317. Based on recommended precaution, a person who suffers from continued urinal or fecal incontinence should refrain from touching all the things which are forbidden to touch for a person who is not in the state of wuÃÙ.
318. A person who is suffering from urinal incontinence should protect himself by using a pouch which is filled with cotton or any other absorbent material which will prevent the urine from spreading to other areas. The obligatory precaution is that he should wash the orifice prior to every prayer, unless it entails hardship.
In the event that he offers the Ûuhr and the ÞaÒr prayers together, or the maghrib and the ‘ishÁ’ prayers together, he does not have to wash the orifice between the two prayers.
Similarly, one who suffers from fecal incontinence, if possible, should prevent the fecal matter from spreading to other areas for a period that is required to offer prayers. The obligatory precaution is that he should wash the orifice prior to every prayer, unless it entails hardship.
319. A person who suffers from urinal or fecal incontinence, if possible, should control the leakage of urine or excretion of feces for a period that is required to offer prayer, if it does not entail hardship. In fact, if his incontinence is easily treatable, he should get it treated.
320. After overcoming urinal or fecal incontinence, a person who used to suffer from them does not have to offer the qaÃÁ of the prayers which were performed according to his responsibility during the period of incontinence. However, if his incontinence is cured during the allocated time of prayers, he should repeat the prayers offered during that time.
321. A person who cannot control passing wind from the anal orifice should act according to the rules which are applicable to people who are suffering from incontinence.
It is obligatory to perform wuÃÙ in the following six cases:
1. To offer obligatory prayers, other than the prayer for the dead. As for recommended prayers, wuÃÙ is a condition for their validity.
2. To perform a sajdah or a tashahhud which was forgotten during prayers, and to perform the two sajdah al-sahw which are performed for a forgotten tashahhud. If he performs an act which invalidates his wuÃÙ in the interval between his prayer and performing these acts, like urinating, the obligatory precaution is that he should repeat his prayer. However, it is not obligatory to perform wuÃÙ for the sajdah al-sahw which is performed for any other reason.
3. To perform an obligatory ÔawÁf in Hajj or ‘umrah.
4. If a person makes a nadhr (vow), or a covenant, or swears to perform wuÃÙ.
5. If he makes a nadhr to touch the Qur’an with a part of his body, provided his nadhr is valid, like a nadhr to kiss the Qur’an.
6. To wash a Qur’an which has become najis, or to remove it from a place where its presence would be concomitant with violating its sanctity, if he is compelled to touch the script of the Qur’an with his hands or any other part of his body. However if delaying the task for the period required to perform wuÃÙ results in disrespecting the Qur’an, he should remove it from the area without having performed wuÃÙ, or wash it if it has become najis.
323. Touching the script of the Qur’an—that is, causing any part of the body to touch the script of the Qur’an—is forbidden on one who does not have wuÃÙ. There is no harm in causing bodily hair to touch the Qur’an, as long as it is not considered a part of the skin. If the Qur’an is translated into English or any other language, there is no harm in touching parts of its script which do not contain the names of Divine essence and Divine attributes.
324. It is not obligatory to prevent a child or an insane person from touching the script of the Qur’an. However, if their touching of the Qur’an is deemed sacrilegious, they should be restrained.
325. Based on obligatory precaution, one who does not have wuÃÙ should not touch the names of Divine essence and Divine attributes, no matter what language they are written in. The recommended precaution is that he should also refrain from touching the blessed names of the fourteen infallibles (Peace be upon them all).
326. If a person performs wuÃÙ or ghusl prior to the time of prayer with the intention of being in a state of purity, it will be deemed valid. There is also no harm in performing wuÃÙ close to the time of prayer, with the intention of preparing oneself for prayer. In fact, it is recommended to do so.
327. If a person attains certainty that the time of prayer has set in, or obtains a proof authorized by the sharia to that effect, and makes the intention of an obligatory wuÃÙ, but does not stipulate the intention of obligation, his wuÃÙ will be valid even if he later realizes that the time for prayer had not set in.
328. It is recommended for a person to perform wuÃÙ for acts whose perfection through wuÃÙ is established in the traditions, even though wuÃÙ may not be a condition for the validity of those acts. Examples of this include the rites of Hajj, other than the obligatory ÔawÁf and the prayers for it, wherein wuÃÙ is a condition for their validity. It is also recommended for the prayer for the dead, laying a dead body in the grave, going to the mosque, reading the Qur’an and writing it, and sleeping. It is also recommended for one who has wuÃÙ, to perform it again.
Whenever a person performs wuÃÙ for any of the above mentioned reasons, he can also perform any of the acts for which wuÃÙ is obligatory. For example, he can offer prayers or perform an obligatory ÔawÁf with that wuÃÙ.
329. The following seven things invalidate wuÃÙ:
First and second: urinating and defecating from the natural orifices, or an artificial orifice if it is the regular outlet. In fact, based on obligatory precaution, it will invalidate wuÃÙ even if the artificial orifice is not the regular outlet.
A fluid which resembles urine and is discharged before istibrÁ‘ is performed, will be subject to the rulings of urine.
Third: Intestinal gas which is released from the anal orifice, or an artificial orifice based on the details that were elaborated for defecation, regardless of whether a significant amount of gas is released or not.
Fourth: Sleeping, and it occurs when the ears cease to hear.
Fifth: Things which divest a person of his ability to intellect, such as insanity, intoxication and unconsciousness.
Sixth: IstiÎÁÃah for women, which will be elaborated later.
Seventh: JanÁbah.
The term jabÐrah refers to things which are used to bandage a wound or a fracture, and also the ointments which are applied over wounds and similar injuries.
330. If there is an unbandaged wound, boil or fracture on any one of the parts of wuÃÙ, and water is not harmful for it, wuÃÙ should be performed in the normal manner.
331. If a person has an unbandaged fracture on his face or his hands, and water is harmful for it, but wiping over it with a wet hand is not, he should wipe over it with a wet hand. The same will apply in the case of a wound or a boil, based on obligatory precaution. The recommended precaution is that he should thereafter place a ÔÁhir cloth over the area, and wipe over it with a wet hand.
However, should this be harmful as well, or should the wound or fracture be najis and unwashable, in the case of a wound, he should wash the area around it as described in the section on wuÃÙ, starting from above and going downwards. It is also not necessary to perform tayammum. The recommended precaution however, is that he should place a ÔÁhir cloth over the area, wipe over it with a wet hand, and then perform tayammum as well.
In the case of a fracture, he must perform tayammum, and based on obligatory precaution, having performed wuÃÙ, he should place a ÔÁhir cloth over the area, and wipe over it with a wet hand.
332. If a person has an unbandaged wound, boil or fracture in the frontal area of his head, or the top surface of his feet, and he is unable to wipe over it—either because the wound covers the entire area for wiping, or wiping over the unaffected areas is not possible—based on obligatory precaution, he should combine performing wuÃÙ by placing a ÔÁhir piece of cloth over the area and wiping over it with the wetness leftover from wuÃÙ, and performing tayammum.
333. If removing the bandage around a wound, boil or fracture does not entail hardship for a person, and water is not harmful for it either, he should first remove it and then perform wuÃÙ, irrespective of whether the wound or similar injury is on the face or hands, in the frontal area of the head or the top surface of the feet.
334. If a person has a bandaged wound, boil or fracture on his face or hands, and opening the bandage or pouring water over it is either harmful or entails hardship, he should wash the areas which will not be harmed, and do not entail hardship, and wipe over the bandage.
335. If it is not possible to unbandage a wound, but the bandage and the wound are both ÔÁhir, and it is possible to make water reach the wound, and it does not entail harm or hardship, then one should ensure that water reaches the wound while observing the proper sequence of the acts. In the case where the wound is on the face, the above ruling is based on obligatory precaution.
However, if the jabÐrah is on the face, and it is not possible to make the water reach it while observing the proper sequence, precaution dictates that one should wash the area, and also wipe over it while observing the proper sequence. If the wound or the bandage is najis, and it is possible to wash it and to make water reach the wound, causing no harm or hardship, then one must wash it and also make water reach the wound while performing wuÃÙ.
In the event that it is not possible to make water reach the wound, or it entails harm or hardship, or the wound is najis and it is not possible to wash it, or (washing the najÁsah) entails harm or hardship, one should wash the areas around the wound. If the jabÐrah is ÔÁhir, he should wipe over it. If the jabÐrah is najis, or it is not possible to wipe over it with a wet hand, he should place a ÔÁhir cloth over it, and do both: wipe over the cloth and perform tayammum, based on obligatory precaution. He should also place the cloth over the jabÐrah in a manner that it would be considered a part of the jabÐrah, to the fullest possible extent. In the event that it is not possible to place a cloth over the jabÐrah, or to wipe over it, based on obligatory precaution he should wash the areas around it in the manner that was described in the section on wuÃÙ, and should perform tayammum as well.
336. If the jabÐrah encompasses the entire face, or the entire hand, or both hands, the obligatory precaution is that one should perform wuÃÙ of jabÐrah and tayammum as well.
337. If the jabÐrah encompasses all the parts of wuÃÙ, the obligatory precaution is that one should perform wuÃÙ of jabÐrah and tayammum as well.
338. If a person has a jabÐrah on his palms or fingers, and has wiped over them with a wet hand while performing wuÃÙ, he should wipe his head and feet with the same wetness.
339. If a jabÐrah covers the entire width of the upper surface of the foot, but a part of the toes and a part of the upper area—which is obligatory to wipe—is uncovered, one should wipe over the foot in the uncovered areas, and wipe over the jabÐrah in the areas covered by the jabÐrah.
340. If there are multiple jabÐrahs on the face or hands, one should wash the areas between them. If the jabÐrahs are on the head or the surface of the feet, one should wipe on the areas between them. As for the areas which contain the jabÐrah, one should act according to the rules of jabÐrah in those areas.
341. If a jabÐrah covers more than the usual area around a wound, and it is not possible to remove it without difficulty, based on obligatory precaution, one should perform the wuÃÙ of jabÐrah and tayammum as well. If however, removing the extra jabÐrah is possible without difficulty, one should remove it. Then, if the wound is on the face or the hands, one should wash the uncovered area, and if it is on the head or the feet—and wiping the area is obligatory—one should wipe over it. As for the areas covered by the jabÐrah, one should act according to the rules of jabÐrah.
342. If there is no wound, cut or fracture on the parts of wuÃÙ, but water is still harmful for it for some other reason, one should perform tayammum instead of wuÃÙ.
343. If an area on the parts of wuÃÙ is phlebotomized, and it is not possible to wash it due to the harm it may cause, then its ruling will be the same as the ruling of a wound or a cut, as elaborated in the previous article. If a person is unable to wash it for any other reason, like if the blood does not cease to flow, he should perform tayammum instead.
344. If something is stuck to one of the parts of wuÃÙ or ghusl, and removing it is not possible, or entails hardship, based on obligatory precaution one should perform wuÃÙ or ghusl of jabÐrah and tayammum as well.
345. In all the ghusls, with the exception of the ghusl for a dead body, the (ruling for the) ghusl of jabÐrah is like the wuÃÙ of jabÐrah, and based on obligatory precaution, it should be performed sequentially.
However, if there is a wound or a boil on the body, be it covered with a jabÐrah or uncovered, , albeit there is a case to be made for being free to choose between ghusl and tayammum, the obligatory precaution is that one should perform ghusl. If there is a fracture on the body, then its ruling, and the ruling of the area with the fracture, wound or boil for the purpose of ghusl is the same as the ruling for the face and the hands in wuÃÙ.
