Written by: Ataullah Salafi
It is written in various Hanafi Fiqh books that if one is certain of healing, it is permissible to write Surah al-Fatiha using urine for the purpose of treatment. Refer to the following sources:
Khulāṣat al-Fatāwā (4/361), Fatāwā Qāḍī Khān (2/365), Ḥāshiyah al-Ṭaḥṭāwī ʿAlā al-Durr al-Mukhtār (1/115), Fatāwā Shāmī (1/154), and al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq by Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī (1/116).
In response to this Hanafi ruling, Ghulam Rasool Saeedi (Barelvi) writes:
“I say that the faith of the one who writes Surah al-Fatiha with blood or urine is in danger. Even if someone is more certain than daylight that he would be healed by this act, it would be better for him to die than to dare write Surah al-Fatiha with blood or urine. May Allah forgive those jurists. Due to their habit of hair-splitting and deriving minute rulings, they made this awful statement, though their hearts held great reverence and honor for the Noble Qur'an.”
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 6, p. 557)
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Deobandi), in his book Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim, quoted from Ibn Nujaym's al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq that it is permissible to write Surah al-Fatiha with urine. In clarification, Mufti Taqi Usmani writes:
“In Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim, during an academic discussion on tadāwī bil-muḥarram (treatment through prohibited means), a quote from al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq by Ibn Nujaym was presented. This does not represent my personal opinion or fatwa. Rather, it is a portion of the author's own text, wherein he listed this view among others. The status of the author of al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq or of Tajnīs (whom he referenced) in knowledge and virtue is established. Our knowledge does not compare to theirs. However, no scholar of the Ummah can be deemed infallible. This view, in our opinion, is an error or may have been wrongly attributed to the author of Tajnīs.”
(Daily Islam, Rawalpindi, Vol. 2, Issue 13, Page 50 – August 2004, Jumu‘ah, p. 4)
Ahl al-Hadith assert the same principle:
“No scholar of the Ummah can be considered infallible; therefore, one must not practice blind following (taqlid), but must follow and adhere based on evidence.”
Maulana Ali Muhammad Saeedi (Ahl al-Hadith) clearly stated:
“On principle, the Ahl al-Hadith believe that every intelligent Muslim has the right to present the fatwas and opinions of all scholars of the Ummah before the Book and the Sunnah. What agrees with them should be accepted wholeheartedly, and what does not should be abandoned.”
(Fatāwā ʿUlamā’ Ahl al-Ḥadīth, Vol. 1, p. 6)
❖ The Invitation of Ahl al-Hadith
It is written in various Hanafi Fiqh books that if one is certain of healing, it is permissible to write Surah al-Fatiha using urine for the purpose of treatment. Refer to the following sources:
Khulāṣat al-Fatāwā (4/361), Fatāwā Qāḍī Khān (2/365), Ḥāshiyah al-Ṭaḥṭāwī ʿAlā al-Durr al-Mukhtār (1/115), Fatāwā Shāmī (1/154), and al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq by Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī (1/116).
❖ Refutation by a Barelvi Scholar
In response to this Hanafi ruling, Ghulam Rasool Saeedi (Barelvi) writes:
“I say that the faith of the one who writes Surah al-Fatiha with blood or urine is in danger. Even if someone is more certain than daylight that he would be healed by this act, it would be better for him to die than to dare write Surah al-Fatiha with blood or urine. May Allah forgive those jurists. Due to their habit of hair-splitting and deriving minute rulings, they made this awful statement, though their hearts held great reverence and honor for the Noble Qur'an.”
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 6, p. 557)
❖ Clarification by Mufti Taqi Usmani (Deobandi)
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Deobandi), in his book Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim, quoted from Ibn Nujaym's al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq that it is permissible to write Surah al-Fatiha with urine. In clarification, Mufti Taqi Usmani writes:
“In Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim, during an academic discussion on tadāwī bil-muḥarram (treatment through prohibited means), a quote from al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq by Ibn Nujaym was presented. This does not represent my personal opinion or fatwa. Rather, it is a portion of the author's own text, wherein he listed this view among others. The status of the author of al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq or of Tajnīs (whom he referenced) in knowledge and virtue is established. Our knowledge does not compare to theirs. However, no scholar of the Ummah can be deemed infallible. This view, in our opinion, is an error or may have been wrongly attributed to the author of Tajnīs.”
(Daily Islam, Rawalpindi, Vol. 2, Issue 13, Page 50 – August 2004, Jumu‘ah, p. 4)
❖ The Position of Ahl al-Hadith
Ahl al-Hadith assert the same principle:
“No scholar of the Ummah can be considered infallible; therefore, one must not practice blind following (taqlid), but must follow and adhere based on evidence.”
Maulana Ali Muhammad Saeedi (Ahl al-Hadith) clearly stated:
“On principle, the Ahl al-Hadith believe that every intelligent Muslim has the right to present the fatwas and opinions of all scholars of the Ummah before the Book and the Sunnah. What agrees with them should be accepted wholeheartedly, and what does not should be abandoned.”
(Fatāwā ʿUlamā’ Ahl al-Ḥadīth, Vol. 1, p. 6)
