Question
My question involves the cleanliness issue with any type of penile discharge.
What is the ruling for proper urination procedures? I have heard that getting the smallest drop of urine on oneself, even by mistake, is a sin. Sometimes even after washing the penis after urinating, a drop or two of urine is discharged, should I change my clothes or would just washing my penis be enough?
What is the ruling on the discharge of semen? Under what conditions are the clothes considered “unclean” and not recommended for offering prayers in?
Answer
The first and the foremost directive in this connection is that one should urinate in a manner (posture), which seeks to avoid sprinkling of urine on one’s clothes to all possible extent. Secondly, after urination a person should wash away any remnants or drops of urine from the organ (this washing of the organ is generally known as ‘Istanjaa‘). These two are the basic prescriptions of the Shari`ah in the referred issue.
You write:
I have heard that getting the smallest drop of urine on oneself, even by mistake, is a sin.
It is indeed a sin to be careless in matters relating to physical cleansing and purification. However, it should be kept in mind that nothing committed by mistake, error of judgment, lack of knowledge, misunderstanding, forgetfulness or under compulsion is considered a sin by Islam. This is the clear implication of the prayer taught by the Qur’an at the end of Surah Al-Baqarah. The Qur’an says:
Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or if we commit a mistake [and go against your command]… Our Lord do not put a burden upon us, which we cannot bear. (Al-Baqarah 2: 286)
Clarifying this implication, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said:
God has excused my followers for their forgetfulness, their mistakes and whatever [wrong] they do under coercion or compulsion. (Ibn Maajah, Kitaab al-Talaaq)
Thus, it would not be very accurate to say that a drop of urine on one’s clothes, even by mistake, is a sin. On the contrary, in my opinion, the correct statement would be that a careless attitude toward physical cleanness is considered a sin in Islam.
You write:
Sometimes even after washing the penis after urinating, a drop or two of urine is discharged, should I change my clothes or would just washing my penis be enough?
Some people have a problem in which a few drops of urine may discharge after regular urination. Some times, this problem can be caused by the position in which one urinates. For example, if one is urinating in a sitting posture, a few drops of urine may discharge when the person stands up. Under such circumstances, it would be advisable that a person may wash the organ once again after standing up. However, if occasionally a discharge occurs even after such washing of the organ, and the discharged drops are visible on the clothes, then one may wash the organ and sprinkle a few drops of water on the particular part of the clothes or rub that particular part of the clothes with wet hands. Nevertheless, if such a discharge were due to an ailment – in some cases a chronic ailment – it would suffice to wash the organ after urination (and then once after standing up) and then completely ignore all subsequent discharge of any drops of urine.
You write:
What is the ruling on the discharge of semen? Under what conditions are the clothes considered “unclean” and not recommended for offering prayers in?
If semen is discharged with sexual climaxing (orgasm), one should bathe before offering prayers. On the other hand, if there is an occasional discharge of semen, without sexual climaxing, one may wash the organ, remove any remnants of semen from the clothes, sprinkle some water on the particular part of clothes or rub the particular part of clothes with slightly wet hands, and offer his prayers after ablution.
Clothes shall be considered unclean if such a significant amount of urine or semen has contaminated the clothes, which cannot be cleaned merely by rubbing the part with wet hands or with sprinkling of water on the contaminated part.
August 29, 2000