Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Using tissue paper in the state of Iḥrām | Wearing stitched clothes

Question 1:

If a Muḥrim put on stitched clothing forgetfully and removed them after ten minutes as soon as he recalled, will there be any expiation etc. for him?

Answer:

Yes. Ṣadaqah will be Wājib even if he wears stitched clothes just for a moment, whether deliberately or forgetfully. If a Muḥrim has worn stitched dress for the duration of a day or night¹ or more, Dam will be Wājib even if he does so for many consecutive days.

¹ The duration of a day or that of a night means, for example, from sunrise to sunset or vice versa; or from noon to midnight or vice versa.

(Fatāwā Razawiyyah referenced, vol. 10, pp. 757)

Question 2:

If a Muḥrim covers his head with a cap or a turban or shawl of Iḥrām, or if a male Muḥrim forgets to take off stitched clothes or cap before he makes the intention of Iḥrām, or if the face of Muḥrim is covered by someone else's shawl in crowd, what is the penalty for it?

Answer:

Whether an offence is committed deliberately or by mistake or due to someone else' carelessness, expiations must be paid in any case. As it is a sin to commit an offence deliberately, repentance will also be Wājib. Now note the details of expiation. If a male Muḥrim covers the whole of or one quarter of his head for the consecutive period of a day or night or more, Dam will be Wājib.

(Marginalia Anwar-ul-Bishārah ma' Fatāwā Razawiyyah referenced, vol. 10, pp. 757)

Likewise, if a male or a female Muḥrim covers the whole of or one quarter of his/her face for the consecutive period of a day or night or more, Dam will be Wājib. In case of covering less than one quarter of head/face for the period of a day or night or in case of covering the whole of face or head for less than the period of a day or night, Ṣadaqah will be due. In case of covering less than one quarter for less than the period of a day or night, there is no expiation but it is a sin.

(ibid, pp. 757)

Question 3:

Can a Muḥrim wipe his nose with a piece of cloth due to flu?

Answer:

He cannot wipe his nose with a piece of cloth. He can blow his nose into a piece of cloth or towel keeping it away from the nose. Ṣadr-ush-Sharī'ah Badr-ut-Tarīqah 'Allāmah Maulānā Mufti Muhammad Amjad 'Ali A'zamī عَلَیْہِ رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ الْقَوِیّ has stated: There is no harm in covering the ear and the back of the neck. Similarly, Muḥrim can place his empty hand onto his nose. However, if Muḥrim has placed his hand with a piece of cloth in it over his nose, though expiation will not be due, it is Makrūh and a sin to do so.

(ibid, pp. 1169)

Questions and answers about using tissue paper in the state of Iḥrām

Question 1:

Can a Muḥrim use tissue paper to wipe sweat from his face or nose due to flu or water after making Wuḍū?

Answer:

A Muḥrim cannot do so.

Question 2:

How is it to wear a mask made of cloth or tissue paper?

Answer:

It is impermissible and a sin to do so. If conditions are met, expiation will also be due.

Question 3:

If a Muḥrim has worn a scented mask, what will be the ruling?

Answer:

If a Muḥrim has worn a scented mask that contains fragrance in liquid form, resulting in the liquid fragrance coming into contact with the body, the ruling of fragrance will apply in this case. That is, if the fragrance is in small amount and has not come into contact with an entire part of the body, Ṣadaqah will be due. If fragrance is in large amount or has come into contact with an entire part of the body, Dam will be due. If pure fragrance does not exist but rather fragrance is only emanating from the tissue paper, no expiation is required even if the Muḥrim has wiped the face etc. with it or his face or hand is having fragrance due to touching the tissue paper. This is because pure fragrance is not found in the tissue paper, and the main purpose of using tissue paper is not to benefit from fragrance.

(Iḥrām and Fragrant Soap, pp. 31)

If a Muḥrim has entered a room where incense or frankincense is burnt to spread fragrance, causing his clothes to have fragrance in them, expiation is not required because he has not benefitted from pure fragrance.

('Ālamgīrī, vol. 1, pp. 241)

Question 4:

Can a Muḥrim use a stitched shawl at the time of sleeping for covering his body?

Answer:

He can do so. Rather, there is no harm in using even more than one shawl provided the face is uncovered, even if both feet are fully covered.

Question 5:

When travelling by air or by bus, if a Muḥrim goes to sleep with his face resting on a pillow or on the backrest of the seat in front of him, what is the ruling in this case?

Answer:

Although no expiation is required for sleeping with the face resting on a pillow, it is Makrūh Tahrīmī to do so. As for sleeping with the face resting on the backrest of the seat in front of Muḥrim, it is permissible to do so because a seat is normally hard like a door, unlike a pillow that is soft.

Question 6:

Can a Muḥrim sleep with his face resting on his knees? There is no expiation for sleeping with the face resting on a pillow but it is Makrūh. Why?

Answer:

If the face is resting only on the knees, i.e. only on the hard part of the knees, this is permissible because the ruling applies depending upon the hard thing wrapped or covered or put into the cloth, not the cloth itself, just as Islamic scholars have stated the ruling of a sack or a bundle of something (except that of clothes). However, this is very unlikely that the face of Muḥrim rests only on the knees when sleeping. What is likely is that some part of the face will be resting on the hard part of the knee and some part of it will be in contact with the cloth only. Therefore, this should be avoided otherwise this can result in expiation being due. As for a pillow, it is soft like a piece of cloth (and therefore it is prohibited for Muḥrim to sleep with his face resting on it), but a pillow is not considered cloth in all cases (therefore, expiation is not due).

Question 7:

Is it allowed for a Muḥrim to sleep in a sleeping bag to protect against cold, covering his entire body except the face and the head?

Answer:

Yes. It is allowed for a Muḥrim to do so because this is not referred to as wearing clothes.

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