Household Items Used by Non-Muslim Guests: Reusable?

26 June, 2019

Q As-salamu `alaykum. What if a non-Muslim friend (for example, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Ahmadi) stays at our house and eats with us using our plates and sleeps in our beds? Are we allowed to use those plates again? Can we use the same bed sheets that he/she used without washing them?

Answer

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:

There is nothing wrong with using the household items such as plates and bed sheets after being used by non-Muslims. It is worth mentioning here that non-Muslims are not physically impure.

Responding to the question, Sheikh Muhammad Nur Abdullah, President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and member of the Fiqh Council of North America, states:

Of course, it is allowed to use the plates and sleep on the same beds as non-Muslims are not physically impure. During the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the polytheists and idol worshipers used to sit with him, shake hands with him, eat, and drink from the same container.

It is reported that Asma (may Allah be pleased with her) was visited by her non-Muslim mother, who ate with her and slept at her house, etc. It was not stated that they had to make a fresh wudu or wash off the bed and plates after this.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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