[Q 735] Salah on Unwashable Impure Surfaces

Question

Sometimes cats vomit (throw up) on the sofa, bed or on the carpet and none of them can be washed (rinsing 3 times)

What steps, if any, needs to be taken to use the bed, carpet or sofa for Prayers (Salah), Quran Recitation etc or reciting Wazaif?

– Clean it with some foam detergent untill it’s dry and there’s no visible trace/smell?

– Put a clean sheet on it during praying, Quran Recitation?

Also, if those things are dried, would sitting on them will effect the purity of your clothes?

کیا ان پر بیٹھنے سے کپڑے ناپاک ہو جائیں گے؟

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

In any case, if these items are not purified and one needs to pray on them in that state, then the impurity should be removed as much as possible. After that place dries, if a thick cloth, plastic sheet, or any other thick item is spread over it, then one can perform Salah, recite the Qur’an, or do other forms of dhikr on that spot.

In Salah, it is a condition for the forehead to firmly rest on the ground during prostration, meaning one should prostrate on a place where the forehead, if pressed further, would not sink. Therefore, when spreading something over a carpet, it should be ensured that the item is such that it conceals the impurity and also allows the forehead to rest firmly during prostration.

فتاوی شامی میں ہے:وكذا الثوب إذا فرش على النجاسة اليابسة؛ فإن كان رقيقا يشف ما تحته أو توجد منه رائحة النجاسة على تقدير أن لها رائحة لا يجوز الصلاة عليه، وإن كان غليظا بحيث لا يكون كذلك جازت.

(Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar wa Radd al-Muhtar, vol. 1, p. 626)

حاشية الطحطاوي میں ہے :والأول هو بمعنى قولنا وشرعا مانع الخ قوله: “فلو بسط شيئا رقيقا يصلح ساترا الخ” أي ولم تشم منه رائحة النجاسة قال البرهان الحلبي وكذا الثوب إذا فرش على النجاسة اليابسة إن كان رقيقا يشف ما تحته أو توجد منه رائحة النجاسة على تقدير آن لها رائحة لا تجوز الصلاة عليه وأن كان غليظا بحيث لا يكون كذلك جازت اهـ قوله: “فألقى عليها البدا” المراد أنه ألقى عليها ذا جرم غليظ يصلح للشق نصفين كحجر ولبن وخشب كما في البدائع والخانية ومنية المصلي

(Hashiyat al-Tahtawi ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah, p. 208)

If both the clothes of the person sitting and the place of impurity are dry, then the clothes will not become impure. However, if either the place of impurity or the clothes are wet, and the effect of the impurity becomes apparent on the clothes, then the clothes will become impure. But if there is only dampness and the effect of the impurity does not become apparent on the clothes – meaning the impurity from the carpet, etc., does not transfer to the clothes – then the clothes will still remain pure. That is, clothes will only become impure if the effect of the impurity becomes apparent on them.

فتاوی عالمگیری میں ہے:إذا نام الرجل على فراش فأصابه مني ويبس فعرق الرجل وابتل الفراش من عرقه إن لم يظهر أثر البلل في بدنه لا يتنجس وإن كان العرق كثيرا حتى ابتل الفراش ثم أصاب بلل الفراش جسده فظهر أثره في جسده يتنجس بدنه كذا في فتاوى قاضي خان.

(Majmu’a min al-Mu’allifin, Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, vol. 1, p. 47)

It is stated in Bahar-e-Shariat: If one sleeps wearing impure clothes or on an impure bedding, and sweats, then if the impure spot becomes wet due to sweat, and then the body becomes damp from it, it will become impure, otherwise not.

(Bahar-e-Shariat, vol. 1, p. 116)

Answered by: Mubashir Madani (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 10th October 2026