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him. Also, your doubt about smearing the garment with impurity is of no significance according to the preponderant opinion of scholars. Therefore, the state of purification in principle remains, and the jurisprudential rule states that certainty is not canceled by doubt. The opinion of Maalik signifies that the garment whose cleanliness is doubted must be splashed with water.

Arousal of your sexual desire that you found in the second ‘Umrah is of no significance based on the rule stated above, i.e. certainty is not canceled by doubt. The evidence on this great rule is the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, about the one who feels that a wind passes out of his body during prayer: "Do not leave the prayer unless you hear a sound or find its smell." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The Muslim who doubts the discharge of pre-ejaculatory fluid is not required to investigate his clothes; rather, he should overlook the doubt. The eminent scholar Ibn Baaz  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him was asked a question about someone who doubts the discharge of pre-ejaculatory fluid after ablution, and he replied, "As long as you have doubt, even one percent, overlook it and consider it a sort of imagination and untrue." As for the sheep you slaughtered in Makkah, it is a charity for which you will be rewarded – Allaah Willing.

Allaah Knows best.

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