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Are small drops of urine, from which it is difficult to purify oneself, and whose trace on the garment does not exceed the size of three lentil seeds, considered among the excused impurities? What if some of these drops come down after putting on one's undergarment without knowledge; is it then necessary to inspect the undergarment? What is the guidance and advice regarding the scrupulosity concerning purity resulting from these drops? Is the towel used to wipe the private part after washing considered impure, and what is the ruling on using it multiple times after urine drops have fallen on it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The questioner is not legally obligated to expel any remaining urine from the male organ, as attempting to do so might cause more to be released. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that clearing one's throat, walking, jumping, examining the male organ, and similar actions to expel urine are innovations (bid‘ah), and the hadith reported regarding this is weak. Urine exits and stops naturally; it is "like an udder: if you leave it, it will settle, and if you milk it, it will flow."

What is prescribed for purification (istinja’) is to wash the exit with water or wipe it with tissues or similar purifying materials. If urine truly continues to exit, not due to whispers (waswasah), and there is a time when it stops, then the questioner should wait until it ceases, then perform istinja’, ablution (wudu’), and pray. As for someone who suffers from urinary incontinence (sals al-bawl) that does not stop, they should wear a protective garment and perform ablution for each prayer, similar to a woman with prolonged vaginal bleeding (mustahadah).

Regarding a confirmed urine drop, the principle is to purify the body and clothing from impurity, knowing that scholars have differed on the amount of impurity that is overlooked. As for the towel used for dry purification (istijmar), it becomes impure, and it is not permissible to rely solely on it for istijmar except to reduce the impurity before using water. The questioner is advised to be wary of giving in to obsessive whispers (waswasah).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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