Reciting Quran and Dhikr on an Impure Mattress
The Ruling on Performing Dhikr on an Impure Mattress Covered with a Pure Bedsheet
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: A child urinated on my mattress, and the affected area has completely dried. We did not wash the mattress; however, we spread a clean bedsheet and bedcover over it. Is it permissible to perform dhikr, recite durūd, and recite the Qurʾān while resting on the mattress, given that there is a clean bedsheet and bedcover between me and the impure mattress?
Answer
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
In the case in question, if the bedsheet and bedcover spread over the impure mattress are sufficiently thick that the smell of the dried urine cannot be detected through them, then it is permissible, without any dislike, to perform dhikr, recite durūd, and recite the Qurʾān on the mattress.
The evidence for this is that the place on which salāh is performed must be pure for the prayer to be valid. But the jurists state that if a pure sheet is placed over an impure area or an impure sheet, it is permissible to offer salāh on it. The basis of this ruling is that once a separate clean piece of cloth serves as a barrier, the prayer is no longer being performed directly on the impure surface, but rather on the clean cloth that has become a barrier between the person and the impurity. It follows from this that when a pure barrier, such as a bedsheet or bedcover, is present, the ruling of the impurity below does not extend to the surface above. Therefore, if even salāh, which requires the place of the prayer to be pure, is permissible in this situation, then performing adhkār, reciting durūd, and reciting the Qur ʾ ān is permissible with even greater reason.
Regarding the permissibility of offering salāh on a pure cloth which has been spread over an impure area, Muḥaqiq ʿAlā al-Itlāq Ibn Humman رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه writes:
ثم لو كان المكان نجسا فبسط عليه ثوب طاهر إن شفه لا تجوز فوقه وإلا جازت
Translation: If a place is impure and a pure cloth has been spread over it, then if the effects of the impurity (i.e., the wetness, color, odor, etc.) become apparent, it is not permissible to offer salāh on top of it. Otherwise, (if the effects of the impurity do not become apparent through the cloth) then it is allowed. (Fatḥal-Qadīr, Vol. 01, p. 193, Publ. Dār al-Fikr)
It is stated in Radd al-Muḥtār :
قال في شرحها: 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
Translation: The commentary on al-Munyah states: “Similarly, if a cloth is spread over a dry impurity, then if it is thin such that what lies beneath it is visible, or the odor of the impurity can be smelt through it (assuming the impurity has an odor) it is not permissible to offer ṣalāh on it. However, if it is thick such that this is not the case, then offering ṣalāh on it is permissible.” (Al-Durr al-Mukhtār Maʿa Radd al-Muḥtār, Vol. 01, p. 626, Publ. Dār al-Fikr)
The reason that salāh is valid when there is a barrier is that once an impure cloth has dried, the impurity no longer transfers from it to another cloth. Consequently, the cloth upon which the ṣ alāh is offered remains pure. This has been stated in Kanz al-Daqāʾiq and its commentary al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq :
(لف ثوب نجس رطب في ثوب طاهر يابس فظهر رطوبته على الثوب ولكن لا يسيل إذا عصر لا يتنجس) وذكر المرغيناني: وإن كان اليابس هو النجس والطاهر هو الرطب لا يتنجس؛ لأن اليابس هو النجس يأخذ من الطاهر ولا يأخذ الرطب من اليابس شيئا
Translation: If a wet impure cloth is wrapped in a pure dry cloth and the wetness becomes apparent on the pure cloth, but not to the extent that the moisture would drip if it is wrung, then the pure cloth will not be impure. Imām al-Marghīnānī mentioned: If the dry cloth is impure and the pure cloth is wet, the pure will not become impure, because it is the dry cloth which is impure and it absorbs moisture from the pure cloth, whereas wetness does not absorb from something dry. (Al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq, Vol. 08, p. 546, Publ. Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī)
The following objection may be raised: Even though a cloth is spread over the impurity, dhikr is still being performed near an impurity and performing dhikr near an impurity is Makrūh.
The answer to this is that performing dhikr near an impurity is Makrūh, but only when the impurity is exposed. If the impurity is concealed, then it is no longer Makrūh to perform dhikr near it. For example, the jurists have stated regarding reciting Qurʾān near the deceased that if the dead body is covered with a cloth, then reciting Qurʾān near it is not Makrūh. Thus, it is stated in Maraq al-Falāh :
(وتکرہ قراءۃ القرآن عندہ حتی یغسل) تنزیھاً للقراءۃ من نجاسۃ الحدث
Translation: It is Makrūh to recite the Qurʾān near the deceased until he is given the ritual bath. This ruling is in order to protect the Qurʾān from the impurity of ḥads.
It is stated in Ḥ āshiyah al-Taḥtāwī in the commentary of this text:
وکذا کراھۃ القراءۃ عندہ قبل الغسل لجواز أن یکون ذلک لعدم خلوہ عن نجاسۃ غالباً والغالب کالمحقق
Translation: Similarly, the fact that it is Makrūh to recite the Qurʾān near the deceased before it is given the ritual bath is because the deceased is generally not free from impurity. And something predominant is treated as it is certain. (Ḥāshiyah al-Ta ḥ tāwī, p. 564, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah)
It is stated in Radd al-Muḥtār :
وذكر ط أن محل الكراهة إذا كان قريبا منه، أما إذا بعد عنه بالقراءة فلا كراهة. اهـ قلت: والظاهر أن هذا أيضا إذا لم يكن الميت مسجى بثوب يستر جميع بدنه لأنه لو صلى فوق نجاسة على حائل من ثوب أو حصير لا يكره فيما يظهر
Translation: Ta ḥ tāwī has mentioned that: “The karahah applies only when the reciter is near the deceased. But if he recites at a distance from the deceased, then it is not Makrūh.” End quote. I say: It is clear that this too is when the deceased is not covered with a cloth that conceals its entire body, because if one offers salāh on top of an impurity separated by a barrier, such as a cloth or mat, it will not be Makrūh. (Radd al-Muḥtār Maʿa al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Vol. 02, p. 193-194, Publ. Dār al-Fikr)
As you can see, ʿ Allāmah Shāmī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه has ruled that reciting the Qurʾān near the deceased, when the body is covered with a cloth, is permissible without any dislike. He supported this ruling by drawing evidence from the permissibility of offering ṣalāh over an impure surface when a cloth or another barrier has been placed over the impurity. Accordingly, deriving the permissibility of the dhikr from the permissibility of salāh follows the same line of reasoning that has been presented above regarding dhikr.
وَ اللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: HAB-0727
Date: 06th Ramadān al-Mubārak 1447 AH/ 25th February 2026