A man has a lot of wind, or probably
gas, in his stomach, and he can only complete his wudoo with difficulty. For
example, he may get as far as washing his face, then he feels something slight and fears
that he may have broken his wudoo, so he starts again. This may happen when he prays
too, he feels something but does not smell anything. What is the solution to this?
Praise be to Allaah.
This is waswaas (insinuating thoughts) from the Shaytaan, by means of
which he wants to spoil the Muslims worship. It has to be ignored. The Muslim should
not stop his salaah or repeat his wudoo unless he hears a sound or detects a smell,
because of the hadeeth narrated by Imaam Muslim from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased
with him), in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
If any one of you feels something in his stomach, and is not sure whether something
came out of him or not, he should not leave the mosque unless he hears a sound or detects
a smell. What is meant is that one should be certain that one has broken one’s
wudoo; if there is even the slightest shadow of a doubt, he remains taahir (in a
state of purity).
