Chapter on Purification of the Body and Clothes From Impurities

From him, from Hammad, from Hariz, from Zurarah, who said: I said to Abu Abdullah عليه السلام: "Blood from a nosebleed, or something like it, or some semen touched my garment. I knew the spot but waited to find water. When I found water and it was time for prayer, I forgot about the impurity and prayed. Then I remembered it afterward." Imam عليه السلام said: "You must repeat the prayer and wash it." I said: "What if I didn’t know the exact spot, but I knew it had touched the garment? I searched for it but couldn’t find it. After I prayed, I found it." Imam عليه السلام said: "Wash it and repeat the prayer." I said: "What if I thought it might have touched my garment but was not certain, and after searching, I didn’t find anything? Then I prayed and later saw it?" Imam عليه السلام said: "Wash it, but you do not need to repeat the prayer." I said: "Why is that?" Imam عليه السلام said: "Because you were initially certain of your purity, and then you doubted. It is not proper to overturn certainty with doubt." I said: "What if I knew it had touched my garment but didn’t know where? Should I wash it?" Imam عليه السلام said: "Wash the area of the garment where you think it touched until you are certain of its purity." I said: "If I doubt whether anything touched it, must I check it?" Imam عليه السلام said: "No. But if you want to remove the doubt in your mind, you may check." I said: "If I see it on my garment during prayer?" Imam عليه السلام said: "Stop the prayer and repeat it. If you doubted its presence and then saw it, or if you didn’t doubt but later found it wet, interrupt the prayer, wash it, and continue the prayer from where you left off. This is because you do not know - it could have been placed on you during the prayer. It is not proper to overturn certainty with doubt."