The following answer of Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen shows that qiyas or analogy is permissible in ebadaat and acts of worship according to him.
Question:
Will wudhu break by becoming unconscious?
Answer:
Yes, wudhu will break by becoming unconscious. This is because unconsciousness is more severe than sleep. And sleep breaks wudhu when it deep in such a manner that the person asleep does not know if anything (air) came out from him.
Majmooah Fatawa Wa Rasaail Ibnul Uthaimeen Vol.11 Pg.200
A similar fatwa has also been given by the Standing Committee. The signatories are as follows:
- Abul Azeez ibn Baaz
- Abul Azeez Aal Shaikh
- Abdullah
- Saalih Fawzaan
- Bakr Abu Zaid
السؤال الثالث من الفتوى رقم 18961
س 3 : إذا أغمي على الرجل وهو يصلي ، ولم يفق إلا في وقت الصلاة الثانية ، هل يجب عليه أن يقضي الأولى والثانية ؟
ج 3 : نعم ، يجب عليه أن يقضي الأولى في وقت الثانية ، ويصلي الثانية في وقتها بعد أن يتوضأ ؛ لأن الإغماء ينقض الوضوء كالنوم
وبالله التوفيق ، وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وآله وصحبه وسلم
اللجنة الدائمة للبحوث العلمية والإفتاء
عضو … عضو … عضو … نائب الرئيس … الرئيس
بكر أبو زيد … صالح الفوزان … عبد الله بن غديان … عبد العزيز آل الشيخ … عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز
The following is a detailed analysis of this qiyaas.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The eyes are the leather strap of the anus, so one who sleeps should perform ablution.” [Abu Dawud #203]
From this hadith the ruling of sleep is known i.e. it breaks wudhu. However there is no hadith that reached us which mentions the ruling of wudhu for the person who falls unconscious. Therefore the Fuqaha made analogy on sleeping which is similar to being unconscious from the aspect that one’s muscle relaxes when one falls asleep. [Bidayatul Mujtahid Vol.1 Pg.49]
المقيس عليه = Sleep
المقيس = Unconsciousness
علة الحكم = The strap of the anus is opened when the muscles relax allowing air to pass
الحكم = Wudhu breaks.
Now wudhu is an aspect of Ebadah and Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen made Qiyaas in it. Therefore this should dispel the false notion that many of those who usually follow the fatawa of the above named shuyookh, that “qiyas and analogy is not allowed in ebadah”.
Rather Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen has explicitly mentioned in his “Sharh Mumtaa”:
“What is meant by the statement of the people of knowledge “There is no analogy in Ebadaat” is in establishing a separate form of worship. As for conditions in ebadah and similar issues when both acts of worship are equal in meaning, then there is no problem in that. The Ulama have always been using this (means of evidence) like their statement: “Tasmiyah is wajib in ghusl and tayammum based on the analogy of wudhu.”
Al-Sharh Mumtaa by Ibn Uthaimeen Vol.6 Pg.524
Those that have this false belief that analogy is not allowed in acts of ebadaat should study the following hadith of the Rasool صلى الله عليه وسلم:
It is narrated from Humayda bint Abi Ubayda ibn Farwa that her maternal aunt Kabsha bint Kab ibn Malik, who was the wife of the son of Abu Qatada al-Ansari, told her that once Abu Qatada was visiting her and she poured out some water for him to do wudu with. Just then a cat came to drink from it, so he tilted the vessel towards it to let it drink. Kabsha continued, “He saw me looking at him and said, ‘Are you surprised, daughter of my brother?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He replied that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Cats are not impure because they intermingle with you.’ ” [Muatta of Malik]
The purity or impurity of water by animals drinking from it is an issue of Ebadah. Here the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم informed us of the reason of permissibility. This is clearly to teach us to apply this rule to the other animals that have a similar ellah (direct cause). This is what is known as analogy and qiyas.
May Allah guide us and help us to follow in the footsteps of the Salaf.
