I suffered from an illness related to a coccyx (pilonidal) cyst. There were discharges from my coccyx that would soil my underwear. At home, I would put on a dressing with someone else’s help, but when I was in the city and alone there, and I needed to use the bathroom, I had to remove the dressing. I could not put on a new one by myself.What should I have done to prevent blood or pus from getting onto my underwear? Does a sanitary pad or a dressing attached to the underwear that contains impurity (najāsah) serve as a barrier for prayer, and is it considered part of the clothing? If yes, what should I do regarding the impurity getting onto my underwear, as I could not protect myself from it?

Answer:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 

Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

A coccyx or pilonidal cyst is a round sac of tissue that is filled with air or fluid. It is a common type of cyst located in the crease of the buttocks—anywhere from the tailbone to the anus—and is usually caused by a skin infection. [See: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15400-pilonidal-disease⁠?]

In the situation where you could not have dressed the pilonidal cyst due to being alone and away from home, a sanitary pad or large bandage—depending on the location of the cyst—could have been used. This would have served as a barrier preventing blood or pus from getting onto your underwear and soiling it as a result.

During this illness, if the cyst continued bleeding or discharging pus such that no prayer time remained free from impurity, then wudhu would have been required only once at the beginning of each prayer time. 

In such a case, the sanitary pad would not have acted as a barrier affecting the validity of the prayer, though a new one should have been applied before performing each wudhu.

And Allah ﷻ knows best. 

فإن كان صوابا فمن الله وإن كان خطأ فمني ومن الشيطان والله ورسوله بريئان منه

___________

References:

1.

وأما) أصحاب الأعذار كالمستحاضة، وصاحب الجرح السائل، والمبطون ومن به سلس البول، ومن به رعاف دائم أو ريح، ونحو ذلك ممن لا يمضي عليه وقت صلاة إلا، ويوجد ما ابتلي به من الحدث فيه فخروج النجس من هؤلاء لا يكون حدثا في الحال ما دام وقت الصلاة قائما، حتى أن المستحاضة لو توضأت في أول الوقت فلها أن تصلي ما شاءت من الفرائض، والنوافل ما لم يخرج الوقت، وإن دام السيلان

[بدائع الصنائع في ترتيب الشرائع، كتاب الطهارة، ج. ١، صفحة ٢٧، ٢٨، دار الكتب العلمية]

قال أبو جعفر: (والذي به سلس البول، أو جرح لا يرقأ، بمنزلة المستحاضة).

وذلك لدوام العذر. قال: (والمستحاضة تصلي وتصوم، ويأتيها زوجها، وتقرأ القرآن. وتطوف بالبيت). وذلك لأنها في حكم الطاهرات في باب لزوم الصلاة، فكذلك في حكم الجماع وسائر ما ذكر. 

[شرح مختصر الطحاوي للجصاص، كتاب الطهارة، باب الحيض، ج. ١، صفحة ٤٥٦، ٤٥٧، دار البشائر الإسلامية]