Worship with tooth fillings… do I have to become Maliki or Shafii

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question:

I read in 'endless bliss', that if someone has crowned or filled teeth, one should follow the Maliki or Shafi'i madhab in wudu, ghusl and salah, and that one must remake his 'hanafi'-prayers that he had prayed with the filled or crowned teeth. Because 'In the Hanafi Madhab, if the area between the teeth and the tooth cavities do not get wet a ghusl will not be acceptable'. Is this correct and could you please explain it more precisely to me? And then after I told this to a friend of mine, he said that I should not follow this fatwa, because I had my teeth filled before I became a Muslim. And after I became Muslim I only should make ghusl before going to the dentist, he said that confused me a little, not only because the teeth-problem. Could you please advice me?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

The position mentioned in Endless Bliss is not the relied upon opinion of the Hanafi school. Rather, it is explicitly stated in the commentaries of the school that it is permitted to place fillings in one’s teeth—this is related from Imam Abu Hanifa and his major students themselves. From this permission, it is obviously understood that the ritual bath (ghusl) of someone with fillings is valid. Otherwise, it would entail affirming the absurd.

Wassalam,

Faraz Rabbani

Worship with Tooth Fillings

 

MMVIII © Faraz Rabbani and Qibla.
All rights reserved
No part of this article may be reproduced, displayed, modified, or distributed without the express prior written permission of both copyright holders. For permission, please submit a request at our Helpdesk.

Now What?

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Knowledge is only through study." While some knowledge can be gained from reading or casually listening to lectures, the best means to gain knowledge is through finding a qualified teacher and then setting up a systematic program of learning. Picking up a book or reading an article and trying to figure things out on our own is no substitute for learning from someone who has a direct link to our living tradition.

Through joining an online class at Qibla, you can benefit from convenient, online courses that will give you access to reliable scholars and our popular curriculum learning tracks. Knowledge gained in these courses will both build your iman and assist you in putting into practice what you learn. Don't give yourself less than you deserve, register today.

Related Links:

  1. Why you'll love our courses
  2. How SunniPath courses work (video)
  3. What our students say
  4. Our current available courses