Q 424: Will my prayer be invalid if I perform them in clothes that I doubt are najis?
A: Clothing which one doubts is najis is considered pure and it is correct to perform prayer in it.
Q 425: I purchased a leather belt from Germany. Is there any shar‘ī problem in performing prayers with it if I doubt whether it is made of natural or synthetic leather or whether the leather belongs to an animal that is slaughtered ritually? And what is the ruling with respect to the prayers that I performed while having the belt on?
A: If you doubt whether it is made of natural leather or not, there is no problem in performing prayers with it on. But, if you know it is made of natural leather but doubt whether it is from an animal that was ritually slaughtered or not, even though it is ruled as pure, it is unlawful to pray in it. Nevertheless, the prayers performed in the past are considered valid and there is no need to make them up if you were ignorant of this ruling.
Q 426: If someone is sure that there is no najis substance on his clothes or body and performs his prayer but realizes afterwards that his body or clothes were najis; is the prayer he performed invalid? What will be the ruling if he realizes this matter during his prayer?
A: If someone is not aware at all that his body or clothes are najis and comes to know it only after the end of the prayer, it is valid, and it is not obligatory for them to repeat, or perform the qaḍā’ of that prayer. But, if they notice the matter during the prayer, it will be obligatory for them to remove the najāsah from their body or take off the najis clothing during the prayer — provided that they can do so without committing anything that contradicts the prayer — and complete their prayer. If they are unable to remove the najāsah while preserving the status of the prayer and there is enough time, it is obligatory for them to break the prayer and resume it after the removal of the najāsah.
Q 427: A person used to perform his prayers for a period of time while wearing clothes made of the leather of an animal about which there was doubt as to whether it was ritually slaughtered and he did not know that it is not actually correct to perform prayers in such clothes. What should he do now? In general, what is the ruling on an animal about which there was doubt as to whether it was ritually slaughtered?
A: The rule for such an animal is similar to the rule for an animal that was not ritually slaughtered in that it is ḥarām to eat the meat or to perform prayer with the leather, but it is considered pure. Nevertheless, if the previous prayers were performed in ignorance about this rule, they are ruled as correct.
Q 428: A woman realizes during her prayer that some of her hair is unveiled and immediately covers it. Is it obligatory for her to repeat that prayer?
A: It is not obligatory to repeat that prayer as long as unveiling the hair is not intentional.
Q 429: Due to urgency, a person is compelled to clean his urinary outlet using a piece of wood, stone or something else. Then he washes that part with water after returning home. Is it obligatory for him to change or purify his underwear in order to perform prayer?
A: It will not be obligatory for him to purify his clothes if they have not been made najis by the wetness of the urine.
Q 430: Some imported industrial machines are installed with the assistance of foreign experts who are considered, according to Islamic law, non-Muslims and najis. The activation of these machines is accomplished through their lubrication or other actions done by hand. Therefore, these machines cannot be pure. Given that workers’ clothes and bodies always touch these machines during the work, and they do not have enough time throughout working hours to purify their cloths and bodies completely, what is their duty with respect to performing prayer?
A: Due to the probability that the non-Muslim who activates the machines is from the People of the Book, who are considered pure, or that he wears gloves while working, no certainty emerges concerning the najāsah of the place and machines merely by knowing that they are activated by a non-Muslim. However, if there is certainty about the najāsah of the machine and that workers’ bodies and clothes contact it with transmitting moisture while working on it, it is obligatory to purify their bodies and purify or change their clothes for prayer.
Q 431: If a praying person carries a handkerchief or something similar that is made najis by blood or has such things in his pocket, will his prayer be void?
A: If the handkerchief is too small to cover one’s private parts, there is no problem in it.
Q 432: Is it correct to perform prayer in clothes that are scented with modern perfumes containing alcohol?
A: There is no problem in performing prayer in it as long as the perfume in question is not known to be najis.
Q 433: How much of the body a woman should be covered in prayer? Is there any problem with short-sleeved clothes and in not wearing socks?
A: Women should cover the whole body except the area of the face washed during wuḍū’, the hands up to the wrists, and the feet up to the ankles provided that the dress should really cover the body. In the presence of a non-maḥram the feet should be covered as well.
Q 434: Is it obligatory for women to cover their feet during prayer?
A: Covering the feet up to the ankles is not obligatory as long as no non-maḥram is there.
Q 435: Is it obligatory to cover one’s chin completely when wearing ḥijāb and performing prayer or is it sufficient to cover the lower part of it? And is the obligation of veiling the chin a preliminary step for the obligatory face veil in shar‘?
A: It is obligatory to cover the lower part of the chin not the chin itself, because it is a part of the face.
Q 436: Does the rule relating to the correctness of prayer prayed with an extrinsically najis thing that is not enough to cover one’s private parts apply only to the cases of forgetting of, or ignorance of, the rule or the subject, or does it cover cases of ambiguity with respect to the case or to the rule?
A: The rule is neither specific to the case of forgetfulness nor to that of ignorance. Rather, it is permissible to perform prayers along with carrying an extrinsically najis thing which is not sufficient to cover the private parts even if one knows about it.
Q 437: Does the existence of the hair or saliva of a cat on a person’s clothes cause his/her prayer to be invalid?
A: Yes, it invalidates the prayer.