What you should do in the following situations..

English Translation
Book by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid



Janaabah whilst travelling

A traveller may find himself on a long plane journey during which he becomes junub (impure). He has no way of performing ghusl, and there is nothing on the plane that he could use for tayammum. If he waits until he reaches his destination, the time for prayer will be over, and it may be a prayer that he cannot join with another, such as fajr, when he set out before fajr and will not arrive until after sunrise, or the time for joining two prayers such as zuhr and asr may also be over, because he set out before zuhr and will not arrive until after maghrib. What should he do in such a situation?

If we accept that he has no means of performing ghusl on board the plane, then he is in the situation known by the scholars as “the one who does not have access to the two purifying materials (i.e., water or earth).” There are varying opinions on this situation. Imaam Ahmad and the majority of muhaddithoon say that he should pray as he is, because this is all that he can do, and “Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope.” [al-Baqarah 2:286 – interpretation of the meaning].

The specific evidence in this case is the report narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, where it states that the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent some people to look for a necklace that Aaishah had lost. The time for prayer came, and they prayed without wudoo (because they could not find water). When they came to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), they told him about it and then the aayah of tayammum was revealed. (Saheeh Muslim, 367). The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not blame or criticize them, neither did he tell them to repeat the prayer. This indicates that prayer is obligatory, and even though tahaarah is a condition for prayer, prayer should not be delayed when tahaarah cannot be accomplished. (al-Mughni maa al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/251).

A similar ruling applies to the sick who cannot move their limbs at all, and people who are imprisoned and chained up or suspended.

What is meant is that the prayer should be performed in the best way possible under the circumstances, and it should not be delayed beyond its set time. According to the soundest opinion, it does not have to be repeated, for Allaah does not lay upon us in religion any hardship.



Bleeding after miscarriage – nifaas or not ?


If a woman miscarries and bleeds, should she pray or not? The answer to this question depends on the kind of blood: is it nifaas or not? The scholars have mentioned the regulations concerning this: “If she sees blood after passing something that has any human features, then it is nifaas, but if she sees it after passing something that resembles a blood clot (nutfah or alaq), then it is not nifaas.” (al-Mughni maa al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/361).

This is based on the hadeeth narrated by Abd-Allaah ibn Masood according to which the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who is the one who speaks the truth, said: “The creation of each one of you is gathered for forty days in his mothers stomach (womb), then he is alaqah (something that clings) for a similar length of time, then he is mudghah (something like a lump of chewed flesh) for a similar length of time. Then Allaah sends an angel who is commanded to do four things: he is told to write down his deeds, his provision and whether he is to be unfortunate (doomed to Hell) or blessed (destined for Paradise)…” (This version narrated by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 6/303).

Any woman facing this problem should try to seek the advice of doctors to find out exactly what her situation is.

With regard to the blood which may be discharged just prior to a normal birth: if it is accompanied by labour pains or contractions, then it is nifaas, otherwise it is not. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “What she sees when the labour pains begin is nifaas. What is meant here is contractions followed by delivery; if this is not the case then it is not nifaas.” (Majmoo Fataawa Ibn Uthaymeen, 4/327).