Joe,

Good question...I do not know!! Maybe if we are in doubt, the best solution is to simply do the ablution.

Peace,
Farah

salaam,

56 O you who believe, when you observe the contact prayer, you shall wash your faces and your hands to your elbows, wipe your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. However, if you are unclean due to sexual orgasm, then you shall bathe. And if you are ill or on travel and cannot find water, and any of you has digestive excretion or has touched women, then you shall perform dry ablution with clean dry soil by wiping your faces and your hands with it. God does not wish to cause you hardship but wishes to cleanse you and to complete His blessings upon you that you may be appreciative.

i think the key to understanding your question is deciding whether or not passing gas falls under "digestive excretion".

i don't think it has anything to do with human opinions of what is "disgusting". menstruation isn't mentioned anywhere in this verse.

peace,
farah

salaam,

this is from a non-RK translation that people may find less 'distorted' or, to be objective, closer to the original arabic. this translation is done by Dr. AR Fazely, who knew RK, saw some shortcomings, and wanted to more closely follow the arabic in his translation. i use the same verses as the original poster, because they are the salat-addressing verses ).

1. dawn prayer

20130 Therefore, be patient in the face of their utterances, and glorify and praise your Lord, before sunrise and before sunset and also glorify during the night and during the day that He may be pleased.

2. noon/middle prayer

2238 Remember the contact prayers, as well as the middle prayer and rise up for God humbly.

3. afternoon (declining sun) prayer

1778 Observe the contact prayer when the sun starts its decline from the highest point in the sky towards the darkness of the night, and read the Quran at dawn, indeed the reading of the Quran at dawn is witnessed.

4. sunset prayer

20130 again, and 5039 Therefore, be patient with their utterances and glorify and praise your Lord before sunrise and before sunset (this is the other "end" of daylight, along with dawn)

5. night prayer

3018 And to Him belongs praise in the skies and the land and in the dark of the night and in the middle of the daylight.

wakas, you may like this translation of 1778 better than RK's. i am still learning arabic but i think it may be more accurate.

being people whose hearts are wide open to submission, we can volunteer to do more than the required number of prayers, no? even 5 prayers takes only about 10 minutes of reverence. the angels and the whole universe glorify and praise God constantly. this is truth. isn't that what we are here for?

also, God does not spell everything out in the Quran. yes, the necessary details and everything we need are included. but does He tell the women the exact number of inches below the knee to wear their skirt? no. it's because He tells us He endowed us with common sense; we should use that too, God willing.

peace,
farah