Written by: Ash-Shaykh Mubashshir Ahmad Rabbani (ḥafiẓahullāh)
Is it permissible to perform Salah in the same clothes that were worn during intimacy with one's spouse?
According to the Qur’an and Sunnah, if one has had marital relations while wearing certain clothes, it is permissible to perform Salah in those same clothes, provided they are free from impurity (najasah).
If semen (manī) has soiled the clothes, then:
✔ If it is wet, it must be washed off
✔ If it is dry, then scraping it off is sufficient
➊ Narration of Amīr Muʿāwiyah (رضي الله عنه):
He said:
سألت أم حبيبة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم هل كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي في الثوب الذي يجامعها فيه؟ فقالت: نعم، إذا لم ير فيه أذى
“I asked Umm Ḥabībah (رضي الله عنها), the wife of the Prophet ﷺ: ‘Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offer prayer in the garment in which he had intercourse with you?’ She replied: ‘Yes, provided he did not see any impurity on it.’”
— [Abū Dāwūd 366, Al-Nasāʾī 1/155, Ibn Mājah 1/192, Al-Dārimī 1/260, Aḥmad 6/325, Ibn Khuzaymah 1/380, Ibn Ḥibbān 237, Al-Bayhaqī 2/410]
➋ Narration of Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
She said:
كنت أفرك المني من ثوب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فيصلي فيه
“I used to scrape semen off the garment of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he would pray in it.”
— [Abū Dāwūd 372, Al-Nasāʾī 1/156, Ibn Mājah 1/192, Aḥmad 6/35, Ibn Khuzaymah 1/146, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 2/89]
➌ Another narration of Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
She said:
كنت أغسله من ثوب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ثم يخرج إلى الصلاة وأثر الغسل فيه بقع الماء
“I used to wash it (i.e., traces of semen) from the garment of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he would then go out to prayer while water spots from the washing were still visible on the cloth.”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book of Wuḍūʾ, Chapter: Washing Janābah or other impurities even if the trace remains, 231; al-Tirmidhī 1/201; al-Dāraqutnī 1/125; al-Bayhaqī 2/418; Sharḥ al-Sunnah 2/188; Ibn Mājah 536; Aḥmad 6/142]
From these three authentic narrations, it is evident that:
✔ One may offer Salah in the same clothes worn during intimacy
✔ If the garment is soiled with semen, it should be washed (if wet) or scraped (if dry)
✔ Wearing clothes in the state of janābah does not render them impure by default
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to perform Salah in the same clothes that were worn during intimacy with one's spouse?
❖ Answer:
According to the Qur’an and Sunnah, if one has had marital relations while wearing certain clothes, it is permissible to perform Salah in those same clothes, provided they are free from impurity (najasah).
If semen (manī) has soiled the clothes, then:
✔ If it is wet, it must be washed off
✔ If it is dry, then scraping it off is sufficient
❖ Evidences from Authentic Ḥadīth:
➊ Narration of Amīr Muʿāwiyah (رضي الله عنه):
He said:
سألت أم حبيبة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم هل كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي في الثوب الذي يجامعها فيه؟ فقالت: نعم، إذا لم ير فيه أذى
“I asked Umm Ḥabībah (رضي الله عنها), the wife of the Prophet ﷺ: ‘Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offer prayer in the garment in which he had intercourse with you?’ She replied: ‘Yes, provided he did not see any impurity on it.’”
— [Abū Dāwūd 366, Al-Nasāʾī 1/155, Ibn Mājah 1/192, Al-Dārimī 1/260, Aḥmad 6/325, Ibn Khuzaymah 1/380, Ibn Ḥibbān 237, Al-Bayhaqī 2/410]
➋ Narration of Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
She said:
كنت أفرك المني من ثوب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فيصلي فيه
“I used to scrape semen off the garment of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he would pray in it.”
— [Abū Dāwūd 372, Al-Nasāʾī 1/156, Ibn Mājah 1/192, Aḥmad 6/35, Ibn Khuzaymah 1/146, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 2/89]
➌ Another narration of Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
She said:
كنت أغسله من ثوب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ثم يخرج إلى الصلاة وأثر الغسل فيه بقع الماء
“I used to wash it (i.e., traces of semen) from the garment of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he would then go out to prayer while water spots from the washing were still visible on the cloth.”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book of Wuḍūʾ, Chapter: Washing Janābah or other impurities even if the trace remains, 231; al-Tirmidhī 1/201; al-Dāraqutnī 1/125; al-Bayhaqī 2/418; Sharḥ al-Sunnah 2/188; Ibn Mājah 536; Aḥmad 6/142]
❖ Summary and Ruling:
From these three authentic narrations, it is evident that:
✔ One may offer Salah in the same clothes worn during intimacy
✔ If the garment is soiled with semen, it should be washed (if wet) or scraped (if dry)
✔ Wearing clothes in the state of janābah does not render them impure by default
