Is Baby’s Vomit Impure?

30 November, 2019

Q As-salamu `alaykum. I have a baby nephew who vomits all the time but his vomit is less than mouthful. One brother told me that if he vomits with a gap of a few minutes, then you add all vomit and see whether it was more than mouthful or not. Another brother told me that if it was from the same nauseous, then you add it up. Since I suffer from extreme OCD and I didn't know this ruling in my mind, I think all the vomit he did like this seem more than mouthful now. All the mattress sheets and carpets on which he vomited few times are impure for me, which have made my life miserable and I am unable to perform pray.

Answer

Dr. Muhammad Salama

30 November, 2019

Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In this fatwa:

The baby’s vomit is not impure (najis) as long as it didn’t change. Some scholars maintain that the baby’s vomit does cause impurity to parents clothes and the surrounding things.

Responding to your question, Dr. Muhammad Salama, PhD in Islamic Studies in English and an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Islamic Science, Al-Madinah International University, states:

If the food has not changed and has been vomited as it was eaten, then it is not ritually impure. If it has changed, then scholars have differed opinions whether it is najasah or not. Though those who consider it najasah maintain that if it is little in amount, still it is pardonable.

With regard to babies, they usually vomit more than adults and it has not been reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded mothers to avoid it.

Therefore, a group of scholars have considered this case pardonable also due to the hardship that mothers would suffer.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.