1) Is skin oil needed to be cleared for wudhu and ghusl to be complete 2) If our hands are oily, and touch something impure, does impurity get transferred? 3) Also is mopping or sweeping the floor with a mop or a towel, dipped in a small bucket of water (added in it is a fragrant fluid, due to which the water has a smell(thus property changed)), sufficient for purification? or if the same method is used with plain water, will the same bucket and cloth suffice (with the cloth being dipped in the bucket at intervals).

Question:

1) Is skin oil needed to be cleared for wudhu and ghusl to be complete

2) If our hands are oily, and touch something impure, does impurity get transferred?

3) Also is mopping or sweeping the floor with a mop or a towel, dipped in a small bucket of water (added in it is a fragrant fluid, due to which the water has a smell(thus property changed)), sufficient for purification? or if the same method is used with plain water, will the same bucket and cloth suffice (with the cloth being dipped in the bucket at intervals).

JazakAllah.

Answer:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1) No, oil does not prevent the validity of wudu and ghusl. So oil does not have to be removed before wudu and ghusl.

2) If the traces of the impurity, such as its colour or smell, become apparent on the hand then the hand will become impure; otherwise it will remain pure. (Fatawa Hindiya: 1/52-53, Ilmiyya)

3) Mopping with a wet mop or towel will only purify smooth surfaces that do not have pores, such as glass, mirrors and some tiles (but the plaster in between the tiles will not be purified by mopping). As for other types of surfaces, mopping will not be sufficient for purifying.

Depending on the type of surface and the type of impurity, there are a few ways you could purify the surface:

  • For the methods of purifying carpets and rugs, click here.
  • To purify cement floor, wooden floor or tiled floor you can use the methods used for purifying carpets and rugs; and you use also use this method: Simply let the impurity dry and disappear. Once the impurity dries and disappears and its traces (colour and smell) also disappear, that place will become pure, i.e. you can perform salat on it (although you can’t make tayammum from it).

And Allah Ta’ala knows best

Mufti Faizal Riza
2/4/2013

Darul Ifta Australia
www.fatwa.org.au

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