Q&A: Baby’s Urine, Purification and Salah

Q&A-GSalam.Net

Question

As a mother, during prayers, my son came and stood in front of me and urinated and the urine touched my dress. I want to know; what I should do in cases like this?

Answer

The urine of a baby, be it of a boy or a girl is unclean. However, the urine of a boy is cleaned differently, from how that of a girl is cleaned.

When a baby boy, who only feeds on breast milk urines, all we have to do is to sprinkle water on the spot of the urine. There's no need for the water to flow. There's also no need to squeeze the cloth.

As for a baby girl, who only feeds on breast milk, the spot on which she has urinated must be washed. No need for soap, but there is a need for the water to flow, in the process.

Sayyiduna Ali, radhiya Allahu ‘anhu, narrated a Hadeeth, which was reported by Imam(s) Ahmad and Al-Tirmizhi, that The Prophet, salla Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, said:

بَوْلُ الغُلامِ الرَّضِيعِ يُنْضَحْ، وَبَوْلُ الجَارِيَةِ يُغْسَلُ

It means, “The urine of a breastfeeding boy is to be sprinkled, and the urine of a breastfeeding girl is to be washed.”

A baby; boy or girl, who has started eating foods (other than breast milk) and happens to urine, the process of cleaning his or her urine should be the same. We wash the spot where the dirt has touched. No need to wash the whole dress.

Ummu Qais, radhiya Allahu ‘anha, said in a Hadeeth authenticated by Imam(s) Al-Bukhari and Muslim:

أَنَّهَا أَتَتْ بِابْنٍ لَهَا صَغِيرٍ لَمْ يَأْكُلِ الطَّعَامَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَبَالَ عَلَى ثَوْبِهِ، فَدَعَا بِمَاءٍ فَنَضَحَهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَمْ يَغْسِلْهُ

It means, “She brought her son who had not yet started to eat food, to the Prophet, salla Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, and he (the baby) urinated on the his dress (of the Prophet). So he called for water and sprinkled on it, and did not wash it.”

If the stool (toilet) of a baby (boy or girl) touches one's cloth, he has to wash the spot of the dirt, regardless of whether the child on dependent of breast milk alone, or he eats solid foods.

That's how we clean dirt from babies, on our clothes and our bodies.

Now back to the question, when a child's urine touches you while you are in Solat, you have to stop, go and clean up; following the appropriate procedures, which I just explained above, and then come back to pray again.

You don't have to retake your Wudhu. We only retake our Wudhu when we break it. One's Wudhu becomes invalid when he produces wind, goes to the gents, touches the opposite gender with sexual desire, has a deep sleep, loses his consciousness or when he goes crazy.

For more Q&As, click here, to submit yours and/or read from others .

Allah knows best.

1 Comment on "Q&A: Baby’s Urine, Purification and Salah"

  1. Assalam ustaz, could you kindly elaborate on the reasons for the difference in cleaning the urine of a baby girl and baby boy who are both feeding on only breast milk? This is merely to clear the misconception on Islam as a religion that discriminates or thinks differently about the two sexes, hence, requiring different cleansing methods. Jazakallah khayr.

Please comment here