Istibra'

Istibra' (Arabic: ألإستبراء) is a recommended act in jurisprudence, which men perform after discharge of urine or semen, so that the urethra is cleaned from remnants of najis substances. Therefore, if a liquid doubted to be najis is discharged from urethra after istibra', it is considered pure and does not invalidate wudu' or ghusl.

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Meaning

The word "istibra'" is from the root "Ba-Ra'-'a" meaning to avoid and reject and in jurisprudence, it refers to a recommended act men perform after discharge of urine or semen in order to become certain that no najis substances is remained in the urethra. By "remaining" here, "remaining" in the common sense is meant, not considering meticulous precision.

Method

The best method of performing istibra' is that after the passing of urine, the finger should be drawn three times while pressing across the area between the anus and the root of the penis and from there to the upper part of the penis. Then, the upper part of the penis should be pressed three times. Any other method which brings about certainty that the urethra has become empty of najis liquids is sufficient and obsessional manners should be avoided. Wetness discharged from a woman's urethra even without performing istibra' is ruled as pure. To perform istibra' from semen, a person should urinate and then perform istibra' from urine. Some scholars believe that urinating alone suffices and if a person could not urinate, the method of istibra' from urine suffices.

Rules after Istibra'

After performing istibra', if a wetness is discharged from urethra the person does not know whether it is urine or semen or other pure wetness, is ruled as pure and does not invalidate wudu' or ghusl either, but, if a person does not perform istibra' after urination and wetness doubted to be najis is discharged from urethra, it is najis and invalidates wudu'. Also, if after discharge of semen, without performing istibra', a man performs ghusl and after performing ghusl, a wetness is discharged from his urethra he does not know whether it is semen or something else, it is considered najis and the person has to perform ghusl aljanaba again.