Checking Clothing for Drops of Urine


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalam aleikum. Sometimes when I have doubt that urine or pre-ejaculate fluid may have come out, I check my clothes to confirm. Sometimes it’s clean and sometimes it’s not. Once, as I was exiting the shower I felt maybe something came out and as I was putting my clothes on, I realized it did. Since water was dripping off my body, do I need to clean the washroom floor, towel, etc?
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are well, insha’Allah.
No you do not need to clean anything.
A golden rule to remember is the legal maxim: Certainty is not lifted by doubt. You should ignore any feelings and sensations that you have. Such suppositions are of no legal consequence. Unless you have strong reason to believe that something has exited, there is no need to check anything.
The mind, with the assistance of the devil, often plays tricks on people and they begin thinking excessively about such purificatory matters assuming, ‘something may have exited’, ‘I think something came out’, ‘I’m fairly sure’, ‘it looks like it’, and so on. What follows is incessant checking and baseless misgivings. Listening and acting on such misgivings is contrary to the sunna. Anything short of absolute certainty is not certainty and thus not acted upon.
It is said that misgivings (waswasa) and hardship arise from an ignorance of the sunna of the beloved of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace). Think calmly and clearly about the situation; learn the rulings; apply them, and express gratitude to Allah for having guided you. Sidi Ibn `Ata’illah al-Iskandari said, “No matter is difficult if you seek it through your Lord, and nothing is easy if you seek it through yourself.”
Abu Yahya Suhayb ibn Sinan said, “The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘What an extraordinary thing the business of the believer is! All of it is good for him. And that only applies to the believer. If good fortune is his lot, he is grateful and it is good for him. If something harmful happens to him, he is steadfast and that is good for him too.’” [Muslim]
Please also see: Key Principles Relating to Certainty, Doubt, and Baseless Misgivings (Waswasa) 
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Tabraze Azam