Does Bleeding Invalidate Prayers?

[Nawab]

Okay its almost time for prayers and i have a small cut. I cant wipe the blood off since I am still bleeding. I've read that some Muslims say that flowing blood and blood on clothes invalidates prayer.. Are they serious!?!?!

So my prayers wont count since im bleeding? thats so frustrating, its like everyday im finding a new thing that somehow invalidates prayers.more frustrating is that we cant all agree on exactly what the rule for it is... makes it seem like Islam is such a difficult religion to follow.

So is it true that blood invalidates prayers? How could something so basic and vital be considered impure?

I mean, i've heard the followers of Hussein would pray while they were being hit with arrows .

Edited August 2, 2012 by Nawab

[Chaotic Muslem]

you can benifit from reading the basics of your fiqh , najasat in islam or impurities are ten , learn them

http://www.shiamultimedia.com/05-books/english/Islamic%20Laws.pdf

[Maryammm]

As for the followers of Imam Hussain(as) still praying with clothing and injuries, this was necessity, and presumably as they had no access to water, they performed tayyammum, and also they were in jihad al asghar, so there are certain exemptions in times of necessity that would not apply to a normal day where we may get a cut.

However I have just come across this on Sayyed Sistani's website-

821. A person who does not have any dress other than a najis one, should offer prayers with that najis dress, and his prayers will be in order.

This would be why it was ok for the followers of Imam Hussain(as) were allowed to pray in clothes covered in blood, whether their own, or from other people.

818. If a person is sure that the blood which is on his body or dress, is a type of najis blood which is allowed in namaz, like, the blood from wound or a sore, but comes to know after having offered his prayers, that it is the blood which makes prayers void, his prayers will be in order.

I would suggest putting some kind of plaster or dressing on the wound though...

So it looks like, the blood from a cut on your body is najis, but doesn't invalidate prayers! However, if it was blood such as blood from an animal who is najis, or bblood from someone elses body, then I think it would invalidate prayers.

Exceptional cases

856. In the following three cases, the prayers offered by a person will be valid, even if his body or dress be najis:

• If his body or dress is stained with the blood discharged from a wound or a sore on his body.
  
• If his body or dress is stained with blood, spread over a space lesser than a dirham (which is almost equal to the upper joint of the thumb).
  
• If he has no alternative but to offer prayers with najis body or dress. Further, there is one situation in which, if the dress of one who prays is najis, the namaz will be valid. And that is, when small clothes like socks, scalp caps are najis. Rules of these four situations will be explained in details later.
  

857. If the body or the dress of a person wishing to pray is stained with blood from wound or sore etc, he can pray namaz with that blood as long as the wound or the sore has not healed up. And the same applies to pus, which may flow out with blood, or any medicine which became najis, when applied to the wound or the sore.

858. If blood on the dress or the body of a person who is praying, originates from a small cut or wound which can be healed easily, and which can be washed clean, then his namaz is void.

859. If any part of the body, or the dress, which is away from the wound, becomes najis owing to the fluid which oozes out from the wound, it is not permissible to offer prayers with it. However, if a part of the body or dress around the wound becomes najis, owing to suppuration, there is no harm in offering prayers with it.

860. If the body or dress of a person is stained with blood from internal piles, or from a wound which is within one's mouth, nose etc., he can offer prayers with that blood. But if the blood is from external piles, then it is obviously permissible to offer prayers with it.

861. If a person has a wound on his body and he sees blood on his body or dress which is bigger than the area of a dirham and does not know whether it is from his wound or some other blood, as an obligatory precaution, he should not pray with it.

862. If a person has several wounds, but they are so near one another that they may be treated as one, there is no harm in offering prayers with their blood, as long as they have not healed. However, if they are separate, each one as an independent wound, he should wash and make Pak body and dress, each time when a wound is healed up.

863. If the clothes or the body of a person praying, is stained with the blood of Hayz, however little, the namaz will be void. And as a precaution, the same rule applies to the blood of Nifas, Istihaza and the blood from sources which are essentially najis, like a pig, a carcass, or an animal whose meat is haraam.

As regards other bloods, like the blood from a human body, or from an animal whose meat is halal, there is no harm in offering prayers with them, even if they are found at several places on the dress or the body, provided that, when added together, their area is less than that of a dirham.

864. If blood stains one side of the dress, and then seeps through to the other side, it will be considered as one. However, if the other side of the dress gets smeared with blood separately, each one will be considered as a separate blood. Therefore, if blood on both sides is less than a dirham in area when put together, namaz will be valid with them. But if it exceeds the area, then namaz will be void.

865. If blood falls on a dress which has a lining, and reaches it, or falls on its lining and reaches the upper part of the dress, each of them will be considered separate blood, unless they are so joined together, that it would be customarily be considered as one blood. Hence if the area of the blood of the dress and that of the lining, when added together, are less than the area of a dirham, the prayers offered with them will be in order, and if they are more, the prayers offered with that blood will be void.

866. If the area of the blood on one's body or dress is less than that of a dirham, and some moisture reaches it and spreads over its sides, the prayers offered with that blood is void, even if the blood and the moisture which has spread there, is not equal to the area of a dirham. However, if the moisture reaches the blood only, without wetting its edges, then there is no objection in offering prayers with it.

867. If there is no blood on the body or dress of a person, but it becomes najis because of contact with some moisture mixed with blood, prayers cannot be offered with it, even if the part which has become najis is less than the area of a dirham.

868. If the area of the blood present on the body or dress of a person is less than that of a dirham, but another najasat reaches it, like when a drop of urine falls on it, it is not permissible to offer prayers with it, regardless of whether this extraneous najasat reaches the body or the dress or not.

869. If small dresses belonging to a person offering prayers, like his socks or scalp cap, which would not ordinarily cover his private parts, become najis, and if they are not made of the parts of a carcass or an animal whose meat is haraam to eat, the prayers offered with them will be in order. And there is also no objection if one offers prayers with a najis ring.

870. It is permissible for a person in namaz to carry with him najis things, like najis handkerchief, key and knife. Similarly, if he has a separate najis dress which he is carrying, it will not affect the validity of his prayers.

871. If a person knows that the area of the blood stain on his body or dress is less than that of a dirham, but suspects that it may be one of those blood (e.g. Hayz, Nifas, Istihaza) which are not excused in namaz, he is permitted to offer prayers with that blood, and it will not be necessary to wash it off.

872. If the area of blood stains on the dress, or body of a person, is less than that of a dirham , but he is not aware that it is one which is not excused in the prayers, and learns later after Namaz, that it was the blood which are not excused, it is not necessary for him to offer the prayers again.

Similarly, if he believes that the span of the blood is less than that of a dirham and offers prayers, then comes to know later, that it was equal to or more than the area of a dirham, it is not necessary to offer the prayers again.

So it seems that you can pray salah with a wound, and if blood gets on your clothes from it, you can still pray in them.

Salams and duas inshallah

[Nawab]

As for the followers of Imam Hussain(as) still praying with clothing and injuries, this was necessity, and presumably as they had no access to water, they performed tayyammum, and also they were in jihad al asghar, so there are certain exemptions in times of necessity that would not apply to a normal day where we may get a cut.

However I have just come across this on Sayyed Sistani's website-

821. A person who does not have any dress other than a najis one, should offer prayers with that najis dress, and his prayers will be in order.

This would be why it was ok for the followers of Imam Hussain(as) were allowed to pray in clothes covered in blood, whether their own, or from other people.

818. If a person is sure that the blood which is on his body or dress, is a type of najis blood which is allowed in namaz, like, the blood from wound or a sore, but comes to know after having offered his prayers, that it is the blood which makes prayers void, his prayers will be in order.

I would suggest putting some kind of plaster or dressing on the wound though...

So it looks like, the blood from a cut on your body is najis, but doesn't invalidate prayers! However, if it was blood such as blood from an animal who is najis, or bblood from someone elses body, then I think it would invalidate prayers.

Exceptional cases

856. In the following three cases, the prayers offered by a person will be valid, even if his body or dress be najis:

• If his body or dress is stained with the blood discharged from a wound or a sore on his body.
  
• If his body or dress is stained with blood, spread over a space lesser than a dirham (which is almost equal to the upper joint of the thumb).
  
• If he has no alternative but to offer prayers with najis body or dress. Further, there is one situation in which, if the dress of one who prays is najis, the namaz will be valid. And that is, when small clothes like socks, scalp caps are najis. Rules of these four situations will be explained in details later.
  

857. If the body or the dress of a person wishing to pray is stained with blood from wound or sore etc, he can pray namaz with that blood as long as the wound or the sore has not healed up. And the same applies to pus, which may flow out with blood, or any medicine which became najis, when applied to the wound or the sore.

858. If blood on the dress or the body of a person who is praying, originates from a small cut or wound which can be healed easily, and which can be washed clean, then his namaz is void.

859. If any part of the body, or the dress, which is away from the wound, becomes najis owing to the fluid which oozes out from the wound, it is not permissible to offer prayers with it. However, if a part of the body or dress around the wound becomes najis, owing to suppuration, there is no harm in offering prayers with it.

860. If the body or dress of a person is stained with blood from internal piles, or from a wound which is within one's mouth, nose etc., he can offer prayers with that blood. But if the blood is from external piles, then it is obviously permissible to offer prayers with it.

861. If a person has a wound on his body and he sees blood on his body or dress which is bigger than the area of a dirham and does not know whether it is from his wound or some other blood, as an obligatory precaution, he should not pray with it.

862. If a person has several wounds, but they are so near one another that they may be treated as one, there is no harm in offering prayers with their blood, as long as they have not healed. However, if they are separate, each one as an independent wound, he should wash and make Pak body and dress, each time when a wound is healed up.

863. If the clothes or the body of a person praying, is stained with the blood of Hayz, however little, the namaz will be void. And as a precaution, the same rule applies to the blood of Nifas, Istihaza and the blood from sources which are essentially najis, like a pig, a carcass, or an animal whose meat is haraam.

As regards other bloods, like the blood from a human body, or from an animal whose meat is halal, there is no harm in offering prayers with them, even if they are found at several places on the dress or the body, provided that, when added together, their area is less than that of a dirham.

864. If blood stains one side of the dress, and then seeps through to the other side, it will be considered as one. However, if the other side of the dress gets smeared with blood separately, each one will be considered as a separate blood. Therefore, if blood on both sides is less than a dirham in area when put together, namaz will be valid with them. But if it exceeds the area, then namaz will be void.

865. If blood falls on a dress which has a lining, and reaches it, or falls on its lining and reaches the upper part of the dress, each of them will be considered separate blood, unless they are so joined together, that it would be customarily be considered as one blood. Hence if the area of the blood of the dress and that of the lining, when added together, are less than the area of a dirham, the prayers offered with them will be in order, and if they are more, the prayers offered with that blood will be void.

866. If the area of the blood on one's body or dress is less than that of a dirham, and some moisture reaches it and spreads over its sides, the prayers offered with that blood is void, even if the blood and the moisture which has spread there, is not equal to the area of a dirham. However, if the moisture reaches the blood only, without wetting its edges, then there is no objection in offering prayers with it.

867. If there is no blood on the body or dress of a person, but it becomes najis because of contact with some moisture mixed with blood, prayers cannot be offered with it, even if the part which has become najis is less than the area of a dirham.

868. If the area of the blood present on the body or dress of a person is less than that of a dirham, but another najasat reaches it, like when a drop of urine falls on it, it is not permissible to offer prayers with it, regardless of whether this extraneous najasat reaches the body or the dress or not.

869. If small dresses belonging to a person offering prayers, like his socks or scalp cap, which would not ordinarily cover his private parts, become najis, and if they are not made of the parts of a carcass or an animal whose meat is haraam to eat, the prayers offered with them will be in order. And there is also no objection if one offers prayers with a najis ring.

870. It is permissible for a person in namaz to carry with him najis things, like najis handkerchief, key and knife. Similarly, if he has a separate najis dress which he is carrying, it will not affect the validity of his prayers.

871. If a person knows that the area of the blood stain on his body or dress is less than that of a dirham, but suspects that it may be one of those blood (e.g. Hayz, Nifas, Istihaza) which are not excused in namaz, he is permitted to offer prayers with that blood, and it will not be necessary to wash it off.

872. If the area of blood stains on the dress, or body of a person, is less than that of a dirham , but he is not aware that it is one which is not excused in the prayers, and learns later after Namaz, that it was the blood which are not excused, it is not necessary for him to offer the prayers again.

Similarly, if he believes that the span of the blood is less than that of a dirham and offers prayers, then comes to know later, that it was equal to or more than the area of a dirham, it is not necessary to offer the prayers again.

So it seems that you can pray salah with a wound, and if blood gets on your clothes from it, you can still pray in them.

Salams and duas inshallah

thank you, that was very helpful