The Urine of a Breastfed Baby and the Warnings against Failing to Guard against Urine

Q: Taharaat-53: It is commonly believed that the urine of a child subsisting only on milk is pure regardless of whether the child is a boy or girl. As a result, mothers and sisters do not bother to wash off the urine of a baby when it gets on to their clothing. is this correct? Please furnish details.

Answer: This notion is wrong because the Fuqahaa have classified the urine of babies (boys and girls) as Najaasat Ghaleezah. It must therefore be washed off the body and clothing before performing salaah.? Salaah performed with the impurity on the body or clothing will have to be repeated This has been clearly stated in Durrul Mukhtaar (Vol.1 P9.293- 294) . Maraaqil Falaah pg.83, Aalamgeeri (Vol,1 Pg.28), marginal note 13 of Hidaayah (Vol.1 Pg.58) , Majma'ul Anhur (Vol.1 Pg.62) , Behisti Zewar (Vo1.2 Pg.1)

The Ahadeeth emphasise guarding against urine and mention that punishment in the grave will be mostly because of failure in this regard. Hadhrat Abdullaah bin Abbaas RADI. reports that Rasulullaah SAW. said Punishment in the grave will be mostly because of urine, so guard against getting soiled by) urine.

Hadhrat Mu'aadh bin jabal RADI. reports that Rasulullaah SAW. guarded againts urine and instructed the Sahabah RADI. to do the same. Hadhrat Mu'aadh RADI. also mentioned that punishment in the grave will be mostly because neglecting to guard against urine.

Hadhrat Abu Umaamah RADI. narrates that Rasulullaah SAW. said, "Guard against urine because it will be the first matter for which a servant will be taken to task for in the grave.

Hadhrat Maymoona bin Sa'd RADI. once asked Rasulullaah SAW. to inform them the reason for punishment in the grave, Rasulullaah SAW. informed them that it would be because of splashes of urine (on the body and clothes).

Hadhrat Abdullaah Bin Abbaas RADI. reports that when Rasulullaah SAW. once passed by two graves, he remarked, "The people in these graves are being punished for things that do not seem very serious. The one never guarded himself against his urine and the other used to carry tales. The phrase, things that do not seem very serious, means that these are things from which it is not very difficult to abstain and does not mean that they are insignificant matters in the Deen.

What is the relationship between guarding against urine and carrying tales? Fat'hul Baari explains that the grave is a prelude to the Day of Qiyaamah, when people will be questioned about the rights owed to Allaah and the rights owed to people. The first of the rights owed to Allaah about which people will be questioned will be salaah, while the first of the rights owed to people to be questioned will be murder. Now the key to salaah is guarding against impurities (which will nullify the salaah) and the common reason for murder is backbiting and carrying tales. It is because of this relationship that people will first be punished for these two crimes in the grave.

A Hadith reports that certain types of people will be the cause of the people of Jahannam having to endure more difficulty than they will already be suffering. The people of Jahannam will say, "We are already suffering such great difficulty, now these people are adding to it with their terrible cries of torment." One of these four groups will be people locked in a trunk of burning embers. These will be those people who had people's wealth in their custody and left nothing behind after their deaths to settle what they owed. The second group will be people who will be dragging their intestines along with them as they moved. They will be those who did not bother about the drops of urine that messed their body and clothing and never cared to wash it off. The third group will be those from whose mouths blood and pus will be flowing will be those who ate the flesh of people.

The above Hadith and others make it clear that it is a grave sin to ignore the drops of urine that contaminate the body and clothing. It is therefore necessary to ensure that urine does not splash on the body when urinating and that none drips afterwards. Effective manners of ensuring that no urine drips after urinating is to cough, to walk about or to use mud clods to absorb the urine. A person may use whatever manner most suitable for him/her. And Allaah knows best what is most correct.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.2